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nancf 's review for:
A Piece of the World
by Christina Baker Kline
I very much enjoyed this book. In March I heard Christina Baker Kline speak at the Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures which enhanced my enjoyment. Of course I had seen pictures of Andrew Wyeth's iconic painting, but I did not know anything about it or the story behind it. And now, which to me is one of the hallmarks of a good book, I want to know more.
A Piece of the World is a fictionalized account of the life of Christina Olson, the subject of the Wyeth's painting. Christina has a difficult life. She has a physical disability and disproportionate family responsibilities. She is also a difficult person, stubborn in her refusal, from a young age, to seek medical intervention for her condition and not very nice to some who befriend her. Yet, she, and her brother, have a unlikely relationship with both Wyeth and his wife.
"Something inexorable seeds itself in the place of your origin. You can never escape the bonds of family history, no matter how far you travel. And the skeletons of a house can carry in its bones the marrow of all that came before." (2)
"The older I get, the more I believe that the greatest kindness is acceptance." (276)
This was not a favorite of my book club. Most did not like it because the character of Christina was so unlikeable, so selfish. Some said that they just didn't care what happened.
A Piece of the World is a fictionalized account of the life of Christina Olson, the subject of the Wyeth's painting. Christina has a difficult life. She has a physical disability and disproportionate family responsibilities. She is also a difficult person, stubborn in her refusal, from a young age, to seek medical intervention for her condition and not very nice to some who befriend her. Yet, she, and her brother, have a unlikely relationship with both Wyeth and his wife.
"Something inexorable seeds itself in the place of your origin. You can never escape the bonds of family history, no matter how far you travel. And the skeletons of a house can carry in its bones the marrow of all that came before." (2)
"The older I get, the more I believe that the greatest kindness is acceptance." (276)
This was not a favorite of my book club. Most did not like it because the character of Christina was so unlikeable, so selfish. Some said that they just didn't care what happened.