bretts_book_stack 's review for:

The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothschild

3.0

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Like the painting at the center of the story, this book is built layer upon layer. First there's the launch off base layer of the pretty heartbroken chef who works for a wealthy art dealer and his cold, emotionless daughter. One day in a secondhand store she buys a painting that unbeknownst to her is an original Antoine Watteau, the French rococo artist who revitalized the Baroque style of painting. What transpires after is part mystery,part love story,part revenge tale,and part history lesson told from the perspective of the painting itself. Rounding out this many layered plot is a cast of larger than life characters obsessed and/or immersed in the the current art world, eager to get their hands on the coveted work. Patience was a virtue here because I really struggled to tap in up through almost a hundred pages at the start, which is why I didn't rate the book higher. Ultimately though it's a winning and engaging meditation on art, food, and of course the improbability and mystery of love.