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veralin1111 's review for:
The Improbability of Love
by Hannah Rothschild
4.55 stars rounding up to 5.
I had the good fortune of stumbling upon The Improbability of Love on the library shelf the other day. There is art, there is love, there is a lucky find in the junk shop that turns out to be the winning jackpot of an Old Master's painting, what's there not to love? But my initial optimism was quickly dampened when I came to Goodreads and found all the negative reviews here with very low stars but many “likes” from fellow readers. I doubted myself but read on anyway. I am so glad I did. Maybe this is just one of those books that is destined to divide its readers. I for one enjoyed it, very much.
Hannah Rothschild, the first woman chair of the National Gallery in London and a receiver of Commander of Order of the British Empire in 2018 for her services to the arts and to charity, writes convincingly about the dealings of the art world's elites. Having been through four years' of fine arts training myself, I find Rothschild's depiction of the inner workings of the traditional and contemporary art world and all its trappings exacting and exciting. This is not to say that she bores you with academic art talks. Quite the contrary! Rothschild's satirical caricature of her larger-than-life characters are outrageous funny and delicious. Her themed banquets inspired by the Old Master paintings makes you want to crawl into the pages in order to take a nibble out of the table, or just to be there to witness the glorious spectacle with your own human eyes. The absolute highlight for me was when the home-sick Russian oligarch walks through a real life Damien Hirst's legendary exhibition, his reaction to the spectacle is simply outrageous; and this scene right there, is living-vicariously-through-bookreading at its most scrumptious. Combining real-life and make believe, history and fiction, Rothschild spins a tight web with all the right and delicious ingredients.
I have to take some points off because I feel the book needs at least another 50 pages to do it justice. The ending is a touch rushed, as if our brilliant writer Rothschild suddenly run out of steam. *****SPOILERS AHEAD****** I would like very much to be there when Vlad and Grace hit it off. I would have loved to see Annie's face when she is declared innocent and to witness the sweet moment when Jesse comes to collect her when she is set free. I would have given top money to see frame-by-frame of how Rebecca is found out and brought down of her high horse. I wouldn't mind hearing Bart's dramatic carrying-ons when he is shot in the arm and maybe feigns a fainting spell in his outrageous regalia. In an alternative book universe, I would imagine the final chapter to be set in Annie and Jesse's new place in their new life together where everything is finally not only set right, but flourishes.
I had the good fortune of stumbling upon The Improbability of Love on the library shelf the other day. There is art, there is love, there is a lucky find in the junk shop that turns out to be the winning jackpot of an Old Master's painting, what's there not to love? But my initial optimism was quickly dampened when I came to Goodreads and found all the negative reviews here with very low stars but many “likes” from fellow readers. I doubted myself but read on anyway. I am so glad I did. Maybe this is just one of those books that is destined to divide its readers. I for one enjoyed it, very much.
Hannah Rothschild, the first woman chair of the National Gallery in London and a receiver of Commander of Order of the British Empire in 2018 for her services to the arts and to charity, writes convincingly about the dealings of the art world's elites. Having been through four years' of fine arts training myself, I find Rothschild's depiction of the inner workings of the traditional and contemporary art world and all its trappings exacting and exciting. This is not to say that she bores you with academic art talks. Quite the contrary! Rothschild's satirical caricature of her larger-than-life characters are outrageous funny and delicious. Her themed banquets inspired by the Old Master paintings makes you want to crawl into the pages in order to take a nibble out of the table, or just to be there to witness the glorious spectacle with your own human eyes. The absolute highlight for me was when the home-sick Russian oligarch walks through a real life Damien Hirst's legendary exhibition, his reaction to the spectacle is simply outrageous; and this scene right there, is living-vicariously-through-bookreading at its most scrumptious. Combining real-life and make believe, history and fiction, Rothschild spins a tight web with all the right and delicious ingredients.
I have to take some points off because I feel the book needs at least another 50 pages to do it justice. The ending is a touch rushed, as if our brilliant writer Rothschild suddenly run out of steam. *****SPOILERS AHEAD****** I would like very much to be there when Vlad and Grace hit it off. I would have loved to see Annie's face when she is declared innocent and to witness the sweet moment when Jesse comes to collect her when she is set free. I would have given top money to see frame-by-frame of how Rebecca is found out and brought down of her high horse. I wouldn't mind hearing Bart's dramatic carrying-ons when he is shot in the arm and maybe feigns a fainting spell in his outrageous regalia. In an alternative book universe, I would imagine the final chapter to be set in Annie and Jesse's new place in their new life together where everything is finally not only set right, but flourishes.