There was no way I would miss this wonderful novel. For one thing, book bloggers I trust loved it. Secondly, I spent a lovely day in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston long ago, before thieves made off with art worth about $500 million today, and I was completely taken with this sort of quirky museum founded by a sort of quirky rich lady.
The story wasn't quite what I expected but that's a good thing. It doesn't involve the thefts directly but that's always in the background informing the plot. This is about a struggling young artist who is brilliantly talented but has been caught up in unfortunate circumstances due to love gone wrong. Claire Roth is her name. She makes a living, such as it is, copying great paintings for a reproduction company.
Then Claire makes a Faustian bargain with an art gallery owner who promises to produce her first show. She believes fervently that what she is doing is legal but it sets her off on a search for a real Degas that she believes has been forged. The plot is complex and so is the art technique she eventually uses but it isn't at all difficult for this non-artist to follow. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about painting.
Highly recommended reading.
Source: Amazon Vine - thank you.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I hope to read this one soon - it sounds perfect for me!
ReplyDelete