LOUISE AND VINCENT

An elderly woman recounts her love affair with Vincent van Gogh in Byington’s historical novel.

In 1940, Louise Ravoux invites an art historian into her New Orleans home to talk about Vincent van Gogh. Now 85, Louise flashes back to her 33rd year in 1890, when she ran an inn in France and lived with her husband, Arthur, and their two children. Louise contends with various familial problems, including Arthur’s penchant for physical aggression and her eldest daughter, Adeline, growing up and fighting her at every turn. One day, a disheveled painter named Vincent van Gogh arrives at the inn and books a room. Louise and Vincent quickly build a rapport, even though Vincent is not terribly popular in town. The two grow close, sharing their woes. Vincent gives Louise drawing and painting lessons. The pair fall in love with one another, bringing a sole bright spot to Louise’s life. Louise makes plans to leave her husband, but Adeline has been spying on her at the behest of Arthur, which threatens to lead to dire consequences. Byington’s prose is accessible and bears an evident appreciation for visual arts, as van Gogh’s works are described beautifully (“Eventually, I began to comprehend his vision of texture and movement. As I stared at it, the picture spoke to my emotions and my senses, and I felt more alive than I had in a long time”). The author conveys the muddiness of life: Though the ending is satisfying, it is not idealized. The characters are compellingly complex—Adeline, in the throes of adolescence, often veers between supporting her mother and defying her, an emotional see-sawing that is never fully resolved. Louise is the most fleshed-out character, and it is gratifying that her journey to self-actualization, though sparked by Vincent, is not solely dependent on him. It is Louise who decides for herself that her life (and, subsequently, her paintings) needs more depth.

A charming and emotional narrative of self-discovery.