A compelling story about life and art with vivid characters and an engaging setting.
Berman’s historical novel, on the triumphs and trials of a female artist, paints a picture of bohemian life while discussing deeper questions about the creative process.
In 1760s Venice, Angelica Kauffman struggles to make her mark as a painter while supporting herself and her father. Although she makes a living painting reproductions, she wishes to pursue artwork about historical subjects, which brings in less money. She catches a lucky break when a British noblewoman spots her talent and takes her to London to seek her fortune. Angelica becomes a great success, thanks to constant commissions for portraits and paintings of historical subjects. She eventually meets and befriends other artists, including the celebrated portraitist Sir Joshua Reynolds. Despite Angelica’s determination to never marry, she becomes preoccupied with a mysterious Swedish count, and their relationship takes an expected turn. Later, Angelica and her family return to Italy, where she falls in with a community of artists and intellectuals in Rome. She’s intrigued by a man who turns out to be the celebrated author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; they feel an instant connection. Their friendship, intense but platonic, deepens quickly as they share similar philosophies on art, nature, and love. As she contemplates her future, Angelica must figure out what kind of love she wants, and how a woman in a sexist society can enjoy her freedom. Berman’s story of Angelica’s adventures among the nobility and other bohemian artists paints an illuminating yet subtly drawn picture of 18th-century society and the art world, in particular. Angelica’s commitment to independence is steely and determined, and in scenes where she’s at her easel, it’s easy to grasp how inspiration strikes and a painting comes together: “I paint the faint suggestion of an angelic face into the clouds. No one else will likely ever notice it, but my eye goes directly to the departed soul.” Those looking for steamy romance will be disappointed, but Angelica’s absolute commitment to living her own life is intense and refreshing.
A compelling story about life and art with vivid characters and an engaging setting.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781647427887
Page Count: 368
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Feb. 21, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.
A French art historian’s English-language fiction debut combines the story of a loving relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter with an enlightening discussion of art.
One day, when 10-year-old Mona removes the necklace given to her by her now-dead grandmother, she experiences a frightening, hour-long bout of blindness. Her parents take her to the doctor, who gives her a variety of tests and also advises that she see a psychiatrist. Her grandfather Henry tells her parents that he will take care of that assignment, but instead, he takes Mona on weekly visits to either the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, or the Centre Pompidou, where each week they study a single work of art, gazing at it deeply and then discussing its impact and history and the biography of its maker. For the reader’s benefit, Schlesser also describes each of the works in scrupulous detail. As the year goes on, Mona faces the usual challenges of elementary school life and the experiences of being an only child, and slowly begins to understand the causes of her temporary blindness. Primarily an amble through a few dozen of Schlesser’s favorite works of art—some well known and others less so, from Botticelli and da Vinci through Basquiat and Bourgeois—the novel would probably benefit from being read at a leisurely pace. While the dialogue between Henry and the preternaturally patient and precocious Mona sometimes strains credulity, readers who don’t have easy access to the museums of Paris may enjoy this vicarious trip in the company of a guide who focuses equally on that which can be seen and the context that can’t be. Come for the novel, stay for the introductory art history course.
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9798889661115
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Europa Editions
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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