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A Novel
by Christina Baker Kline
Book Reviewed by:From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the smash hit Orphan Train, a stunning and atmospheric novel of friendship, passion, and art, inspired by Andrew Wyeth's mysterious and iconic painting Christina's World.
"Later he told me that he'd been afraid to show me the painting. He thought I wouldn't like the way he portrayed me: dragging myself across the field, fingers clutching dirt, my legs twisted behind. The arid moonscape of wheatgrass and timothy. That dilapidated house in the distance, looming up like a secret that won't stay hidden."
To Christina Olson, the entire world was her family's remote farm in the small coastal town of Cushing, Maine. Born in the home her family had lived in for generations, and increasingly incapacitated by illness, Christina seemed destined for a small life. Instead, for more than twenty years, she was host and inspiration for the artist Andrew Wyeth, and became the subject of one of the best known American paintings of the twentieth century.
As she did in her beloved smash bestseller Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline interweaves fact and fiction in a powerful novel that illuminates a little-known part of America's history. Bringing into focus the flesh-and-blood woman behind the portrait, she vividly imagines the life of a woman with a complicated relationship to her family and her past, and a special bond with one of our greatest modern artists.
Told in evocative and lucid prose, A Piece of the World is a story about the burdens and blessings of family history, and how artist and muse can come together to forge a new and timeless legacy.
1939
I'm working on a quilt patch in the kitchen on a brilliant July afternoon, small squares of fabric and a pincushion and scissors on the table beside me, when I hear the hum of a car engine. Looking out the window toward the cove, I see a station wagon turn into the field about a hundred yards away. The engine cuts off and the passenger door swings open and Betsy James gets out, laughing and exclaiming. I haven't seen her since last summer. She's wearing a white halter top and denim shorts, a red bandanna tied around her neck. As I watch her coming toward the house, I am struck by how different she looks. Her sweet round face has thinned and lengthened; her chestnut hair is long and thick around her shoulders, her eyes dark and shining.
A red slash of lipstick. I think of her at nine years old, when she first came to visit, her small, nimble fingers braiding my hair as she sat behind me on the stoop. And here she is, seventeen and suddenly a woman.
"Hey ...
Here are some of the comments posted about A Piece of the World in our legacy forum.
You can see the full discussion here.
Christina Olson lives a limited life. Beyond her illness, what limits Christina? Where did you agree, or disagree, with the choices she makes?
As Christina matures her fears surrounding her also grew in size. She was mainly limited by fear of failure in all things normal. - windellh
Christina’s family has different expectations for her and for her brothers. Is this something you recognize in your own family?
Like katherinep and karenrn I grew up with only sisters. Our chores included housework, lawn care, and car care. We were encouraged to go to college and my parents helped me get my bachelor's degree. - louisee
Consider Wyeth's wife Betsy. What is her role in the story and how does she interact with Christina?
I felt that Betsy had great compassion and love for those whom she held dear. She shows that love transcends all barriers. - windellh
Did you find Christina a likeable or unlikeable narrator? Why?
She was good narrator who depicted not only her lot in life, but also those who lived during this period and the struggles they faced. - windellh
Discuss the "very strange connection" between Andrew Wyeth and Christina Olson.
They shared a person they both loved Christina's friend and Andrew's wife Betsy. They both share a disability with Andrew's limp and Christina's difficulty walking and they also both share very small lives. Although Andrew became a famous painter, he... - llsmill
I highly recommend adding A Piece of the World to the must-read list of avid readers of historical fiction, and especially to book clubs. Discussion topics abound!..continued
Full Review
(645 words)
(Reviewed by First Impressions Reviewers).
(Nathan Hill, author of The Nix
With remarkable precision and compassion, A Piece of the World transports us to a mid-century farmhouse on the coast of Maine. But just like the painting that inspired it, this gorgeous novel is about so much more. Heartbreaking and life-affirming. Cheryl Perrino of Nonesuch Books, South Portland, ME
It is my favorite of the year! Karen Bakshoain of Letterpress Books, Portland, M
Beautiful art writing with an elegant ending – I feel like I visited with these characters myself, had tea with them, suffered their physical hardships and dreamed their dreams. Rita Maggio at BookTowne, Manasquan, NJ
It is the unfolding of a masterpiece in hands of a beautiful writer.
Andrew Wyeth's painting Christina's World, the subject of A Piece of the World, was initially met with little fanfare, and its critical reception was lackluster. Nevertheless, the painting, which features Christina Olson reaching toward her home in the distance, was purchased during its first showing at a New York Gallery in 1948 by Alfred Barr, the founding director of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Today it is one of MoMA's most admired exhibits and has become a well-known representation of American art. The painting has been loaned out only once since its purchase when it was shown for two days in 2009 at Chadds Ford, PA, Wyeth's hometown, in memoriam of the artist.
The Olson House, which is featured in many of Wyeth's paintings, ...
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