This is one of my favorite books! Vreeland is an excellent writer. I bought more to share with my friends and to sell in my gift shop. I have a print copy of Luncheon of the Boating party hangin in my restaurant.

This is a pretty good book if you can get past the very slow start and the slow pace throughout. It is a historical novel about the creation of one of the world's most popular, lovely paintings as seen through the artist and the people represented in the painting. If you like Impressionism and a sense of history, you'll probably like this book. If you would like an idea of how a great piece of art comes to be, the thought-process, the techniques, this also is your book. If, however, you like fast-paced, dramatic action instead of a lot of drilling-down, this is surely not your book.

I was impressed by the atmospheric detail with which Susan Vreeland painted the people, place and time. Impressionism, representing a fleeting moment of time, was revolutionary and making its mark against the staid, traditional Salon paintings. The book, in fact, was written in an Impressionistic style, more about environment and mood than hard facts. It was interesting hearing the controversies surrounding the artists and their different camps. I also liked the author being able to create conversations and even thoughts in the principals. It's a great way to present a story - at least in my opinion. I enjoy Jeff Shaara's recounts of US history for the same reasons.

In a nutshell, if you like sauntering through a museum like I do, you might like to read this book. If so, and you have the chance, you also might like to go to the Phillips in DC to see this amazingly lovely painting; reproductions don't do it justice!

This is a pretty good book if you can get past the very slow start and the slow pace throughout. It is a historical novel about the creation of one of the world's most popular, lovely paintings as seen through the artist and the people represented in the painting. If you like Impressionism and a sense of history, you'll probably like this book. If you would like an idea of how a great piece of art comes to be, the thought-process, the techniques, this also is your book If you like fast-paced, dramatic action instead of a lot of drilling-down, this is surely not your book.

I was impressed by the atmospheric detail with which Susan Vreeland painted the people, place and time. Impressionism, representing a fleeting moment of time, was revolutionary and making its mark against the staid, traditional Salon paintings. The book, in fact, was written in an Impressionistic style, more about environment and mood than hard facts. It was interesting hearing the controversies surrounding the artists and their different camps. I also liked the author being able to create conversations and even thoughts in the principals. It's a great way to present a story - at least in my opinion. I enjoy Jeff Shaara's recounts of US history for the same reasons.

In a nutshell, if you like sauntering through a museum like I do, you might like to read this book. If so, and you have the chance, you also might like to go to the Phillips in DC to see this amazingly lovely painting; reproductions don't do it justice!

This is a pretty good book if you can get past the very slow start and the slow pace throughout. It is a historical novel about the creation of one of the world's most popular, lovely paintings as seen through the artist and the people represented in the painting. If you like Impressionism and a sense of history, you'll probably like this book. If you would like an idea of how a great piece of art comes to be, the thought-process, the techniques, this also is your book If you like fast-paced, dramatic action instead of a lot of drilling-down, this is surely not your book.

I was impressed by the atmospheric detail with which Susan Vreeland painted the people, place and time. Impressionism, representing a fleeting moment of time, was revolutionary and making its mark against the staid, traditional Salon paintings. The book, in fact, was written in an Impressionistic style. It was interesting hearing the controversies surrounding the artists and their different camps. I also liked the author being able to create conversations and even thoughts in the principals. It's a great way to present a story - at least in my opinion. I enjoy Jeff Shaara's recounts of US history for the same reasons.

In a nutshell, if you like sauntering through a museum like I do, you might like to read this book. If so, and you have the chance, you also might like to go to the Phillips in DC to see this amazingly lovely painting; reproductions don't do it justice!

I thought the book was hard to get into. I know some French and still felt confused sometimes by all the French locations thrown around continuously. The characters seemed to ramble in their thoughts too much, especially early on. I hate to put a book down so I skimmed a lot and trudged through. It picked up midway. I enjoyed learning about the impressionist painting "movement" and found a new appreciation for that style of art. I really liked her Girl With a Pearl Earring, so I was disappointed by this book. If you are totally bored, pick it up.