I liked Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline a lot. I absolutely loved A Piece of the World, her newest novel. This novel rang all my bells.
Kline imagines the life of the woman in Andrew Wyeth's painting, Christina's World, which depicts a woman sitting on a prairie with a house and barn in the distance.
I had no trouble believing Kline's story and becoming involved in Christina's life.
Kline deftly changes the time period in this novel at several points. Readers meet Christina as a child who has been crippled by an illness. We witness her fall in love when she is a young woman, daring to believe for a bit that despite her disability she could have a life like other people. We see her care for her parents and grow old on the farm she has always called home.
Sometimes I liked Christina, or felt sorry for her, or was disgusted with her bitterness. Kline made her feel real.
I enjoyed Andrew's visits with Christina and how he was able to tell her story.
This is a work of fiction that brings the woman in Wyeth's painting to life. Kline has knocked it out of the ballpark with this novel, which should quickly become a book club favorite.
Thanks to TLC Books for providing a copy of A Piece of the World for my review. All opinions expressed are, as always, my own.
2 comments:
This book was pitched to my book club for our yearly selection meeting and quickly shot down. I read Orphan Train but wasn't wowed by it. I guess the others had similar feelings to shoot it down so quickly.
I love the idea of an author being so inspired by a work of art that she writes an entire story about it. That to me is what art should do - truly inspire.
Thanks for being a part of the tour!
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