The breath-taking new novel from the bestselling author of ORPHAN TRAIN.
No one can unearth little known moments in history like Christina Baker Kline and illuminate them so perfectly.
This is a piece of Christina Olson's world. The breath-taking coming-of-age story of a young woman born and bred on a farm on the rocky shore of Maine. A woman who would go on to inspire Andrew Wyeth's most haunting and unforgettable painting, Christina's World.
From the age of three the hard existence of farm life on Hathorn Point asks more of Christina than it does any member of her family. Her body doesn't develop like her brothers' and sisters' and instead, she must master daily tasks with wasting limbs that challenge her at every turn. Yet this bullishly tenacious girl will turn her hand to anything. So it is, until one summer, when she is seen, truly, by a young man summering on the coast. Balking at the unexpected, Christina must now entertain the idea that she could have a life beyond her chores. And more than that be desired and loved.
A PIECE OF THE WORLD is a luminous and tender portrait of a woman of grit and beauty, a tale infused with salty air and kindred spirits, as heart-warming as it is gripping. A story that allows the reader to marvel at Andrew Wyeth's iconic portrait from the other side, face and heart and all.
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[LATER HE TOLD ME HE'D BEEN AFRAID TO SHOW ME THE PAINTING]***
(@HarperCollinsUK, 21 February 2017, 328 pages, ebook, borrowed from @GlasgowLib via @OverDriveLibs)
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So, I knew nothing of Andrew Wyeth or his famous painting before I read this book. Consider me better informed. This is a well-written, well-research, lush novel. I really enjoyed it. An image of the painting is included at the end. To be honest, the painting is okay and I don't see what all the fuss is about. I wouldn't have given it a second glance if I didn't know the story behind it. I got absorbed in this book and fell in love with Christina. She redefines the word feisty, born with a degenerative muscle wasting disease that leaves her unable to walk, she refuses to use a wheelchair or be defined by her illness. The book is set in Maine, I've read a lot of fiction set here and it's a place I'd love to visit so it was like hanging out with a dear friend. This is first book I've read by the author and I will check out more of her work.
