Why read novels when you can read a book like The Widow Van Gogh by Joan Martelli? It has everything from a weird love triangle to situations that are so cliche they would be laughed out of a pitch meeting. These all revolve around the tragic life of art icon Vincent van Gogh and the woman who saved (created?) his legacy, Jo van Gogh-Bonger. For those uninitiated, Jo was not his wife but his sister-in-law. Yeah, who knew?
Vincent van Gogh was not well liked in his time. I don’t just mean his art. People genuinely did not like him. Those who could see past the abrasiveness liked him quite well as long as they didn’t have to live with him. The president of that very small fan club was his brother Theo who was married to the aforementioned Jo. The interplay between the three characters feels like reading a novel, but somehow this was all real. (Note: Martelli does mention in the introduction that she some license to fill in gaps, but everything was either directly taken or informed by the numerous letters and diaries of each character. Fiction in my non-fiction is usually a pet peeve, but the sourcing is so excellent that I didn’t mind.)
Here’s the thing, there were so many ways this book could have gone wrong. Too many details in one place or a story that hangs around too long could easily have left me skimming for the end of the chapter. This is the case of an excellent writer having complete control over her subject. Martelli never wastes a word, never attempts to over-explain, and consistently knows when to linger on something and when to move on. This is a fast-moving book which somehow tells the story of three different people and how the lone survivor ensured one of art’s greatest talents didn’t fade into nothing. There is so much media nowadays which tells you why someone is important. Martelli shows you.
(This book was provided as a review copy by Pegasus Books.)
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.