Synopses & Reviews
With her richly textured novels Susan Vreeland has offered pioneering portraits of the artist’s life. Now, in a collection of profound wisdom and beauty, she explores the transcendent power of art through the eyes of ordinary people. Life Studies begins with historic tales that, rather than focusing directly on the great Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masters themselves, render those on the periphery—their lovers, servants, and children—as their personal experiences play out against those of Manet, Monet, van Gogh, and others. Vreeland then gives us contemporary stories in which her characters—a teacher, a construction worker, and an orphan for example—encounter art in meaningful, often surprising ways. A fascinating exploration of the lasting strength of art in everyday life, Life Studies is a dazzling addition to Vreeland’s outstanding body of work.
Review
"Like miniature paintings, her finished pieces are small and lovely, each speaking volumes about the importance of artistic expression." Library Journal
Review
"Stimulating and enriching." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"To call these allegories would be to suggest that they are symbolic somehow and perhaps plainly stated. They are not; the texture is that of a prose poem, and the intention, a restatement of religious beliefs. But the feeling one comes away with is one of enhancement, which is a sense of having endured terror and magic." he Chicago Tribune
Synopsis
With her richly textured novels Susan Vreeland has offered pioneering portraits of theartist's life. Now, in a collection of profound wisdom and beauty, she explores the transcendent power of art through the eyes of ordinary people. Life Studies begins with historic tales that, rather than focusing directly on the great Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masters themselves, render those on the periphery their lovers, servants, and children as their personal experiences play out against those of Manet, Monet, van Gogh, and others. Vreeland then gives us contemporary stories in which her characters a teacher, a construction worker, and an orphan for example encounter art in meaningful, often surprising ways. A fascinating exploration of the lasting strength of art in everyday life, Life Studies is a dazzling addition to Vreeland's outstanding body of work.
About the Author
Susan Vreeland's short fiction has appeared in such journals as the Missouri Review, New England Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, and Ploughshares.