Synopses & Reviews
Summer, 1890. Van Gogh arrives at Auvers-sur-Oise, a bucolic French village that lures city artists to the country. It is here that twenty-year-old Maurguerite Gachet has grown up, attending to her father and brother ever since her mother's death. And it is here that Vincent Van Gogh will spend his last summer, under the care of Doctor Gachet - homeopathic doctor, dilettante painter, and collector. In these last days of his life, Van Gogh will create over 70 paintings, two of them portraits of Marguerite Gachet. But little does he know that, while capturing Marguerite and her garden on canvas, he will also capture her heart.
Both a love story and historical novel, The Last Van Gogh recreates the final months of Vincent's life - and the tragic relationship between a young girl brimming with hope and an artist teetering on despair.
Review
“Ms. Richman is a very special talent.”— Kristin Hannah,
New York Times bestselling author
“Recalls Arthur Goldens Memoirs of a Geisha . . . [Richmans] sense of Japanese culture is subtle and nuanced.”—San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle
“A long, succulent glide through two cultures.”—Bookforum
“This reverent, formal, and ambitious first novel boasts a glossy surface and convincing period detail.”—Publishers Weekly
“Richman has successfully drawn upon her historical research and her own experience . . . filled with historical detail and strong characterization.”—Library Journal
“A meticulous profile of a man struggling against his native culture, his family, and his own sense of responsibility.”—The New York Times Book Review
Review
and#8220;Ms. Richman is a very special talent.and#8221;and#8212; Kristin Hannah,
New York Times bestselling author
and#8220;Recalls Arthur Goldenand#8217;s Memoirs of a Geisha . . . [Richmanand#8217;s] sense of Japanese culture is subtle and nuanced.and#8221;and#8212;San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle
and#8220;A long, succulent glide through two cultures.and#8221;and#8212;Bookforum
and#8220;This reverent, formal, and ambitious first novel boasts a glossy surface and convincing period detail.and#8221;and#8212;Publishers Weekly
and#8220;Richman has successfully drawn upon her historical research and her own experience . . . filled with historical detail and strong characterization.and#8221;and#8212;Library Journal
and#160;
and#8220;A meticulous profile of a man struggling against his native culture, his family, and his own sense of responsibility.and#8221;and#8212;The New York Times Book Review
and#160;
Synopsis
1890. Yamamoto Kiyoki is a Japanese art student, dreaming of studying in Paris with the inspiring and vibrant Impressionist painters.
Yamamoto Ryusei is Kiyokis father. Ryuseis art, carving intricate masks for traditional Japanese theater, has been his refuge from loneliness since the death of his beloved wife, and he is revered as the most inspired artist of his kind. He expects his only son to honor the traditions of his family and his country, not to be seduced by Western ideas of what is beautiful. Ryusei hopes Kiyoki will follow his own distinguished career, creating masks that will become the familys crowning achievement.
But what is a father to do when his sons path is not what he had planned? And how can a son honor his father, and yet fulfill his own destiny?
READERS GUIDE INSIDE
About the Author
Alyson Richman is the author of The Mask Carvers Son, The Rhythm of Memory, The Last Van Gogh, and The Lost Wife. She lives in Long Island with her husband and two children.