A Piece of the World

Posted on 06 June 2018 by Christina Baker Kline

From the 1 New York Times bestselling author of the smash bestseller Orphan Train, a stunning and atmospheric novel of friendship, passion, and art, inspired by Andrew Wyeth s mysterious and iconic painting Christina s World Later he told me that he d been afraid to show me the painting He thought I wouldn t like the way he portrayed me dragging myself across the field, fingers clutching dirt, my legs twisted behind The arid moonscape of wheatgrass and timothy That dilapidated house in the distance, looming up like a secret that won t stay hidden To Christina Olson, the entire world was her family s remote farm in the small coastal town of Cushing, Maine Born in the home her family had lived in for generations, and increasingly incapacitated by illness, Christina seemed destined for a small life Instead, for than twenty years, she was host and inspiration for the artist Andrew Wyeth, and became the subject of one of the best known American paintings of the twentieth century.As she did in her beloved smash bestseller Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline interweaves fact and fiction in a powerful novel that illuminates a little known part of America s history Bringing into focus the flesh and blood woman behind the portrait, she vividly imagines the life of a woman with a complicated relationship to her family and her past, and a special bond with one of our greatest modern artists.Told in evocative and lucid prose, A Piece of the World is a story about the burdens and blessings of family history, and how artist and muse can come together to forge a new and timeless legacy. Download A Piece of the World Author Christina Baker Kline – kino-fada.fr Andrew Wyeth, his painting Christina s World would immortalize this young woman and her life In fact many of his paintings would feature this farm, where he would visit and paint in the summers for twenty years, a farm that Christina s family had owned and lived in for generations Cushing, Maine, how the family came here and whom there ancestors were is an interesting back story in itself.Although Wyeth makes an appearance here and there, for the most part this is the story of Christina, her f Andrew Wyeth, his painting Christina s World would immortalize this young woman and her life In fact many of his paintings would feature this farm, where he would visit and paint in the summers for twenty years, a farm that Christina s family had owned and lived in for generations Cushing, Maine, how the family came here and whom there ancestors were is an interesting back story in itself.Although Wyeth makes an appearance here and there, for the most part this is the story of Christina, her family and her life After almost dying as a child of an undiagnosed illness, her legs would never be right, twisted, making her stumble as she walked As she aged the effects of this illness, maybe undiagnosed polio, would get much worse leaving her with a shrinking world Wonderfully written we are immersed in the life of this farm, the changing seasons, the never ending chores and into the heart of a young woman At times Christina is hard to like, having had a slim chance of...At times I thought of Helen Keller.wishing Christina Olson of this story had half the opportunities Helen Keller did I was aching at times for Christina This was a gut wrenching sad story I shed tears a couple of times and found myself thankful for a relief of the smallest gesture of expression of sibling love The touch of a hand between Christina and her brother, Al, was one of the most beautiful moments in this novel to me There were a couple other golden box beautiful scen At times I thought of Helen Keller.wishing Christina Olson of this story had half the opportunities Helen Keller did I was aching at times for Christina This was a gut wrenching sad story I shed tears a couple of times and found myself thankful for a relief of the smallest gesture of expression of sibling love The touch of a hand between Christina and her brother, Al, was one of the most beautiful moments in this novel to me There were a couple other golden box beautiful scenes that helped balance the grie...I had read several good reviews for this book by people whose opinions I trust so I expected that I would like it too I was surprised by how much I liked it and how very readable it was I found it very hard to put down.I was not familiar with Andrew Wyeth or his famous painting entitled Christina s World but it made for an excellent story Poor stubborn Christina with her deformed limbs and constant pain was nevertheless a wonderful character As the book progressed I bega...Andrew Wyeth spent his summers in Cushing, Maine with his family It is here where he first met Christina Olson who later becomes the inspiration for his painting Christina s World Christina lived a tough life along with her brother Al on the neighboring farm Their dilapidated home lacked modern day conveniences and had fallen into disrepair Andrew encounters the Olsons through their neighbor Betsy and he decides to express their lives via a painting As Andrew puts paint to canvas, the det Andrew Wyeth spent his summers in Cushing, Maine with his family It is here where he first met Christina Olson who later ...I wanted to show.both the desire and the hesitation You know it well It s the famous painting by Andrew Wyeth in which a young girl s image is set within the Maine landscape of house, of barn, and of an ocean of endless grass Wyeth seems to reveal nothing as he casts her likeness from behind Yet, her thinly posed arms are stretched outward in familiar motion This is, indeed, Christina s World.Generation after generation of the Hathorne clan have lived and farmed on this plot of land I wanted to show.both the desire and the hesitation You know it well It s the famous painting by Andrew Wyeth in which a young girl s image is set within the Maine landscape of house, of barn, and of an ocean of endless grass Wyeth seems to reveal nothing as he casts her likeness from behind Yet, her thinly posed arms are stretched outward in familiar motion This is, indeed, Christina s World....What she wants most what she truly yearns for is what any of us want to be seen Christina Olson lived her life mostly as a shut in, born with a degenerative disease that will take the use of her legs in childhood The famous painter Andrew Wyeth befriends her, and will use her home and land to paint some of his most famous works, including the painting that now resides in the Museum of Modern Art, Christina s World A story told through Christina s eyes as she bravely deals with the har What she wants most what she truly yearns for is what any of us want to be seen Christina...Over the years, certain stories in the history of a family take hold They re passed from generation to generation, gaining substance and meaning along the way You have to learn to sift through them, separating fact from conjecture, the likely from the implausible Here is what I know Sometimes the least believable stories are the true ones Their home at Hathorn Point in Cushing Maine was on land claimed by three men, two brothers, Samuel and William Hathorn, and William s son Alexander TheOver the years, certain stories in the history of a family take hold They re passed from generation to generation, gaining substance and meaning along the way You have to learn to sift through them, separating fact from conjecture, the likely from the implausible Here is what I know Sometimes the least believable stories are the true ones Their home at Hathorn Point in Cushing Maine was on land claimed by three men, two brothers, Samuel and William Hathorn, and William s son Alexander They packed their belongings and fled Salem, Massachusetts for Maine in the middle of winter At Hathorn Point, they built a tent made of animal skins to see them through the winter months Log cabins followed, and eventually a house A house and land that would be handed down from Christina s grandmother Mamey, to her mother, and then to their children A place that would, indeed, become Christina s world.Betsy James is 9 years old the first time she appears at Christina s, and fr...4.5 stars I loved The Orphan Train and, happily, I enjoyed this just as much Christina s World is a work of art that has been madespecial to me after learning the story behind it I don t know that I particularly liked Christina, but at the same time I felt a deep connection to her We can all be tied to anchores and while some are able to pull themselves free, others let it pull them under I think in the end Christina found her world and, I hope through it all a bit of contentment M 4.5 stars I loved The Orphan Train and, happily, I enjoyed this just as much Christina s World is a work of art that has been madespecial to me after learning the story behind it I don t know that I particularly liked Christina, but at the same time I felt a deep connection to her We can all be tied to anchores and while some are able to pull themselves free, others let it pull them under I think in the end Christina found her world and, I hope through it all a bit of contentment My recommendati...4.5 starsI love the painting, Christina s World It s one of the few pieces of art I feel a strong connection to and I was thrilled to find out the author wrote this historical fiction book on the real life Christina who inspired the painting Art is so subjective as each person takes away something different but in my opinion this book really captured the essence of who I imagined the girl in the painting to be and also reading about her makes me look at it in other ways as well Really a fanta 4.5 starsI love the painting, Christina s World It s one of the few pieces of art I feel a strong connection to and I was thrilled to find out the author wrote this historical fiction book on the real life Christina who inspired the painting Art is so subjective as each person takes away something different but in my opinion this book really captured the essence of who I imagined the girl in the painting to be and also reading about her makes me look at it in other ways as well Really a fantastic read Generations of Christina Olson s family have lived on a farm in Maine With a mysterious illness that makes getting arounddifficult, it seems likely Christina will never be able to escape this quiet, small town life Artist Andrew Wyeth meets Christina and is taken by her so much so she serves as inspiration for the iconic American painting, Christina s World.This historical fiction book is a good mix of fact and fiction While historians know some things about Christina, she much like the gir...3.5 starsUnlike most people, I was not a huge fan of Orphan Train So, I wasn t sure how I d like Kline s latest book And the beginning was so slow and dry I thought, well, here we go again But stick with it and you will be rewarded The main character is Christina, the subject of Andrew Wyeth s Christina s World It seemed to take forever before I felt invested in Christina Not until her relationship with Walton did she come across as three dimensional The meat of this book is all in the se 3.5 starsUnlike most people, I was not a huge fan of Orphan Train So, I wasn t sure how I d like Kline s latest book And the beginning was so slow and ...

English
06 June 2018

Christina Baker Kline