Jonathan Santlofer

Luke is obsessed with the history of the Mona Lisa, mostly because it intertwines with his own family history. His great-grandfather was arrested for stealing the painting, and Luke has been compiling facts about the case for years. He gets a communication from someone in Italy who says that his great-grandfather’s journal has surfaced, and was left to a library there with other papers. Luke wastes no time in flying to Italy to read the journal, and maybe, at long last, to discover an show more important secret about the painting. The story vacillates from past to present many times. At times, the author, in trying to build suspense, plays “the pronoun game,” and readers won’t know who some of the new characters are for many chapters. Still, it quite an exciting book, combining known history with what may have happened. The author does a good job of developing his characters, both past and present ones, and placing them in an intricate plot. This suspenseful novel will keep you turning pages until the very end. Luke does meet a woman, (after all, he is in Italy!), an American who is reading in the same research library as he is, but the author does not turn this into a romance, for which I am grateful, although he leaves his readers with a hint of love in the air. show less

When I picked this up I thought it would possibly be a bit trashy but entertaining. I was wrong. It was totally trashy and not entertaining.

The brand name dropping was reminiscent of someone trying to pretend they got what Bret Easton Ellis was doing with that in American Psycho. For a book that was clearly pushing the 'smoking is evil and gives you cancer' angle, maybe the author shouldn't have mentioned Marlboro like he was getting a blowjob for each mention.

I finally pitched this waste show more of paper into the recycling bin when I got to the part where the female main character muses on how she feeds her husband's secretary chocolate truffles to make sure she stays 'plus-sized', and hopes that said secretary stays in her role until after retirement age. Because of course if the secretary is fat and/or old, the husband won't fuck her. I can deal with thrillers being trashy and derivative but piling on the misogynistic body shaming was just too much.

I am rating this one star because unfortunately the rating system doesn't go into negative numbers. Beauty school dropout, go back to art college. show less

Jonathan Santlofer's wife, Joy, had a procedure done on her knee in 2013 that was, theoretically, "no big deal," and was expected to lead to a full recovery. Shortly after her outpatient surgery, however, Joy was resting at home and complained of feeling ill. Suddenly, she could not catch her breath and her husband called for help. The paramedics who responded to the 911 call and, later, the ER personnel who came to Joy's aid, could not save her. "The Widower's Notebook" is Santlofer's show more attempt to come to terms with the loss of his good-hearted, intelligent, and supportive wife of more than forty years. Jonathan was in shock, and believes that he got through the months following Joy's death thanks to his terrific daughter, Dorie; the help of cherished family and friends; and his work as an artist, teacher, and writer. Joy was a talented food historian who was still writing her magnum opus on the food history of New York City. Jonathan decided that he wanted Joy's book to be published posthumously, but a great deal of editing still remained to be done

In "The Widower's Notebook," Santlofer (who is now seventy-two) relates his meltdown in stark terms. He could not sleep without the aid of pills, experienced PTSD and survivor's guilt, and had unsettling dreams. Jonathan impulsively removed Joy's photos from their picture frames, but kept her clothing and cosmetics exactly where they were. Much to his regret, Jonathan's legal documents were not in perfect order, so he could not move Joy's estate through probate smoothly and, although the medical examiner conducted an autopsy, her husband would not see the results until years later.

Women tend to write memoirs of about widowhood, Santlofer says, because they are programmed by society to talk about their deepest feelings. Many men, and Jonathan is a prime example, try to tamp down their emotions when faced with a catastrophic event, and it would take a very long time for him to speak to his daughter openly about what they both experienced. This is a painful, candid, heartrending, and moving first person account that conveys some important lessons. Among them: Take nothing for granted; behave as compassionately as possible towards others; do not hold unnecessary grudges; forgive yourself for not being perfect; and there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to mourning. Santlofer pays tribute to Joy with beautiful and evocative prose, lovely black and white drawings, and poignant, as well as humorous, memories of their life together. After finishing this book, we feel as if we know Joy and Jonathan, and can well understand why the author still wears his wedding ring and misses his beloved wife so much. show less

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel! A dramatic tale inspired by the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa, this novel kept me on the edge of my seat. I don't tend to like historical fiction OR thrillers; neither have I ever been much of an art connoisseur, yet I found myself getting more and more drawn into this tale. The characters are sympathetic and always interesting, and the compelling tale unfolds beautifully and naturally. Many stories nowadays take place in two time frames, and this book is no show more exception, but I think it works better in this story than it does in many others because the two timelines support each other so well. I am also impressed by the level of detail put into this book; the author has clearly done his research, and it shows. There is a despicable villain, but the more brutal elements happen away from the story's action. There is a romance, but it has more of a secondary role in the story and doesn't draw focus. There is drama and sacrifice and hope. Wonderful! show less