Donna Russo

Vincent’s Women by Donna Russo—an early reader’s review:
I cannot remember the last 1000-page book I finished and wanted to start rereading it immediately!
Researched for three years and relying upon letters to and by the Van Gogh family, this book takes on a weight that reduces most accounts to news reporting. All the people emerge as real, flesh and bone human beings—bloodied, flawed and controlled by social norms. Clearly, Vincent had true demons, but to understand his interactions show more with others and their influence over him made him a genuinely tragic protagonist in his own story. Ask anyone about Van Gogh and you will probably hear the accepted versions of his never being recognized as a successful painter during his lifetime, of his cutting off his own ear and of his committing suicide, and while this book makes no claims otherwise, it also brings to light facts that might make those assumptions less than iron-clad. It also hints at the reasons why Vincent may have chosen not to implement others in wrongs committed against him: his early exposure to preaching, his unsuccessful attempts to reach his own parishioners, letters where he expressed feelings like those experienced by Jesus at Gethsemane all point to a Christ-like acceptance of carrying the sins of others. There are many ragged, angry people in his story—his mother couldn’t love him, several young women who were willing to try were commanded not to, the staff that worked with him simply could not do enough and Theo, who did all he could, sacrificed his own family to keep Vincent afloat. The narrator, one of Vincent’s women herself, was haunted by his downfall and felt great guilt for the part she played in his tragedy; she made me feel great sympathy for both Vincent and several of the other people in his story.
For anyone even remotely interested in Vincent Van Gogh, this is a very good read! show less

I have had some time thinking about the book before I wrote this review and I think although it's a good book, would I have preferred to have read the previous book first. Now, I don't mean that it was hard to get into the story in this book, it's more like the mentioning of events from the first book made me curious about that book, to get the past stories behind all the characters. And, reading the first book would have made it easier to understand the characters, instead of learning show more during the books progress more about them.

Nevertheless, despite my lack of previous knowledge did I enjoy this book. I find the era fascinating and one thing I truly loved was reading a book about Leonardo da Vinci. Yes, it's a story about da Vinci's disciples, but I can't help being fascinated by the man and I loved that his POV was included in the book. I was also intrigued by Lorenzo de Medici. I really need to find more books about both men to read.

Anyway, besides that was it the women's struggles to be accepted as artists the thing that I found absolute fascinated to read about. It's OK for a woman to draw at home, but to be an artist? Nah, that's just for men. Made my blood boil I tell ya when I read some parts of the books when they were found out and had to take the public's scorn.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy from NetGalley for an honest review! show less

Gilded Dreams is the second book featuring two friends, Pearl and Ginevra and their two different worlds. They have been through so much together – I did not have the honor of reading Gilded Summers but Ms. Russo Morin does an excellent job of weaving in the salient details so that this book stands alone quite well. As I always note though, books in a series are always richer for reading all the books.

This book takes place during the last 8 years of the fight for women’s suffrage but it show more begins with the sinking of the Titanic. The impact of that tragedy on the residents of Newport, RI, was truly devastating as many of the well to do had their “cottages” there. The scenes surrounding that event are horrifying and heartrending. The ramifications for Pearl as she loses her family help to showcase some of the reasons that women were fighting so hard for their rights, culminating in the right to vote so as to be able to install legislators to promote their causes. (No comment on how far we have come and how far we still have to go.)

Both women are very compelling as characters each representing a very different demographic in the fight for women’s rights. Pearl is a child of privilege and Ginevra is an immigrant who has worked hard, gotten an education and overcome some trauma to find herself happily married and best friends with Pearl. The hows and whys of that friendship are detailed in Gilded Summers.

As Ginevra supports Pearl through her loss the two join a suffragette group and work to recruit others to the cause. This effort is supported by their husbands but not always by the other people in their social circles. As the fight for the right to vote for women reaches a boiling point these two friends are right in the midst of the battle. People against their efforts resort to deeply personal attacks against them but I’m not giving any spoilers by telling you that women are given the right to vote. The celebration of the ratification of the 19th amendment is approaching; the 90th anniversary is 8/18/20.

It’s thanks to the real women who inspired the fictional characters and the actual suffragettes featured that women are no longer just their father’s daughter or their husband’s wife. A woman can own property in her own right and she can vote. The fight was a hard one and reading out the efforts to stop it is both discouraging and horrifying. These women were beaten, jailed and treated like less than just for seeking to better themselves. Ms. Russo Morin brings the period to vivid life with two very rich characters to tell her tale. It’s a page turner of a book and a story that should be read and needs to be told for so many are unaware the battle. Not to mention there is still a long way to go. show less

This book comes at a time, even more so than the first book Portrait of a Conspiracy, when the triumph of the female spirit needs to be heard. Women have made so much progress in the world (in my country, the U.S.), but recently, we have begun to feel subjugated once more. The very real progress women have made seems to be reverting back, or stagnating. It is stories such as this that can work to inspire women that the fight for equality is well worth it.

I always enjoy Russo Morin's books. show more She really knows how to tell a story while bringing vividly to life the real historical figures and events surrounding her characters. These women, these Da Vinci's Disciples, are the lifeblood of the story. Each woman is unique and even when brought together as a whole with the group, their individuality shines. I like to think that there really were women such as this. In fact, I'm quite sure there probably were. Perhaps they did not take on a large commission as depicted in the book, nor bid for commissions during that time period, but I like to think there was a hidden studio with women secretly working, defying society's strictures on women and what they were allowed to do.

Having Leonardo Da Vinci as an important supporting character works very well with these stories. Of what I've read on Da Vinci, I believe that he had very progressive attitudes. For him to be mentoring a group of women artists does not seem impossible to me. I love that the author used real quotes from him throughout the book. This one is my favorite and really captures the spirit of the book:

"I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death."

However, a quote from Viviana, the central and most endearing character, in my opinion, is what spoke to me the most. It is a personal motto of mine. "We all deserve to be loved, but our first love should always be for ourselves. Without self-love and self-respect, we show others how they may treat us."

And that is the crux of this story. These women believed in themselves, believed in their talent, enough to defy society's views of what women can and cannot do. It's an inspiring work of historical fiction that should not be missed.

I received this book free of charge from the author or publisher. show less