Christina Baker Kline

In A Piece of the World, Kline imagines the life of the subject of one of Andrew Wyeth's paintings, Christina's World. My heart broke for proud Christina, crippled at a young age by polio, whose determination not to give into the pains of her failing body leaves her unwilling to accept help or pity but also desperately limited by the path she has chosen. This isn't a cheery book. It's hard to look at a character whose lot in life is often frustration, humiliation, and heartbreak as the able show more bodied people in her life come and go while she is consigned to a life of difficulty, a life that misses out on so much a "normal" life would offer. Kline's talent in making me care so much for this proud, sometimes selfish, sometimes downright ornery character imprisoned by a world both of her own and her disability's making, is what makes this book shine.

A few times during the reading, I found myself worrying over the ending. How can this end without doing a disservice to the character and the rest of the story? How can it end without being too trite or just too depressing? I need not have worried. The ending strikes the most pitch perfect of notes between bitter and sweet, revealing a life that is so much more than the sum of its parts and inspiring that much more love for both the painter and his subject. show less

Women do not have an easy life in Kline's new novel. Unless they're rich. But this novel has very little sympathy for the rich. Instead, the focus is on the marginalized. Evangeline is a naïve governess, who finds herself pregnant and accused of stealing a ring (she didn't). After a stint in Newgate, Evangeline is sentenced to 14 years labor in Australia. On the months-long voyage, she meets Hazel, a fellow prisoner, and the two become unlikely allies. Kline does not soften her descriptions show more of the conditions they faced. One can almost smell it.

Methinna, an Aboriginal girl who is adopted by the governor's wife to be essentially a talking pet, rounds out our group. At 11, she's old enough to be somewhat independent, which is good, since no-one exactly takes care of her. But she learns French and learns how to dance, and is generally considered a marvel of civilization, until, suddenly she isn't. Unfortunately, she learns the hard way that you can't go home again, although in her case, it's as much to do with the depredations of the British on the Aboriginal way of life than with anything she does.

Evangeline and Hazel are well-realized characters, although in some ways they are mere stand-ins for the idea that women had no power in that era. But they fill that role more than adequately, not being shy with their desire to be treated with common decency. Methinna's inclusion in the novel is more curious, as her story barely intersects the other, and her impact on their lives isn't as dramatic as it could be, or vice versa. It almost seems as though Kline felt she couldn't write a story taking place in Australia at the time without including an Aboriginal voice, a sentiment which I applaud, but I don't think she does that voice much justice here. For a fully-told plight of women prisoners sent to the colony, I recommend this book. For the same of the Aboriginals, one might want to look elsewhere.

A note on the audio: Narrator Christine Lee does a competent job with her narration, with one major flaw. Two of the characters are described as being quite young, and their youth is such a character trait that it is mentioned repeatedly throughout the narrative. Unfortunately, Lee's doesn't modulate her voice to reflect that youth, and I constantly had to remind myself that they were both young girls. show less

ORPHAN TRAIN is an excellent, moving, beautifully written book. I've heard stories about the "orphan trains" for years, and now I've read a damn good novel about them. Christina Baker Kline did plenty of research, but the strength of the book lies in its characters. Molly and Vivian - orphans from separate eras - are a couple that will rattle around in your head for quite a while after you finish this story, all historically accurate, based on the trains that ferried orphans from the east show more coast to be placed in Midwest towns and on farms for nearly seventy years, from the mid-19th century into the 1920s. With insufficient or lack of official oversight, these children were often mistreated and used as unpaid servants, or as slave labor on farms or in industry, a national disgrace. But sometimes they also found loving homes and meaningful lives. It was a human crap shoot, actually. Kline's story is a compelling and complex page-turner, and she enriches it even more, with her allusions to a few classic literary works about orphans: JANE EYRE, ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, THE WIZARD OF OZ, and OLIVER TWIST.

This is a very good book - well-informed storytelling at its best. I devoured it in just a few sittings. Very highly recommended.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER show less

This was so good, I could have read 500 pages more.

Each character leapt off the page, and I felt by the end of the book that I knew Christina, Al, Andy, Gertrude and the rest of the characters personally, like my next door neighbors who I can just pop round to see whenever I'd like. Each was flawed, but each somehow struck sympathy within me, and made me feel for them.

Christina, though. I grew to love her almost instantly. So strong, hard-headed, selfless, proud, yet full of self-doubt and show more fear. She was human, and I so enjoyed going through all her struggles and successes with her. She was so real, I feel as if I know her personally. As if I could visit her in her house, in her world, if I just take the time to visit Maine.

I want to see this painting now, to see Christina's World, and to just stare at it for a while. To take it in, and relive the book, relive Christina's life in the way that Christina Baker Kline so masterfully portrayed it and portrayed Christina.

I didn't know a single thing about this painting, Andrew Wyeth or Christina, before reading this. Now I can't wait to learn more. show less