Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Very Picture of You

by Isabel Wolff (Goodreads Author)

3.65 of 5 stars 3.65 · rating details · 1,016 ratings · 194 reviews

Where the eye sees the brushstroke, the heart sees the truth.

From Isabel Wolff, the internationally bestselling author of A Vintage Affair, comes a beguiling novel about artistic inspirations, family secrets, and the courage to turn one’s life into a masterpiece.

At thirty-five, Gabriella Graham—“Ella” to her family and friends—has already made a name for herself as a suc...more

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published October 4th 2011 by Bantam (first published January 1st 2011)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Great Books for Book Clubs

141st out of 270 books — 35 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 2,143)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Nov 16, 2011 Nikki Wilde rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

liked this story. I finished in one day. The only disappointing thing for me is that sometimes you read a story and it stays with you for days and you keep thinking about it and going back over it and for me, this story was not like that. Don't get me wrong, it was good but just not one that I'm recapping in my head.

I loved the side stories that went with each character. Particularly, Iris. I loved her story and I couldn't wait to hear the entire thing. This novel was easy to predict. There was...more

3 likes · like · see review

Sep 23, 2011 Wonderbunny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ella paints portraits of other people. She spends hours staring at someone’s face, trying to capture not just their looks but a bit of what makes them who they are. She never paints herself though because if she did, the abandonment by her father might show up as part of whom she is. See, Ella has never really gotten over that and when the estranged father contacts her, she can’t see any choice but to refuse to see him.

When she is commissioned to paint her sister’s fiancé and two other people,...more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 18, 2013 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, portrait-painting, isabel-wolff, the-very-picture-of-you

Ella Graham is a portrait painter who has begun to gain lots of recognition for her touching portraits. Her sister, Chloe, is about to get married to Nate and for a wedding present she has asked Ella to paint his portrait which she intends to give him as a gift on the eve of their wedding. Ella is unhappy about this as she doesn’t much like nor trust Nate, even though she has only met him once. However, as she spends more time with him during their sittings, her initial opinions begin to change...more Ella Graham is a portrait painter who has begun to gain lots of recognition for her touching portraits. Her sister, Chloe, is about to get married to Nate and for a wedding present she has asked Ella to paint his portrait which she intends to give him as a gift on the eve of their wedding. Ella is unhappy about this as she doesn’t much like nor trust Nate, even though she has only met him once. However, as she spends more time with him during their sittings, her initial opinions begin to change significantly.

Ella also has other clients she is getting to know more about, too: there is a beautiful French woman whose husband wants her to have a portrait painted as a fortieth birthday present, although she is reluctant; a lonely, elderly widow and a popular politician with a secret. There are many secrets floating around in Ella’s life, not least of all those her mother kept from her about her father so as Chloe’s wedding draws closer and preparations become more frantic, Ella is surprised to receive an email from her father, John, who she hasn’t seen or heard from for more than thirty years.

The Very Picture of You is a lovely story and an easy read. I almost inhaled it in during two big sittings it was so enjoyable. There are many things I love about Isabel Wolff’s writing and this book did not disappoint. She always draws such a full landscape of characters; this and all of the previous Isobel Wolff books I have read are not in the least bit confusing even though they are filled with more than one storyline; and she always provides great insight into the topic she is writing about, in this case, the life of a portrait painter. I particularly loved learning about the lives of the sitters through the eyes of Ella as she got to know them better. I had not realised how intimate a relationship a portrait painter can have with their clients.

If you enjoy an interesting story with a little romance thrown in then this is the book for you.
The Very Picture of You (less)

like · see review

Mar 09, 2013 Ricki Treleaven rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sorry I am getting this post up so late. It has been an extremely busy day! This week I read The Very Picture of You by Isabel Wolff. This is an excellent beach/lake read, and the main character is a portrait artist, so I enjoyed it immensely. I did like it better than A Vintage Affair because I was not crazy about the ending.

Gabriella Graham (Ella for short) is an up and coming portrait artist in London. She recently painted the Dutchess of Cornwall for the National Gallery, and she is being fe...more

like · see review

Feb 19, 2013 Vonia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The thing I love and/or hate about Wolff is that her novels are always lauded as "Summer Beach Reads"... well, I disagree... for the most part. I think they are much more in depth, & insightful than the "picture" (ha) that phrase elicits. In this one, I was impressed by the amount of research that had to be done to understand the world of a portrait artist. To be completely honest, I went to The National Portrait Gallery only a week before reading this, & I really wish I had waited... be...more

like · see review

Jan 06, 2013 Joanna Jiang rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: quick-reads

Isabel Wolff does a good job of providing artistic descriptions and keeping a relaxed pace when tying together this collection of life stories, most of which are sad but endearing. The focus characters (Celine, Mike, and Iris) are real people with real dilemmas/secrets/memories, but it is the supporting cast that is less believable.

Ella's narration reminds me of a little old lady, humming absentmindedly to herself as she peruses a tourist shop. She's cute and definitely an introvert, but her voi...more

like · see review

Oct 20, 2012 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Even though you can predict the ending from the middle of the story, it's still a gripping read, still a page turner. Ella is a portrait painter, and quite a lot of the book is taken up with learning the lives of the people she paints. These stories are examples of the human condition, in all it's happy and situations, and an enjoyable part of the book.

There are probably two other main parts to the story. Ella has been brought up by her mother and stepfather, and circumstances lead her to wonde...more

like · see review

Sep 17, 2012 Silvia Liotta rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Una voce maschile, una mano caldo e il suono delle parole "Ancora più in
alto papà" sono gli unici ricordi che Ella ha di suo padre. E' per questo
motivo che sin dall'età di cinque anni Ella ritrae le persone, in maniera
quasi ossessiva alla ricerca di un ritratto fedele che le ricordi il suo
papà. Gli anni passano ed Ella diventa una ritrattista famosa ma il passato
sta per bussare nuovamente alla sua porta e alcuni ritratti prenderanno in
mano il destino della loro autrice. Isabel Wolff autrice famo...more

like · see review

Jul 06, 2012 Bethany rated it 2 of 5 stars

I had a difficult time getting into this book because the main conflict is the protagonist learning about her father whom she had always thought abandoned her. Since I don't identify with that -my parents have been happily married for 24 years-, I could not picture myself in her shoes. Additionally, I love reading to learn about other professions (from a sociological aspect), but The Very Picture of You did not go into as much detail about being a portraitist as I would have liked (unlike, for e...more

like · see review

Jan 12, 2012 Christine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads

Ella Graham is 35-years old, single and leading a happy life as a portrait painter living in London. She enjoys what she does and because of her talent her career is taking off. As her younger half-sister Chloe announces her engagement and commissions Ella to paint a portrait of her fiancée, a man Ella does not like, Ella’s story starts to unfold. Going along on portrait sittings for various characters the reader learns a little about portraiture art and a lot about Ella. As her artistic fame gr...more

like · see review

Dec 04, 2011 Charlotte rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nook, advanced-readers-copy

http://charlotteswebofbooks.blogspot....

The Very Picture of You is a story about Ella, an artist specializing in portraits. She has several interesting clients, including the beautiful wife of a wealthy man, an elderly lady nearing the end of her life, and a politician busy with elections. But she agrees to paint the portrait of her sister's new fiance, Nate. A man that Ella strongly disapproves of because of a phone conversation she overheard on the night they first met. But painting a portrait...more

like · see review

Nov 03, 2011 Mark Soone rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: advance-reading-copy, give-away

I am flirting with the idea of 5 stars, but cannot decide! I won this book on goodreads (Thanks Ania), and had never heard of Isabel Wolff and did not really know what to excpect. The inside flap of the book was slightly different than the write up on good reads and my excpectations going into this declined and were not real high. Combine that with the fact that this is not my normal genre...and I still don't know exactly what genre lable to place upon this book.

This story is heart breaking and...more I am flirting with the idea of 5 stars, but cannot decide! I won this book on goodreads (Thanks Ania), and had never heard of Isabel Wolff and did not really know what to excpect. The inside flap of the book was slightly different than the write up on good reads and my excpectations going into this declined and were not real high. Combine that with the fact that this is not my normal genre...and I still don't know exactly what genre lable to place upon this book.

This story is heart breaking and heart warming all at the same time. The book gripped me right from the get go, with the devestating memories of Ella's childhood. The Very Picture Of You is heavy on dialouge, details and character development rather than action, although I don't mean that in a negative way. Ella was a riviting main character, and drew me into to her story right out of the gates. The heartbreaking childhood memories, the development of her craft, the deepness of her thoughts and relationships, unrequited love (maybe) and her inner turmoil made her very real. I am not sure if it was intentional but I didn't feel like her male characters had quite enough depth to them. With most of the other characters we got to understand their hurts, their faults as well as their honor, love and values etc. Roy and Nick just did not get developed with enough depth to allow me to connect with them as deeply as I would have liked to (They were both very likeable). The only character that I really did not like was Ella's mom...I struggled back and forth with her, She is imature and self centered, she cares for her family, she is decietful, she is weak, hurt and confused...by the end of the book I was about to swing in the favor of liking her, on the basis of the hurts that she has incured through her life...but the epilouge shifted me back the other way. I would also liked to have seen a little more closure with Ella's dad, although in fairness the end of the book kind of hints at that as well.

This was a great read, and don't tell any of my guy friends....but I might check out some other Wolff books. I know nothing about art (although I do appreciate it), and I really have no skill for it other than I can draw with bubble letters and make a pretty mean paper airplane if that counts. This book made me wish that I could pose for a portrait, or better still paint one. The intamacy projected through those encounters in this book resonated with a truth that I had never grasped before....Again this book is well worth checking out!(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 25, 2011 Kim Nash rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was the story of Ella, a portrait artist whose reputation is growing through painting some very high profile people as well as some sitters that she thought would be normal but that told some extremely interesting, emotional and heart warming stories. When her mother cajoles her into giving away a portrait for a charity auction prize, she is devastated when her sister Chloe pays for her to her paint her fiancé Nate who she really dislikes due to a conversation she has overheard him having w...more This was the story of Ella, a portrait artist whose reputation is growing through painting some very high profile people as well as some sitters that she thought would be normal but that told some extremely interesting, emotional and heart warming stories. When her mother cajoles her into giving away a portrait for a charity auction prize, she is devastated when her sister Chloe pays for her to her paint her fiancé Nate who she really dislikes due to a conversation she has overheard him having whilst on the way to her sister’s party. Being the professional that she is, and out of duty to her sister she agrees, and after a deep and meaningful conversation with Nate, they declare a truce so that the sittings can go ahead. As the portrait develops, she sees a side to Nate that comes as a complete surprise. All this at a time when her sister and Nate’s wedding looms nearer and nearer!

Ella has always wondered about her real father, even though she loves her step-father more than anything, and when he contacts her after seeing an article in the newspaper, she is thrown into complete turmoil as to whether she should contact him or whether he should stay firmly in the past where she believed he chose to be!

As I may have mentioned earlier, I love her work, and when Isabel described Ella as a child looking out of the window waiting for her absent father to come home, it just tugged massively at my heart strings. The contrast of emotions that Ella felt about her sister’s fiancée were so well detailed, that you felt every single one of them. The pages seemed to turn themselves in this wonderfully gentle story of love, family and regret. When an author such as Isabel (have I mentioned that I love her work lately?) continually turns out such a fantastic quality of writing, time after time, it shows what a very clever lady she is.

This is a lovely, gentle, heart warming, delightful story and I thoroughly enjoyed reading every page of it. Keep on writing please Isabel, I can’t wait to read your next one!
(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 24, 2011 Jeffrey rated it 4 of 5 stars

If you want a good story, well crafted by a professional, to read by the fire or the pool...not both I hope...this is it.

It isn't the sort of book I would normally read and I am not sure if it fits the 'Chick Lit'...sooner that phrase goes the bettter...genre, but the story did carry me along with ease and is clearly written by an author who thinks of her readers and wants to please them. And has editors who understand that...for a change.

The story weaves around a painter and how her 'sitters' i...more

like · see review

Jan 27, 2013 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: bristol-book-club

This is actually a 3.5.

Isabel Wolff was surprisingly delightful in this love story-melodrama. I found it to mimic soap operas but with a touch more class.

Ella Graham is a portraitist who strives to find the enigmas in a person's soul and put it on canvas. She's had much success with this with her sitters but still suffers from mystery in her own life. Her father abandoned her when she was young and her mother cannot seem to find it in her to divulge information about him to help Ella find closur...more

like · see review

Sep 28, 2012 Valentina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

C’è chi riesce a catturare un carattere, un’emozione, un modo di essere intingendo il pennello in un colore specifico per poi tracciarlo sulla tela, che più di una fotografia riesce ad immortalare non solo un attimo specifico, ma tutti gli istanti che compongono la vita umana. Per questo è più interessante dipingere le persone anziane: perché nei loro occhi e in ogni singola ruga si può leggere il loro vissuto. È quello che sostiene Ella, la protagonista di questo libro, una ritrattista di mesti...more C’è chi riesce a catturare un carattere, un’emozione, un modo di essere intingendo il pennello in un colore specifico per poi tracciarlo sulla tela, che più di una fotografia riesce ad immortalare non solo un attimo specifico, ma tutti gli istanti che compongono la vita umana. Per questo è più interessante dipingere le persone anziane: perché nei loro occhi e in ogni singola ruga si può leggere il loro vissuto. È quello che sostiene Ella, la protagonista di questo libro, una ritrattista di mestiere che ha cominciato col disegnare suo padre per non dimenticarlo. Perché suo padre non è venuto a mancare, ma un brutto giorno ha abbandonato lei e sua madre, per scappare con l’amante. E così sua madre ha dovuto crescerla e rifarsi una vita, con Roy, dal quale ha avuto un’altra figlia, Clohe, in procinto di sposarsi con Nate, al quale Ella deve fare un ritratto. Il problema è che Ella non vede di buon occhio il ragazzo e teme che la cosa trasparirà dal ritratto.
Narrazione interessante, ma a tratti lenta, “La pittrice di anime” è un romanzo molto discorsivo, forse anche troppo, ma un bel libro, se non altro perché ci trasporta in un mondo particolare come quello della pittura. Di certo la vicenda è più arzigogolata rispetto a come ve l’ho riassunta, ma avrei rischiato di dirvi un po’ troppo. Il bello sta nell’incontro con i tanti “modelli” che posano per i quadri e delinearne stati d’animo e pensieri attraverso gli occhi della protagonista, per cui il titolo corrisponde appieno a quello che realmente lei è, caricata di un’empatia che però è anche una maledizione, perché la spinge anche a soffrire insieme ai suoi soggetti.
Sicuramente il messaggio fondamentale del libro è che la verità ha un numero di facce pari alle persone che la conoscono, e che non bisogna dare per scontata una versione se questa presenta delle lacune, perché dietro ai silenzi non c’è solo dolore, ma anche qualcosa di non detto.
Vi sono alcuni eventi che il lettore è portato ad interpretare: in questo l’autrice è così brava da sviare l’intuito facendo credere che la prima impressione sia quella giusta, dando vita ad una serie di equivoci che hanno lo scopo di dimostrare che ci lasciamo trasportare facilmente dalle apparenze o passivamente accettiamo ciò che gli altri ci dicono senza verificare la fonte.
Il romanzo è ben tradotto e consta di soli undici capitoli, cosa un po’ insolita vista la tendenza di giungere ad almeno cinquanta capitoli. Nel complesso si tratta di una materia non sempre trattata dagli scrittori, e per questo meriterebbe anche quattro stelline, ma avrei apprezzato che certe situazioni venissero affrontate con maggiore sinteticità, anche perché essendo il tutto narrato in prima persona, spesso alcuni pensieri sembrano essere ridondanti e rallentano la lettura.
Io lo consiglierei a chi ama la pittura, ma soprattutto a chi non ama i libri sdolcinati, perché nonostante si presentino dei momenti molto romantici, il tutto non cade mai nel ridicolo e nel già visto.
Trovate la recensione anche su
http://dustypagesinwonderland.blogspo...(less)

like · see review

Oct 08, 2011 Abria Mattina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc

This could have been a very formulaic book--the heroine falls in love with a man who's off limits; her best friend is quirky but supportive; old family secrets, etc. While some aspects of the book did seem a bit staid, Wolff manages to infuse the plot with originality through her attention to the main character, Ella, her mother, and her best friend Polly.

Ella has an interesting and successful career as a portrait painter, and I enjoyed learning about the world of an artist who deals specificall...more This could have been a very formulaic book--the heroine falls in love with a man who's off limits; her best friend is quirky but supportive; old family secrets, etc. While some aspects of the book did seem a bit staid, Wolff manages to infuse the plot with originality through her attention to the main character, Ella, her mother, and her best friend Polly.

Ella has an interesting and successful career as a portrait painter, and I enjoyed learning about the world of an artist who deals specifically in composing people's faces. Ella is a well rounded character--one of few in the book--and I had no trouble rooting for her.

Ella's best friend Polly, a quirky hand and foot model, also sheds light on an interesting career path. She's always supportive of Ella and lends the novel a dose of levity where required.

Ella's mother, I thought, was one of the most interesting characters in the book. A seasoned liar and manipulator, she has managed to conceal the true nature of her relationship with Ella's father for over thirty years. I found her psychologically intriguing, even though she's the kind of person you'd never want to meet in real life. Her husband, Roy, was a very sympathetic character, but he and his daughter Chloe never felt fully fleshed out to me.

I found the middle portion of the novel quite moving and sad, reading through Ella's fractured recollections of her life with her father. She laments the relationship they never had, and it made me feel grateful to have all the wonderful people that are part of my life.

The Very Picture of You was a consistently interesting read, but it did have its weak points. All of the mysteries and lies were fairly easy to riddle out before the characters did. The climax of the book was portrayed through a very staged scene in which all the characters, together in one room, emotionally reveal each other's secrets when the pressure of the charade becomes too much. While it tied off all loose ends, it didn't feel realistic. The epilogue seemed similarly 'tidy,' especially compared to the emotional roller-coaster in the middle of the book.

The Very Picture of You is a good rainy-day read. It's interesting and fairly satisfying, but it didn't touch me on a deep emotional or intellectual level. I don't think I'd reread it, but I would recommend it to a friend.(less)

like · see review

Sep 17, 2011 Laurel-Rain rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As I read this wonderfully colorful story, I couldn't help thinking of the saying: "A picture is worth a thousand words." We learn Ella's story, as well as those of her family, friends, and the people she paints...as she paints them. In each sitting, Ella, the portrait artist, elicits the stories of her subjects. And as she gradually portrays them, we learn bits and pieces of her story as she interacts with them and reflects on her life.

At thirty-five, Ella Graham has a big hole in her heart...a...more

3 likes · like · see review

Sep 20, 2011 Tonya rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reads

Isabel is a fantastic storyweaver. What I picked up thinking it would be a good book turned out to be a page turner. Complete with characters so well developed they feel real and utterly fascinating. Ella is an artist that paints people. She has a rule though, only in real life. She doesn't do any paintings from pictures or post humous -- However Ella will find out a lot about herself and others around her very quickly.

Ella's mother told her when she was 11 that her father abandoned them for ano...more

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 12, 2011 Leah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-review, books-read-2011, favorites

I love Isabel Wolff, she is one of my favourite Chick Lit authors and there’s only two of her novels I haven’t read. The rest are all wonderful reads, with her last novel A Vintage Affair being a particular favourite. I was extremely pleased to see Isabel was back in 2011 with a new novel called The Very Picture of You and I couldn’t wait to read it and I nearly died when I received a copy to review. I did wonder if the novel would be as good as A Vintage Affair, because, seriously, that book wa...more I love Isabel Wolff, she is one of my favourite Chick Lit authors and there’s only two of her novels I haven’t read. The rest are all wonderful reads, with her last novel A Vintage Affair being a particular favourite. I was extremely pleased to see Isabel was back in 2011 with a new novel called The Very Picture of You and I couldn’t wait to read it and I nearly died when I received a copy to review. I did wonder if the novel would be as good as A Vintage Affair, because, seriously, that book was something so, so special, but I’m pleased to say that The Very Picture of You was amazing. Even better than A Vintage Affair, something I didn’t think I’d say!

The Very Picture of You is a novel with many layers. On the surface, it’s the tale of Ella Graham, who spends most of her time getting to know other people’s lives via the medium of portrait painting. But Ella’s life isn’t as easy as she thought it was, as her father left when she was only a small girl, so when he gets back in touch, she isn’t necessarily sure it’s something she wants to do – after all, he upped and left her and her mother… Didn’t he? I absolutely adored The Very Picture of You. It’s easily one of my favourite books this year. I liked all the book’s layers, the way there were lots of little stories being told via Ella’s job, the way Ella’s family life wasn’t perfect and she learned a lot about her life as the novel progressed. I was really very fascinated with the book and I could barely put it down.

Another facet of The Very Picture of You is the friendship that develops between Ella and Nate, who is Ella’s sister Chloe’s fiance. Ella hasn’t always liked Nate, after overhearing some unsavoury things when they first met, but when Chloe wins a free portrait it’s Nate she chooses to have painted, so Ella finds herself spending more and more time with Nate, and realises he’s perhaps not as terrible as she first thought he was. I also really loved the stories we learned from Ella’s other ‘sitters’. There’s an MP, Mike Johns, who has a secret confession to, er, confess; Celine, a beautiful French lady approaching the big four-0; and then there’s Iris, who has a painting in her bedroom with a wonderful back-story. I found all of those stories fascinating and they didn’t take away from the main story at all, they were a very worthy part of the novel and it’s like all the different stories were integral to Ella’s life, even if they hadn’t directly affected her in any way.

I absolutely loved Ella. She carries the story beautifully. She’s an excellent main character and I was drawn in from page one. She’s the kind of character you can relate to and I thought her job was so fascinating. She was such a wonderful and warm person, and I was entranced by her story, entranced by her life and her work as a portrait painter. Like I’ve mentioned, I found all of Ella’s sitters to be so fascinating, too. They weren’t particularly big characters in the novel, but their lives and how nice they were did rather stay with me. Ella’s family were a big part of the novel, her mum, her step-dad Roy, her sister, Chloe, and I found them to be such a nice family. They have their ups and downs, some pretty big ups and downs, but the warmth they exuded and the way Roy treated Ella as her own made me feel warm and happy inside. I also really liked Nate, I didn’t expect to – after all, Ella has some reservations about him, but once it was all cleared up, I did really rather like him. Ella’s best friend, Polly, provided a nice rock to Ella and I loved that she was a hand and foot model. I didn’t even know there was such a thing; I didn’t know there were actors/actresses who had hand/feet doubles, it’s creepy.

The Very Picture of You was an amazing story. Isabel Wolff is a natural-born storyteller and I was sad to reach the end of the book because it was just stunning. The pages just flew by so effortlessly, and there was nothing I didn’t like about the book. There were a few niggles with editing (Polly’s daughter, Lara, becomes Lola for the second half of the novel and there are a LOT of words italicised, much more than I’ve ever seen in one novel and not all of them were necessary) but they were easy to bypass. This is an amazing novel, Isabel Wolff just seems to ‘know’ how to write a novel I’ll love. She continually brings out novels I absolutely adore and I’m just so sad I’ve already finished it. I want to read it again. I want to read more of Ella and co. I sincerely hope Isabel is working on a new book – I cannot wait another two years for another Isabel Wolff novel, she should be bringing a book out every year. I thoroughly recommend The Very Picture of You, it is utterly, utterly amazing.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 23, 2013 Phyllis Laatsch rated it 3 of 5 stars

It was OK, but the narrator/protagonist (1st person, which isn't my favorite) came across as hopelessly dimwitted for not figuring out the surprise plot-twist about how her father left her. The mom really was quite convincing, though. Of course, the author really leads us to it, since almost everyone in the book is in an adulterous affair of affected by one in some way. It's not as tawdry as that last sentence makes it sound, but other than the MP mourning the death of his girlfriend, which migh...more

like · see review

Nov 13, 2011 Dawn rated it 3 of 5 stars

The story has depth and color in its characters. I kind of feel there's a "Paul Harvey" feel to it after I've finished, "And now you know ... the rest of the story."

Ella, who paints portraits, and her family make up part of the story, and Ella's "sitters" (those whose portraits she paints) and their families and loved ones make up the other part of the story.

That Paul Harvey-feel is what I like most about the book, as a matter of fact. I really liked the twists and turns in the story - not much...more

like · see review

Nov 17, 2011 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed The Very Picture of You, although not quite as much as A Vintage Affair. This one follows Ella Graham who is a portrait painter. She is commissioned by her sister to paint Nate, her sister's new fiance who Ella hates. But, during the course of her portrait of Nate Ella's feelings start to change - into something more than what they should be. She's also working on a few other portraits at the same time and we get those characters' back stories as well. Also, during all this Ella...more

like · see review

Oct 25, 2011 Aileen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

35 year old Ella Graham is single she is a Portrait painter (her dream
career since childhood) she has a younger sister Chloe. Chloe has a new
boyfriend Nate (he’s from New York) Ella thinks he’s vile.
Ella’s sitters all have different lives and personalities, she enjoys
learning about them.
Chloe and Nate get engaged, Chloe’s mother is full steam ahead with the
wedding preperations, and Ella is asked to a portrait of Nate she is
not keen but does it; however she learns she has got Nate all wrong,...more

like · see review

Nov 27, 2011 Jen Kirsch rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Never are we aware of what impression we give off; the story our eyes alone can tell. This book is written in a very basic way, but really touches upon 'what lies beneath.' We are taken through Ella - a portrait artists - various sittings with her clients. When we meet the clients, her sitters, we can make a first impression, but as life works - when given much one-on-one time with another, we connect. These connections, whether forced or not, lead to more details and go deeper into a person tha...more

like · see review

Nov 21, 2011 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was not expecting much out of this book. I read a blurb online about it, and it was going to be a romance.

It was a slow couple of chapters at the beginning. I liked the idea of the main character being a portrait painter, but did she have to speak as if she was reading aloud from Wikipedia? Nobody talks like that, in huge paragraphs of informational text.

It got better as I went along. The mysteries of the story were pretty clear from the start, but I was surprised to find that I liked the rom...more

like · see review

Dec 13, 2011 Meredith rated it 3 of 5 stars

Very readable, lovely story. Sometimes there was too much exposition in the dialogue, making dialogue seem stilted and unnatural. However, that was only a slight hitch - the story unfolded at a pleasing pace, happy ending. The details of her practice in portraiture were fun to read.
A main theme is relationships starting (and ending) as a result of cheating (though it isn't necessarily called that - but most if not all of the relationships described began when at least one of the partners was st...more

like · see review

Nov 07, 2011 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars

Found this book to be very insightful. The relationships throughout the book were developed with ease and creative finesse. I enjoyed the depth and perception of the artist in relation to her portrait subjects. It was a great character study experienced by an artist (Ella). The passion an artist has in reference to his/her work was definitely exhibited through all the character during their sittings with Ella. The sittings cover people of all ages in different facets of life. It explores relatio...more

like · see review

Oct 03, 2012 Barbara Elsborg rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm a fan of Isabel Wolff but I have to say I like her earlier stories better than the later ones. This was a good read but lacked the humor I like so much. Not that the story line lent itself to humor, it didn't, and maybe that was the problem. It was all very serious. Having said that, it was a good character study of several different types.
Ella is a portrait painter who's asked to paint a portrait of her sister's fiance. Think we can all guess what might happen now! There are lots of twists...more

like · see review

Oct 29, 2011 Sandie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-books, brit-lit, feel-good-reads, 20th-century-women, romance

I had read Isabel Wolff's A VINTAGE AFFAIR and was quite taken by it, hence my excitement when THE VERY PICTURE OF YOU was offered. I must say that I was disappointed in the story. It was so predictable, and in a few instances downright vapid, that it failed to hold my interest.

While I will admit there was more than enough information about the preparation of canvas for a portrait and the myriad of colors artists use to achieve a look in the eyes, a particular skin tone, etc. those particular d...more

2 likes · like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 71 72 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (10)

More editions...

Genres

Womens Fiction > Chick Lit

21 users

Romance

13 users

Contemporary

6 users

Womens Fiction

4 users

European Literature > British Literature

3 users

Novels

2 users

Book Club

2 users

Art

2 users

Drama

2 users

Romance > Contemporary Romance

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Isabel Wolff

Isabel Wolff was a journalist and BBC broadcaster before becoming a full time writer. Her nine novels to date have all been bestsellers and are published worldwide. 'The Very Picture of You' was published in the UK and the US in October 2011. 'A Vintage Affair', was an Amazon.co.uk 'Best of 2009' title, has been translated into 23 languages, and was the Barnes & Noble Recommends: Main Selectio...more

More about Isabel Wolff...

Books by Isabel Wolff

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Very Picture ...

24 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

title link	preview: The Very Picture of You
avg rating	preview: The Very Picture of You Goodreads rating: 3.65 (1016 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10397812-the-very-picture-of-you?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320563068l/10397812.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10397812-the-very-picture-of-you?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Very Picture of You by Isabel Wolff[/url]

The Very Picture of You

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website