false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175029522m/470321.jpg 79834 29 LUST FOR LIFE is a fictionalized biography of the Dutch painter, Vincent Van Gogh and is based primarily on Van Gogh's three volumes of letters to his brother, Theo. Van Gogh was a violent, clumsy and passionate man who was driven to the extremity of exhaustion by his fervor to get life -- the essence of it -- into paint. Irving Stone treats the artist with great compassion and gives us a portrait that is sympathetic but fair. 1222321 1934 Lust for Life total:1615|5:558|4:628|3:365|2:58|1:6| 1615 6519 2188 148 4 1 false false Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Wed Aug 22 13:37:36 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 22 13:38:19 -0700 2007
Yet, I was surprised at just how into this b...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 1973 Wed Jul 08 05:51:05 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 08 13:43:18 -0700 2009
Aptly titled “Lust for Life,” the book covers the short painting career of Dutch post-impressionist Vincent van Gogh, who became an artist after failed stints as a...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 1988 Fri Sep 18 15:07:09 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 02:09:57 -0700 2009 2
I first read this book years ago in art school, trying to get my hands on every material i could on my favorite painters, Van Gogh prominent on that list. Then I re read it a few yea...more...]]> 3 1 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Thu Jan 24 10:23:39 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 24 10:23:39 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Feb 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 11:31:30 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 04 15:38:26 -0800 2009 At one point, Vincent is about to die of starvation and sickness in his hut, and then, ta-da, his brother Theo walks in, and I had those sobs coming up from deep within, like a bubble of pain exploding.

2/4/09: finished. Just awesome. Irving Stone did his...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Nov 11 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Oct 11 23:52:17 -0700 2009 Fri Nov 13 00:33:10 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 17 10:32:42 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 25 13:24:58 -0800 2009
I don't know if learned something, only to love yourself and find value in everything you do regardless of what pe...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Sep 12 10:48:50 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 12 10:55:43 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Nov 08 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Oct 13 11:16:33 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 08 21:25:01 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 01 12:20:33 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 01 12:21:31 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed May 27 13:53:59 -0700 2009 Wed May 27 20:23:28 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1970 Wed Aug 19 13:30:36 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 13:32:52 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Aug 17 07:44:06 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 07:55:43 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1996 Mon Feb 02 19:02:30 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 19:05:24 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jan 19 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 19 08:35:02 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 19 08:53:46 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 1979 Sat Aug 29 02:48:15 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 29 02:48:15 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Nov 02 13:03:47 -0700 2007 Sat Dec 15 18:47:02 -0800 2007
The only reason it didn't get 5 stars from me is that some of the book is a little too self-consciously literary, which turns me off. Over the top symbolism and obvious foreshadowing. I mean, van Gogh's life was amazing, hi...more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Mar 17 20:27:10 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 17 20:28:52 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 03 12:00:13 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 03 12:13:23 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Thu Jul 02 20:51:23 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 02 20:52:27 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=470321