false 52 453 211 true 5651982 read 1 true 2847959 currently-reading 243 true 2847958 to-read 132 false 2849109 fiction 60 false 2849101 memoirs 46 false 2849533 non-fiction 42 false 2849126 kid-lit 39 false 2849113 sports 36 false 2849168 classics 33 false 4731994 mystery-thriller 26 false 2849110 historical-fiction 16 false 2849574 humor 10 false 2849207 fantasy-sci-fi 8 false 2849522 adventure 1 false 5407562 collections http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78424546 Miles to Go (Paperback) by Laurel-Rain Snow
bookshelves: fiction, to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78424006 The Madness of a Seduced Woman (Plume) by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer
bookshelves: historical-fiction, to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78265105 The Graveyard Book (Hardcover) by Neil Gaiman
bookshelves: currently-reading, kid-lit
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41176619 to: The Man Who Made Vermeers: Unvarnishing the Legend of Master Forger Han van Meegeren (Hardcover) by Jonathan Lopez
bookshelves: non-fiction
OK. So - I knew nothing about Vermeer's art going into this. Other than I had heard of his painting - The Girl With The Pearl Earring. And I only knew about that because of the movie I had caught in passing on TV one day. And even then, I didn't remember that Vermeer was the one to paint it until I began reading this book. Why then would I read this book?

No - not for a homework assignment or a sudden budding interest in art history research. I read it because the author is a member of a Book Group here on GR that I belong to and his book was one of many selected to be read during the year. Thought I'd give it a go. It sounded intriguing after all - not a biography about a master Dutch painter, but the re-telling of the legend of a master Forger of the master painter, who collaborated with Nazis and lived (for a while) to tell about it.

I liked the writing, and the photos of all the paintings. I liked the beginning and the end - when the forger is captured and exposed. I liked the history lesson of WW2's impact on the art world - some of which I was actually familiar with. And I was left curious to seek out more information about the art world in general.

I didn't like the middle - where the forger came into his own leading up to the war. It seemed dry in sections and much needed to be assumed or supposed due to lack of complete evidence. However, a lessor writer would have used that as an excuse to get fictional with a factual book - so I do appreciate that restraint. I presume most of why the middle didn't hold my interest as well was that I was unfamiliar with all of the players involved - and there were many - and I had no list to refer to with their names as they kept popping up throughout. So I kept missing the irony about their involvement, or the wicked connections brewing.

If you are a fan of Vermeer, or the art world, or would like some insight into the seedy underbelly of Nazi collaborators you will probably enjoy this read very much. It isn't too long and flows well. I wish that there had been some more personalization of the facts - a parallel with the individual responsible for arresting, and then befriending, the forger for example. It would have held my empty art brain's interest longer.

The author did well to educate me on this bit of history that got twisted and embellished over the years, much like the forger's work itself. And to accomplish that is deserving of a round of applause. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77003191 Writing at the Kitchen Table: The Authorized Biography of Elizabeth David (Hardcover) by Artemis Cooper
bookshelves: non-fiction, to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76978740 Man of Constant Sorrow: My Life and Times (Hardcover) by Ralph Stanley
bookshelves: memoirs, to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76123119 The Housekeeper and the Professor: A Novel (Paperback) by Yoko Ogawa
bookshelves: fiction, to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75968696 Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera (Hardcover) by Ron Schick
bookshelves: non-fiction, to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75718918 Dom Casmurro (Clássicos Da Literatura Brasileira) by Machado de Assis
bookshelves: classics, to-read
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