Questions About Lust for Life

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Answered Questions (3)

How do you feel about the addition of the fictional character 'Maya', the devoted stalker that had been in love with Vincent for over 8 years? Was this simply a filler chapter or a metaphor for Van Gogh's dive into insanity?

Cricket Muse Noted in the passage, Vincent finds himself alone after his time with Maya, but finds he is pleased with his completed painting, which steers this sce…moreNoted in the passage, Vincent finds himself alone after his time with Maya, but finds he is pleased with his completed painting, which steers this scene towards the metaphor of how painting had become his ultimate lover. (less)

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Some of the hardships of the miners are beyond the pale for me. Was Europe experiencing such destitution in the late 19th century, families living in shacks, working sun-up to sun-down, unwilling or unable to move out of their dire situations? (I'm not an avid reader as perhaps most of us are, so will ask for grace in my naivete.) Stone really lays it on thick, so I'm unsure what to make of it. Thanks in advance.

Richard An interesting question. I believe it's a realistic portrayal. I've seen similar descriptions of 19th Century Welsh coalmining communities (child labo…moreAn interesting question. I believe it's a realistic portrayal. I've seen similar descriptions of 19th Century Welsh coalmining communities (child labour, hand-to-mouth existence, dangerous conditions etc.), so it seems likely that it was the same elsewhere in Europe. Vincent Van Gogh's letters were the key primary source for Stone and they make pretty grim reading on this subject, but Stone also travelled extensively around sites in Europe so would have seen the Borinage region for himself.

In the Paris section of Lust for Life, Emile Zola talks about his novel Germinal, set in a similar part of the world, and says that he'd spent five weeks there researching the miners' conditions, so there's another source (looks a bit heavy for me). And if you go to archive.org there's a film called Misère Au Borinage, made in 1934, 50 years after Van Gogh was there (and the same year that Lust for Life was published).(less)

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Has anyone enjoyed this book? I am currently reading it and wondered how close to actual events and his life this is, as it's listed as fictional.

Christine Stone's main source for Lust for Life, as noted in the afterword, were Van Gogh's letters to his brother Theo. …moreStone's main source for Lust for Life, as noted in the afterword, were Van Gogh's letters to his brother Theo. (less)

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Unanswered Questions (1)

"Medicine! What a _____ _____ you are." pg 258 You can't bleep a book! What was he hiding?

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