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A man shows his co-worker a painting and claims it's a Vermeer. The co-worker doesn't believe him and asks how it came into his possession. The man does not want to say, however the reader then is transported back in time over the course of 300 years to see who has owned the painting and what that painting has meant to each individual. The book is well-written with lush descriptions. It feels more like a book of short stories than a novel. It made me want to visit an art museum to see a genuine
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From the Reading Group Discussion Guide: "Each chapter is a meditation on the joys and sorrows that bind the human heart into its inexorably mysterious relationship with art." I would have never come up with that articulation, but in reflecting upon the book, its so true. I really liked some of the chapters, my favorite being "Morningshine" when the painting and baby are discovered in an abandoned boat during a flood. And there's some infinitely sad chapters too, especially the last couple of ch
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Mar 16, 2012
Kelli
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Nov 14, 2015
Anna
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Oct 29, 2023
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Aug 19, 2025
Ren Risi
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