Torontoc's 2024 Reading and maybe some films

Hello
My name is Cyrel and I am a retired visual art teacher living in Toronto, Canada. Since retiring I have done some interesting travels. ( Vietnam, Morocco, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Paris) I do a lot of volunteer work and belong to a pottery studio co-op. I work on sculptural and decorative forms in clay. I saw a lot of films at festivals before the pandemic and have just slowly got back to real cinema theatres instead of seeing everything on my computer. I like reading contemporary fiction, mysteries ( well, some), history and historical fiction.

Happy New Year, Cyrel, and welcome back to Club Read 2024! I look forward to following along with your reading and your film reviews again this year. Cheers!

Happy New Year, Cyrel.

Hi Cyril, May I ask what form your volunteer work takes? I am always looking for ideas.

>4 rocketjk: I am on the executive committee for the Ontario provincial visual art association. We organize conferences, one day enrichment programmes for teachers called " a Day of Art" . The programmes have been done online during the pandemic and in person now. We give out awards to teachers ( nominated by teachers). Our local art store chain donates some great bags full of art supplies for the winners.
I am active with two historical groups- I give walking tours of downtown Toronto ( as a volunteer) with both groups. I have toured university students, high school students and many other groups( one group of friends decided that instead of giving gifts they would get together for events such as walking tours.) One interesting event that I have been part of is " Jane's Walks" honouring Jane Jacobs. The first weekend of May is designated as the time for "Jane's Walks" The tours take place in many areas of Toronto( and I believe in other cities as well). The tours are free and all guides donate their time.

>5 torontoc: Thanks for taking the time to offer that explanation. That all sounds fun and interesting.

>6 rocketjk: The tours are a lot of fun to give!

1. Away From The Dead by David Bergen. I always look forward to the newest work by David Bergen. This novel concentrates on the lives of a Mennonite brother and sister and a secular Jewish man in World War One Ukraine. There is fighting with many groups involved- Germans, Bolsheviks, Anarchists, and White Army. There are terrible things done to innocent villagers and every group makes a mark on the lives of Lehn-the bookseller, Inna-the peasant wronged by a wealthy family and her brother Sablin who manages to survive the worst of the injustices. The writing is clear and gives the reader a sense of the upheavals that took place in the Ukraine during and after the war. This novel is on the longest of the Giller Prize and I am surprised that it was not chosen for the shortlist. I highly recommend this excellent work.

>7 torontoc: timely. And sounds terrific.

>7 torontoc: I hadn't heard of Away from the Dead. Sounds like one I would like, and, as Dan says, timely.

>8 dchaikin:, >9 labfs39: yes, highly recommended!

2. House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng Oh, what a wonderful read! In this novel, writer Somerset Maugham visits his old friend, Robert and his wife Lesley in Penang in the year 1921. Maugham has been travelling for an extended time with Gerald his secretary and lover as he flees England and a situation with his wife Syrie. Lesley has her own issues to deal with and perhaps as a cathartic exercise, she confines in Maugham about events in 1910. The reader learns about the murder trial of Ethel Proudlock and Lesley's interaction with Sun Yat Sen as he raises money for revolution in China. And of course there is the love interest as Lesley makes the best of her own marriage situation and takes a chance on creating happiness. The reader learns about the attitudes of the ruling British empire in what is now Malaysia. There are interesting views of the roles of race, gender, and life in the early twentieth century.

>11 torontoc: I can't wait to get to this. I have loved his other novels.

>11 torontoc: so happy you enjoyed this. I agree, it was wonderful.

>11 torontoc: Just about to start House of Doors, so great to see another enthusiastic recommendation.

>11 torontoc: Another rave review for House of Doors! I can’t wait to get to it.

>12 labfs39:, >13 dchaikin:, >14 AlisonY:,>15 rachbxl: The novel was a great way to begin the year! ( actually both novels)

Hi, Cyrel! I'm later than usual, but Happy New Year! My thread is up but under construction; however, I did post reviews of the first two books I read this year, both absolutely wonderful.

I'm glad that you also loved The House of Doors, Cyrel!

3. The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell I reread this book for my upcoming book club meeting. And it is still superbly written. Based on real historical characters, Lucrezia di Cosimo De' Medici Este did marry Alfonzo 11 of Ferrara and was dead after one year of marriage. This story depicts the way a very young unworldly teenager would respond to situations that she had no control over. In this novel, Lucrezia is a very talented artist and does take chances within the confines of her sheltered upbringing in the nursery of her ruling class parents in Florence. Sent to marry Alfonzo, her responses to her new surroundings and dangerous husband show innocence at first and later measured responses that protect her. O'Farrell comments in her end notes that Lucrezia's older sister and cousin met with mysterious deaths and could have been murdered by their husbands.

More Maggie O’Farrell. I should read her… enjoyed your review.

Nice review of The Marriage Portrait, Cyrel.

>20 dchaikin: >21 kidzdoc: Thank you!

and now for something completely different

4. The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose This mystery features the return of Molly Gray, the now head maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. ( If you haven't read the previous book featuring Molly,( The Maid) I advise you to read it. Molly probably has Aspergers and her thoughts on life are quite uplifting. In fact , her way of looking at situations helps everyone around her. Molly helps Detective Stark solve the mystery of who killed author J.D Grimthorpe. Grimthorpe drops dead just he is about the begin reading an important announcement at an event in the tea room at the Regency. The reader learns about Molly's past experiences working with her Grandmother at the Grimthorpe Mansion. Molly's positive attitude towards life in the face of adversity make this "who dun it" a very good read.

>19 torontoc: Great review of The Marriage Portrait. Have you read her other books? I've been meaning to read Hamnet for a while.

>3 dchaikin: So glad you enjoyed The Marriage Portrait, Cyrel. Maggie O'Farrell is one of my favorites. She has yet to disappoint me. She has a new one coming out next month, The Distance Between Us. Even her selective memoir, I Am I Am I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death, was fascinating.

>23 rv1988: I LOVED Hamnet, more than The Marriage Portrait, but not everyone agrees.

>23 rv1988: >24 Cariola: I loved Hamnet !
5. 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff I haven't read this book in a while but it just popped up at me while I was looking through my bookshelves. The author is a writer in New York City who has moderate success in writing for TV in the 1950's and 60's. The book is composed with her letters to Marks & Co., a rare and secondhand bookstore in London. Hanff has very eclectic tastes and she relies on the staff at Marks & Co. to find volumes for her. Her correspondent is Frank Doel who does his best to find and send what Helene wants to read. The letters are dated from 1949 to 1969.Helene sends food parcels to the staff as Britain still has rationing of food. She becomes friends with the staff promises to visit but never does. eventually Helene does write this book that consists of the letters that cover 20 years. After it is published she does make a trip to England but that journey is covered in her next book.

6.The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff Really this book is a sequel to her book on her correspondence with Marks & Co. Her book is so popular that Helene is invited by her publishers to visit London and give interviews. Of course, the friends that she has made invite her to visit them-including Frank Doel's wife Nora and her daughters. ( Frank had died tragically) Friends of friends invite Helene to dinners, plays and more. The kindness shown by so many people show how Helene has touched them by her book and her own personality. Helene's delight at visiting London and seeing places that are important to her remind me of my first trip to London. The sense of history and literature seem to be infused in her writing. A very nice read for me.

Nice that you paired these. I wasn’t aware of the follow up. Some day i’ll read these.

Nice reviews, Cyrel. I had forgotten that The Duchess of Bloomsbury was the sequel to 84, Charing Cross Road.

>26 dchaikin:, >27 kidzdoc: These books were really " feel good" stories! Something that I needed now!

7. As A Burning Flame The Dream of Regina Jonas by Noa Mishkin. This slim book is an accounting of the life of Regina Jonas, a young woman living in Berlin who was Orthodox Jewish and had studied at a rabbinical seminary. Regina believed that she had all the qualifications needed to be ordained as a Rabbi. In 1930 she did explain why she should be declared a rabbi in her Master's thesis. In 1935 a Liberal Rabbi read her petitions and granted her the title of Rabbi. Regina Jonas spent her time in what is consider pastoral work, and did give sermons to various congregations throughout Germany. In 1942 she was deported to the Theresienstadt Ghetto. She lectured during her time in Theresienstadt and in 1944 was deported to Auschwitz and murdered. No one really knew about Regina Jonas until a scholar discovered information on her in an archive in the former East Germany. Noa Mishkin used this material and created not only an accounting of Regina Jonas life and work but did it with illustrations in this graphic novel. She also reflected on her own life and how she wanted more participation and recognition as an Orthodox woman. This is a very thoughtful account of one woman's life and it emphasized her writings and ideas.

Have you seen the film “Anatomy of a Fall” about two writers, their marriage and the demise of one of them.

>29 kjuliff: No, I will have to look it up! Thanks!

8. The Jazz Club Spy by Roberta Rich This is a spy and mystery novel. It was fun to read. Giddy Brodsky is young woman living in New York in 1939. She still has nightmares about how she survived a pogrom in her small Russian Village. Giddy dreams of opening a cosmetics shop with her own brands. Now she is a cigarette girl in a jazz club. Giddy meets, Carter, a very slick man who tells her that he is a member of the US Secret Service. She is enlisted to find a Russian immigrant who is suspected of planning an assassination. Giddy also thinks that this man was the one who killed her brother and sister back in Russia. Giddy does find out information on the suspect but she also learns more about her own family background and some astonishing facts about some one she had trusted. This is a fast paced adventure if you are in the mood for one.

>30 torontoc: Review

>28 torontoc: I am definitely going to order this. Thank you.

>25 torontoc: >24 Cariola: Two votes for Hamnet! Delightful. Looking forward to it.

>25 torontoc: Nice reviews of the two Helene Hanff books. I had read 84 Charing Cross Road years ago, but like Dan, I wasn't aware there was a follow up to the novel. Fascinating.

Oh I loved the Charing Cross Road books. As you said, perfect spirit lifters!

Re Maggie O'Farrell, I think I was on my own in not enjoying Hamnet, so I've put her to one side for now.

I have a few O'Farrell books on my pile—I really should get to them, because they all sound great and I've heard so many good things about her writing.

>34 AlisonY: >35 lisapeet: I haven't loved all of Maggie O'Farrell's books, but most of them scored 3.5 to 5 stars for me. I really enjoyed her memoir I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death. I just went to Amazon to get that title right, and I noticed that all of her books have at least 4 stars. She has only recently turned more to historical fiction, although the first of her novels I read, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, was set in the early 20th century.

>35 lisapeet: I’ve found O’Farrell to be a bit over-rated. Many think she’s marvelous, but I can’t see it. She’s ok, and I really liked Hamnet and the Vanishing Act was alright, but nothing memorable. I agree with >36 Cariola:

9. Divine Might Goddesses in Greek Myth by Natalie Haynes I so enjoyed reading this book. The author discuses Greek Goddesses and looks to original sources in plays and accounts from the past to examine the roles that these women played. Her approach is very different from more traditional histories as she looks at influence and lessons learned from a feminist point of view. I think that I have more of an appreciation of the roles that Hera, Aphrodite, Athene, Demeter and Hestia played as well as looking at commentary on the Muses and the Furies.

I highly recommend all of Natalie Haynes's fiction and non-fiction!

>38 torontoc: This sounds interesting. I'm reading Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls at the moment and it sounds like Haynes's books might be good to follow it up with.

>38 torontoc: i should have read Haynes in my mythology state of mind. I still want to read her. Noting your recommendation.

>40 dchaikin: I really like Haynes style of writing.
10. Denison Avenue by Christina Wong and illustrated by Daniel Innes This is a very interesting novel. The author writes about an elderly Canadian Chinese woman who lives in Denison Ave in Kensington Market in Toronto. The story follows Wong Cho Sum as she learns to live alone after the death of her husband. The story is sometimes narrated in Cantonese with translations that follow. Some of the story is written in a poetic format. For those readers who have knowledge of the Kensington Market and Chinatown area in Toronto, this work recalls the smells and sights of the restaurants, stores, parks and streets. A second part of the book is a series of linear drawings of the stores and streets of Kensington Market and Spadina Ave. This is a very evocative work of the past and present of this area

11. One Hundred Saturdays Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World by Michael Frank This is a reread for my upcoming book club. The author was introduced to Stella Levi in New York City. Over a number of years , he learned of her life in the Jewish Community on Rhodes. During World War 11 , all the Jewish inhabitants were transported to Auschwitz. Stella was one who survived. The book is so interesting as Stella described the life that she led with her family in the Jewish quarter or Juderia. Customs, languages and life are all described as well the as interconnections among all the friends and relatives on Rhodes. An important read.

>42 torontoc: very interesting to me!

>43 dchaikin: I was very interested in the sections of the book that described the lived of the Jewish Sephardic community on Rhodes.

12. Miss Dior A Wartime Story of Courage and Couture by Justine Picardie. This history/biography tends to cover a number of topics. I think that the issue is that Christian Dior's sister, Catherine, didn't say much about her history. She seemed to be a very private person who lived with her father and then her brother. Catherine played an important role in the French Resistance, was betrayed, tortured by the Gestapo, and sent to the concentration camp of Ravensbruck. She did survive and later gave testimony at the trials of some of the camp officials. After the war she did live a quiet life. This book is about her brother's role in creating the "New Look" after the war and his creation of his own couture house. The book also details some of the history of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, how Princess Margaret became a Dior client and also the trials of some of the French collaborators. Although the narrative does tend to wander from person to person and event to event, I found the history quite interesting!

>44 torontoc: A very interesting review. Thank you. I’ve put this on my list - a book I never would have found except for your review.

Yes, that aspect, Jewish life in Rhodes, sounds fascinating

>44 torontoc: such trivia. Poor Catherine.

>45 kjuliff: I did like the information on the many topics covered.
>46 dchaikin: I did feel that Catherine determined what she wanted to reveal publicly and did live the life that she wanted after the war.

13. Picasso Ceramics by Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. This catalogue was published by the museum for their exhibition. I do have the wrong touchstones but couldn't find the right one. This book is devoted to the examination of Picasso's work in ceramics that he created with the help of the Madoura Pottery at Vallouris in the south of France. The photos of the works are very complete. There are essays on various aspects of the work. Picasso didn't actually create the forms in clay. He provided detailed drawings and the craftsmen at Madoura created the various pots and sculptures. Picasso then decorated and painted them. This is a lovely book that shows the viewer the creativity of Picasso's work in ceramics.

>44 torontoc: Are you going to watch The New Look on apple? It looks interesting and Maisie Williams is playing Catherine.

>44 torontoc:, >48 RidgewayGirl: I watched the first two episodes. It made me wonder what happened to Catherine after the war. Well acted, but I found it rather slow paced. But I'll continue to watch the series.

>42 torontoc: >44 torontoc: A couple of interesting titles here that I will keep on my someday list.

>48 RidgewayGirl: >49 Cariola: I don't have those services but... I do have to get them..soon ( as soon as my nephew coms over to help me)

14. Meet Me At the Lake by Carley Fortune This novel was selected as one of the "Canada Reads" books. ( Canada Reads is a debate on the CBC Radio where five celebrities( ?) select a book and debate over one week in March, vote off a book a day and the last one becomes the "one that Canadians should read". Having said that, although I did like the novel, it is a romance and not one that I would find important enough to win Canada Reads. Fern is a young woman who is debating whether to take over the running of her late mother's summer resort in Muskoka( in Ontario). She had an encounter with Will, a young man who ten years ago, helped her make an important decision about her life after she graduated from university. He then disappeared only to show up ten years later when Fern was deciding what to do. Well, it was entertaining but not very deep. The book has become very popular

>52 torontoc: I was browsing through the books that have won the "Canada Reads" designation. They seem to vary between more serious works and lighter fiction. I wonder if that is deliberate? Have you read them all or most?

>53 labfs39: I have now read two- the other is Denison Avenue by Christina Wong and illustrated by Daniel Innes. Three more to go

"Canada Reads" seems to be sliding the past few years, although looking at the official list of winners, there are some worthwhile books there: https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/every-book-and-panellist-who-has-appeared-o...

This year I'm interested in Denison Avenue, and will decide after I hear Naheed Nenshi defending it. I always enjoy his commentary on just about anything.

15. Cold Skies by Thomas King. I have been following this detective series that features retired detective and now photographer Thumps Dreadful Water. This is the third in the series. Thumps has to deal with a health issue that everyone in the small town of Chinook soon learns about. The sheriff in the town keeps on asking Thumps to work with him on murder cases. Just as an important conference on water begins, the two main speakers are murdered. Thumps deals with the head of a major organization, his unusual staff, a newspaper reporter , a puzzling PR person as well as the people in the town. Thumps is helped by the son of his girlfriend, the coroner who becomes his doctor, Indigenous members of the local band and more. I enjoy the style of King's writing and will continue this series.

>56 torontoc: Thumps Dreadful Water is quite a name. Is there a story behind it?

>57 labfs39: Hmmm- I will have to go back to the first book in the series to check.

>41 torontoc: I want to see Denison Avenue by Christina Wong for the illustrations as well as the story.

And as a science fiction reader I'm interested in Catherine Leroux's alternate history of Detroit, The future, also on the Canada reads list.

>59 markon: Both books that I read have been voted off of Canada Reads! Denison Avenue today. I will read the other three sometime this year. The illustrations in Denison Avenue are wonderful.

>60 torontoc: Sorry to hear about Denison Avenue. That was quick!

>61 SassyLassy: I know! I didn't follow the Canada Reads debates closely this year.

16. The Slip The New York City Street that Changed American Art Forever by Prudence Peiffer This history is really interesting. The author traces not only the American artists who found a home in the warehouses on a little street ( Coenties Slip) on the southern part of Manhattan but also the history of the area. Coenties slip was home to sail makers when the New York Port was an important place for ships and merchandise that was brought in or sent out of the US. From 1956 to 1967 many artists found this area and not only turned the warehouses into studios but also lived there. Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Indiana, Agnes Martin, James Rosenquist, Lenore Tawney and Jack Youngerman were unknown and developed their styles of work here. Eventually after fame and recognition, these artists were known as members of the "Color Field School". They did know each other and worked to create unique visions. One interesting fact that I didn't know. The actress Delphine Seyrig was married to Tom Youngerman and lived in New York with her husband and child for many years. Eventually she starred in the film "Last Year in Marienbad" in Europe. The author also talks about the changing face of the city and the development power of Robert Moses. I found this history a great read not only for the work on the artists but also on the changes in the physical structure of the city.

>62 torontoc: The Slip looks interesting indeed. Thanks for the review.

17. The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz I reread this mystery for my RL book club. And again it was a really good read. I couldn't figure out the murderer until it was revealed at the end of the story but it did make sense. The author puts himself into the novel as the writer who is asked by the private detective, Daniel Hawthorne, to write about him. I enjoyed this mystery for the second time!

18. A Matter of Malice by Thomas King. I need mysteries at this time. So I read the fourth book in the series about Thumps Dreadful Water. In this story, Thumps has to worry about his lost cat Freeway, his problematic relationship with his girlfriend Claire, the loss of his car to an accident while he was away in Seattle and his diabetes medication. The town of Chinook where Thumps lives is now the site for a reality show that is highlighting the suicide/ maybe murder of Trudy Samuels. One of the producers, Nina Maslow wants to prove it was murder. Of course there is a new murder and Thumps is again deputized to help solve this crime. I find these books very entertaining and again I did not see who the real culprit was until it was revealed at the end of the novel.

19 Obsidian by Thomas King I really am hooked on this series so I immediately read the next book. Thumps wants to solve the series of murders that included his love and her daughter in California years ago. He does travel to the town where he was a policeman, meets up with a fellow officer who has recently retired. Thumps does return to Chinook and is working on his relationship with his girlfriend , Claire and more intrigue. A group of movie producers have moved into town and want to film the story of what have been called the Obsidian murders. Thumps comes to believe that all the murders are the work of one serial killer. It is interesting to watch him untangle the many threads of this mystery.

20. All The Shining People by Kathy Friedman This book of short stories focuses on the children and the parents who moved from South Africa to Canada. I thought that the final stories were the best. Many of the stories just ended with no resolution. I was not happy about this format. The final two stories did use life in South Africa as a focus.

21. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline I had to read this alterrnate history novel. ( maybe distopian ). The Marrow Thieves takes place in a future Canada where climate change has distroyed cities, poisoned waters and made the population move to find a place without destruction. The people most affected are the Indigenous people-they can still dream. Scavengers hunt the Indigenous groups for their bone marrow. The marrow can help white populations recover dreaming. This story follow a young man named Frenchie who has lost his family and joins a group who are moving north. They are hunted, and eventually meet more Indigenous people and perhaps find a means of resistence that originates in their culture. The novel is well written and engrossing. Highly recommended.

>68 torontoc: That sounds interesting, Cyrel. I'm adding it to my list.

22. Thunderclap A Memoir of Art and Life & Sudden Death by Laura Cumming. Laura Cumming is an art historian and she tries to solve the mysteries surrounding the life of Dutch painter Carol Fabritius. Fabritius died tragically in 1654 in Delft when a store house of gunpowder exploded and destroyed about half of the small city. He was a student of Rembrandt but developed his own unique style although Cumming points out that very few of his paintings have survived. As well as describing the work of Fabritius, Cumming tells the reader about the art of her own father and the works and styles of many Dutch artists. The descriptions are wonderful and give the reader a sense of the life and preoccupations of Dutch society during the 1600's. Cumming pays tribute to her father with her writing on his life . I really enjoyed reading this book. There are a number of reproductions of the art that Cumming describes

>68 torontoc: That sounds very interesting. I noticed that my library has it in the young adult section. Does that make sense based on your reading?

>71 Jim53: Hmmm- the book is considered a " young adult" novel but I think that anyone can read it. It is very dark so I think that "older young adults" is more accurate.

>70 torontoc: I read her book on The Vanishing Velazquez and quite liked it, so this sounds like another good one - it's important to have those reproductions as you read.

>73 SassyLassy: I agree-having the reproductions was very helpful.

23. Deep House by Thomas King I am in the mood for reading mysteries and this novel in the series of Thumps Dreadful Water was a lot of fun to read. I like the characters who live in the small town of Chinook and ( spoiler) Freeway the cat comes back with kittens!. Thumps helps solve the mystery of two murders. This story involves a burned out van, a body in a canyon and a scientist on the run.

24. What We Buried by Robert Rotenberg Continuing my reading of mystery novels , this is the latest one by Robert Rotenberg who besides being a novelist , is a criminal lawyer practising in Toronto. The books that he writes have the same cast of characters who are policemen, lawyers and crown attorneys. All the books are set in Toronto and it is nice to see familiar landmarks, and places mentioned. This story references the murder of forty Italians of all ages and genders who were murdered by the Nazis in 1944 in the town of Gubbio. Daniel Kennicott is a police detective who is haunted by the killing of his parents while they were driving to their cottage twelve years ago and the murder of his brother, Michael ten years ago. Michael had been looking into the circumstances of his parent's death when he was gunned down outside a restaurant in Toronto. Every year, Daniel's boss, Ari Greene talked with Daniel about any updates. In this story, Greene puts two new detectives on the case. Daniel is asked to travel to Gubbio to follow the written notes in his mother's travel diary to find new clues. What follows is the unravelling of the murder plot, hidden Nazis who managed to immigrate to Canada after the war and the reason for the murders. This is a good thriller.

>75 torontoc: Looks a good read, but I can only manage audio. I’ll be on the lookout to see if it comes out. Great review!

>76 kjuliff: There is a whole series of detective novels written by Robert Rotenberg I am sure that some of them must be in audio.

Yes, I checked and just just not that one. There are
The Guilty Plea
Heart of the City
Old City Hall
Aand some others. I’ll try one of the above.

>78 kjuliff: I hope that you like the book series as much as I do!

25. Around the World in 80 Pots The Story of Humanity told Through Beautiful Ceramics by Ashmolean Museum This book showcases eighty pots from the collection of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. The book is well designed and each photo of a ceramic piece is accompanied by a good description of the technique as well as the pot's history. There are examples from Japan, China, Iran and more recent British pottery. I was inspired by the work.

26. Georgia O'Keefe by Maria Herreros and translated by Lawrence Schimel This graphic novel uses the letters that O'Keefe wrote to Alfred Steiglitz and others to describe her life. The drawings do convey the sense of her art and her love of the landscape of New Mexico. This is a very good introduction to her art.

I've got The Slip and Thunderclap in my towering virtual stack—both of them time periods and places that appeal to me, so I'm glad to hear they were good reads.

27. Gauguin The Other World by Fabrizio Dori and translated by Edward Gauvin This is a graphic novel that concentrates with Gauguin's relationship to Tahiti and the gods that created the island. The story is compelling although there are gaps in the narrative about Gauguin's time in Pont Aven and the painters who helped influence his work. ( Van Gogh, Bernard, Denis and more) I studied art history so I have a good idea of what was missing. I did like the very good illustrations. They are painted in the style of Gauguin.

I am still reading graphic novels about artists! ( I went to an art teachers conference last week)

28. The Women Who Changed Art Forever Feminist Art-The Graphic Novel by Valentina Grande and Eva Rossetti and translated by Edward Fortes. This account of four important women artists concentrates on their ideas and not on any notoriety. The visual cues to their work are very good. Judy Chicago, Faith Ringgold, Ana Mendieta and the Guerrilla Girls are artists who should have an important place in the telling of art history.

>83 torontoc: That one looks to be right up my alley.

29. Munch by Steffen Kverneland and translated by Francesca M. Nichols This graphic novel about the life of famed painter Edvard Munch took the author seven years to complete. He actually interrupts the narrative to draw in himself and a friend who makes comments on Munch and his life. The drawings and commentary are sometimes hilarious with lots of illustrations on Munch's relationships with Strindberg,( who comes across as a crazed genius and madman) his family and women. Ah, there is a lot fo sex depicted as well.Women were problematic to Munch and his friends- really madonnas or devils. Munch had issues with his father and was lucky that his aunt did support him. There are accounts of incidents with fellow artists in Berlin, Paris and Norway.The development of Munch's key paintings are docemented and illustrated. This was a very interesting read.

Munch sounds interesting, Cyrel. Thanks for that enticing review of it.

These graphic novels about artists all sound interesting. I'll have to see if I can get hold of them.

>87 valkyrdeath: The graphic novels ( that I picked up at an art teacher conference ) are all published by a press named " Self Made Hero" from London.