Publication
New York, NY : HarperCollins Publishers, c2017.
Collection
Call number
Large Print Fiction K
Physical description
388 p.; 23 cm
Status
Available
Call number
Description
Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML: INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "A must-read for anyone who loves history and art." �??Kristin Hannah From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the smash bestseller Orphan Train, a stunning and atmospheric novel of friendship, passion, and art, inspired by Andrew Wyeth's mysterious and iconic painting Christina's World. "Later he told me that he'd been afraid to show me the painting. He thought I wouldn't like the way he portrayed me: dragging myself across the field, fingers clutching dirt, my legs twisted behind. The arid moonscape of wheatgrass and timothy. That dilapidated house in the distance, looming up like a secret that won't stay hidden." To Christina Olson, the entire world was her family's remote farm in the small coastal town of Cushing, Maine. Born in the home her family had lived in for generations, and increasingly incapacitated by illness, Christina seemed destined for a small life. Instead, for more than twenty years, she was host and inspiration for the artist Andrew Wyeth, and became the subject of one of the best known American paintings of the twentieth century. As she did in her beloved smash bestseller Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline interweaves fact and fiction in a powerful novel that illuminates a little-known part of America's history. Bringing into focus the flesh-and-blood woman behind the portrait, she vividly imagines the life of a woman with a complicated relationship to her family and her past, and a special bond with one of our greatest modern artists. Told in evocative and lucid prose, A Piece of the World is a story about the burdens and blessings of family history, and how artist and muse can come together to forge a new and timeless legacy.… (more)
Media reviews
In her lyrical new novel, “A Piece of the World,” Christina Baker Kline uncovers Ms. Olson’s diamond-sharp mind and flawed heart, which longs for someone to rescue her from a life circumscribed by hardship and geography.....
Christina Baker Kline has taken this powerfully creepy icon of American art and fleshed out the real-life story behind it, using the historical figures of Wyeth and his model Christina Olson as two of her characters and following their story so closely as to be barely fiction at all. Kline's
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portrait of her main character is moving in an unsentimental way as she evokes the New England landscape, the torment of crippling disease, and the piece of history embodied in Olson's story.... Show Less
Christina Baker Kline sets herself a stark challenge in her new novel — giving flesh to the back story of the woman who crawls across a desolate field in Andrew Wyeth’s iconic painting, “Christina’s World.”...Christina Baker Kline sets herself a stark challenge in her new novel — giving
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flesh to the back story of the woman who crawls across a desolate field in Andrew Wyeth’s iconic painting, “Christina’s World.” Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member janismack
Fictionalized story of Christina Olsen, the subject of Andrew Wyatt’s famous painting, Christina’s world. I liked the story eventhough it was sad and depressing at certain parts. Christina survived the best she could with an inherited disease that no doctor’s could figure out what ailed her.
LibraryThing member Whisper1
Based on the Andrew Wyeth painting Christina's World, the author did an incredible job both in writing and research.
Andrew Wyeth lived in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. However, in the summers, he lived in rural Maine, where he gained inspiration of the stark climates and life lived simply.
His painting
Crippled, but incredibly stubborn and resilant, Christina helped with chores on her families farm. It is there where Wyeth became enamoured with the difficult life of farm and rural living.
He was a frequent guest at the farm and basically took over the third floor of the house to paint.
This is a novel using fact, but also, as the author notes, the author wove fiction in order to make the book more interesting.
My review could not do the book justice. I highly recommend A Piece of the World.
Five Stars
Andrew Wyeth lived in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. However, in the summers, he lived in rural Maine, where he gained inspiration of the stark climates and life lived simply.
His painting
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of Christina Olson is one of Wyeth's best known. Afflicted with a debilitating neurological disease, now believed to have been a syndrome called Charcot-Marie-Tooth wherein there is extensive damage to the nerves of the arms and legs.Crippled, but incredibly stubborn and resilant, Christina helped with chores on her families farm. It is there where Wyeth became enamoured with the difficult life of farm and rural living.
He was a frequent guest at the farm and basically took over the third floor of the house to paint.
This is a novel using fact, but also, as the author notes, the author wove fiction in order to make the book more interesting.
My review could not do the book justice. I highly recommend A Piece of the World.
Five Stars
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LibraryThing member Cariola
I have long loved the work of artists N.C., Andrew, and Jamie Wyeth and have made several visits to the Brandywine River Museum of Art in Chadds Ford, PA to see their collection. I have yet to visit the Wyeth farm and studios there, but that's on my to do list. So I was quite looking forward to
The novel jumps back and forth between several different eras, most notably 1917-18, when Christina experiences the great disappointment of her life, and the post-World War II years in which Andrew Wyeth executed a series of paintings of Christina, her brother Al, and their picturesque farm in Cushing, Maine. As others have noted, Wyeth plays a relatively small role in the novel, mainly as a vehicle for illustrating what some would call changes in Christina--although I found her to remain pretty much the same throughout. To me, she came across as a bitter woman who let her disability define her, and although she complained about this (which is, of course, understandable), she stubbornly refused to do anything about it.. After an illness as a young child, Christina's legs became twisted, and her condition worsens throughout her life, to the point where she has to drag herself about by the elbows (since she refused to use a wheelchair). At several points in the novel, well-meaning family and friends try to get her to seek medical attention, but she refuses. By the time she finally lets herself get nagged into a hospital stay, the doctors can't do anything for her. She even turns against a number of friends who have tried to help her. As a young woman, she does befriend some young people who spend the summers in Cushing, but eventually a disappointment--one that friends had tried to warn her was coming--leads her to pretty much isolate herself on the family farm, helping with chores and caring for her parents and brothers. It was a hard life--but one that many other farm women of her day also endured. If there was one moment in the book when I REALLY disliked Christina, it was when she guilted her brother Al, who had given up his own dream of becoming a seaman to keep the family farm running, into dropping his plans to marry. If Christina couldn't be happy, then Al had no right to be either. She apologizes for this later, but it's far too late; the woman Al loved has married someone else.
So where does Andrew Wyeth fit into all this? Well, Christina relates to him because he has a limp, which she never fails to mention when she sees him walking towards the farm. She lets him set up a temporary studio on the second floor of the house, and she likes the smell of paint, turpentine, and eggs that emanate from it. He becomes a friend of sorts, offering Christina compliments on her baking, housekeeping, and fortitude, but he is also sometimes brutally frank about her shortcomings. She is appalled by the first portrait of her that he paints, which is realistic but very unflattering, and it is several years before she agrees to pose again for Christina's World.
I'm sure that I will be outnumbered by readers who will adore this novel, but it just didn't do much for me.
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reading A Piece of the World, which creates a life for Christina Olson, the young woman featured in Andrew Wyeth's best known painting, Christina's World. Sadly, I found it disappointing--in a word, dull. While I do enjoy character-driven novels, if the main character isn't likable or at least interesting, it's hard for me to get absorbed by a novel. And I really didn't find much to like or interest me in Christina.The novel jumps back and forth between several different eras, most notably 1917-18, when Christina experiences the great disappointment of her life, and the post-World War II years in which Andrew Wyeth executed a series of paintings of Christina, her brother Al, and their picturesque farm in Cushing, Maine. As others have noted, Wyeth plays a relatively small role in the novel, mainly as a vehicle for illustrating what some would call changes in Christina--although I found her to remain pretty much the same throughout. To me, she came across as a bitter woman who let her disability define her, and although she complained about this (which is, of course, understandable), she stubbornly refused to do anything about it.. After an illness as a young child, Christina's legs became twisted, and her condition worsens throughout her life, to the point where she has to drag herself about by the elbows (since she refused to use a wheelchair). At several points in the novel, well-meaning family and friends try to get her to seek medical attention, but she refuses. By the time she finally lets herself get nagged into a hospital stay, the doctors can't do anything for her. She even turns against a number of friends who have tried to help her. As a young woman, she does befriend some young people who spend the summers in Cushing, but eventually a disappointment--one that friends had tried to warn her was coming--leads her to pretty much isolate herself on the family farm, helping with chores and caring for her parents and brothers. It was a hard life--but one that many other farm women of her day also endured. If there was one moment in the book when I REALLY disliked Christina, it was when she guilted her brother Al, who had given up his own dream of becoming a seaman to keep the family farm running, into dropping his plans to marry. If Christina couldn't be happy, then Al had no right to be either. She apologizes for this later, but it's far too late; the woman Al loved has married someone else.
So where does Andrew Wyeth fit into all this? Well, Christina relates to him because he has a limp, which she never fails to mention when she sees him walking towards the farm. She lets him set up a temporary studio on the second floor of the house, and she likes the smell of paint, turpentine, and eggs that emanate from it. He becomes a friend of sorts, offering Christina compliments on her baking, housekeeping, and fortitude, but he is also sometimes brutally frank about her shortcomings. She is appalled by the first portrait of her that he paints, which is realistic but very unflattering, and it is several years before she agrees to pose again for Christina's World.
I'm sure that I will be outnumbered by readers who will adore this novel, but it just didn't do much for me.
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LibraryThing member susan0316
This was a beautifully written book about someone who spent their entire life in one small piece of the world but left a legacy that has been seen all over the world.
Christina Olson is born and lives her entire life in a farmhouse in Cushing, Maine. When she was young, the house was full of her
This book is so well written and tells a story about someone that I never knew existed despite the fact that I have seen the painting. Christina's life was centered on her family and her farmhouse and her life of chores despite the constant pain she was in. She was a wonderful well written character and one that I won't soon forget.
Christina Olson is born and lives her entire life in a farmhouse in Cushing, Maine. When she was young, the house was full of her
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brothers, her parents and her grandmother. It was a working farm and there were always chores to be done and mischief to get into with her brothers. When she was about 10, she got very sick and was never able to walk well again. Even though her disease was never diagnosed in the book, it appeared to be some type of muscular weakness that progressively got worse. She loved school but when she got to 8th grade, her parents decided that it was time for her to stay home and help with the house. With no electricity or running water, her work was difficult and tedious. When Christina is much older and only she and her brother remain at the farmhouse, which is now run down. Andrew Wyeth, the famous American painter comes to town to visit friends and decided that he want to paint at the farm house. He spends the next 20+ summers painting at the farmhouse in Cushing Maine and the farmhouse and Christine become his muse. She becomes his model for his famous painting "Christina's World".This book is so well written and tells a story about someone that I never knew existed despite the fact that I have seen the painting. Christina's life was centered on her family and her farmhouse and her life of chores despite the constant pain she was in. She was a wonderful well written character and one that I won't soon forget.
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LibraryThing member BooksCooksLooks
I will admit that when I accepted this book for review I truly didn’t understand what it was about. I was intrigued by the synopsis but didn’t see a cover of the book so didn’t have the full picture of what I would be reading until I had the book in my hand. Once I saw that cover I of course
The book is based in fact which I also didn’t know when I started reading. That always adds a new dimension to a book if you ask me. Christina Olsen is a young woman who lived her whole live – with just a few days away – on her family’s farm. She suffered from some manner of ailment, it was never fully explained and perhaps it was never truly diagnosed in her time but it left her disabled. She didn’t let it stop her from doing what had to be done though. She also flat out refused to see doctors about it.
She was not a very sympathetic character for most of the book. Her life was not an easy one and her family and health situation didn’t make things any easier. She also didn’t do much to help herself – she chose to live in her misery instead of trying to better her situation. It was a very different time but there are things that she could have done. Particularly in the way she chose to interact with people.
Andrew Wyeth came into her life when he was just starting to paint and she was older and quite settled in to her life on the family farm as a spinster living with her brother. He brought a breath of life and a lot of joy into their situation through his relationship with their niece. I did a fair amount of googling after I finished the book – I do love a book that makes me want to learn more.
This was an easy to read, evenly paced book. It had no big scenes or shocking twists, it was just the story of a somewhat sad woman over the course of her life and how that life developed some relevance because of the attention of painter who created a work of art that became iconic.
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knew I would be reading a book about Andrew Wyeth because that painting is very well known – at least it certainly should be to a student of art history like myself.The book is based in fact which I also didn’t know when I started reading. That always adds a new dimension to a book if you ask me. Christina Olsen is a young woman who lived her whole live – with just a few days away – on her family’s farm. She suffered from some manner of ailment, it was never fully explained and perhaps it was never truly diagnosed in her time but it left her disabled. She didn’t let it stop her from doing what had to be done though. She also flat out refused to see doctors about it.
She was not a very sympathetic character for most of the book. Her life was not an easy one and her family and health situation didn’t make things any easier. She also didn’t do much to help herself – she chose to live in her misery instead of trying to better her situation. It was a very different time but there are things that she could have done. Particularly in the way she chose to interact with people.
Andrew Wyeth came into her life when he was just starting to paint and she was older and quite settled in to her life on the family farm as a spinster living with her brother. He brought a breath of life and a lot of joy into their situation through his relationship with their niece. I did a fair amount of googling after I finished the book – I do love a book that makes me want to learn more.
This was an easy to read, evenly paced book. It had no big scenes or shocking twists, it was just the story of a somewhat sad woman over the course of her life and how that life developed some relevance because of the attention of painter who created a work of art that became iconic.
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LibraryThing member Bauernfeind
An excellent book/memoir about the life of a young woman with a disability and her life in rural Maine.
LibraryThing member pdebolt
This is an engaging book that speculates about the figure in Christina's World by Andrew Wyeth. It centers around Christina Olson, who lived on the farm in Maine featured in the painting with her brothers and parents. At the age of 10, she is stricken with a debilitating illness that leaves her
Andrew Wyeth is a peripheral character in the book, but the information about him is interesting and seems to correlate with his biographies.
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with physical disabilities. Her world becomes the farm and her never-ending chores. She is forced by her parents to give up academic aspirations because she is needed to work on the farm. During her late teens, she is courted by Walton Hall, a Harvard scholar; she eventually gives him her heart, which is later broken in the cruelest, most cowardly way. The book follows Christina through her life as she struggles with loneliness and physical restrictions.Andrew Wyeth is a peripheral character in the book, but the information about him is interesting and seems to correlate with his biographies.
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LibraryThing member sroot
I listened to the audio version of this book and the narration was excellent. I enjoyed the story and the characters, and would definitely recommend it. Especially if you have an appreciation for art and art history. However, for me, there are some books I read that I can't wait to get back to, and
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this wasn't one of them. I think because, while I did empathize with the characters, I didn't really get drawn into their world. Overall, however, well done. Show Less
LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
A Piece of the World, Christina Baker Kline, author; Polly Stone, narrator
The book essentially tells the story of events leading up to the painting of “Christina’s World” by Andrew Wyeth. I have always loved the painting and have a print of it in my home. It conjures up thoughts of hope as
The novel is written from Christina’s point of view. It is presented with an honesty and clarity that feels authentic as she tells the story of her struggles. In spite of her difficulties, she refuses to be pitied. The book covers five decades, from the birth of Christina Olson to the painting of her by Andrew Wyeth, the husband of her close friend Betsy. He is a frequent visitor to her farmhouse, a farmhouse whose location inspired him and was the place where he painted views and scenes he saw and imagined in the surrounding area. He also painted portraits of Christina’s brother Alvaro, who lived with her, surrendering his own life in support of hers.
The author has done an extraordinary amount of research into Christina’s background and Wyeth’s relationship with her and her family home. She succeeds in bringing both of them to life. Christina is imagined as a sometimes martyr, sometimes distraught and sometimes surly young woman, a woman who is always independent and perhaps single-minded, in spite of her affliction. Yet her need to be independent was fraught with obstacles. Her condition made it hard for her to manage everything on her own, in spite of the fact that she tried hard to ignore her shortcomings for much of her life. This was much to the consternation of others, and it caused her great suffering and loss. Often displaying irascible stubbornness alongside with kindness toward her family, she seemed to be witnessing life around her without participating in it. Protective of her private feelings, she shared little with others. Her experience with young love went unrequited and caused her great distress, altering her attitude about life permanently and consigning her to a rather reclusive future existence. The sacrifices demanded of the Olson family often seemed necessary, but nevertheless, cruel and selfish.
The book, written with tenderness and compassion by the author, as it developed the life and personality of Christina, was made even better by the narrator, Polly Stone, who truly enhanced this novel by making the characters reach out from the page into the reader’s heart. The narrator became Christina as she related her story, without overpowering her. She told the story of her life, the story of her happiness and her sadness, her loves and her losses, her loneliness and her suffering at the hands of an illness that severely compromised her ability to become a member of society as most of her friends did, as a wife and a mother. Her life was one of servitude to others, in spite of her illness, a life which sometimes made her bitter and a life which eventually strangled the life of her brother Alvaro when she was unwilling to let him lead a life of his own, considering his need for independence nothing more than an abandonment of her. Those who did not escape the farm did not truly live their life, but Christina loved the farm with the same fierceness as her mother did.
Since the timeline shifted from her youth to her current day, I often got a bit confused, but quickly sorted it out. Andrew Wyeth wanted to know just who Christina Olson was, and so did I. In 1948, when Wyeth painted the famous painting, “Christina’s World”, she was 55 years old, but he painted her the way he perceived her after seeing her crawl across a field. The image he painted of her is of a much younger woman, a woman who still might have hope in her heart, even as she yearned to reach the farmhouse in the distance.
The book essentially tells the story of events leading up to the painting of “Christina’s World” by Andrew Wyeth. I have always loved the painting and have a print of it in my home. It conjures up thoughts of hope as
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well as desperation, of longing and success, of family and serenity, of disappointment and expectation, as the young woman in the painting lies on the slope of a field, looking into the space between herself and a home in the distance, which seems peaceful but possibly unreachable. The novel is written from Christina’s point of view. It is presented with an honesty and clarity that feels authentic as she tells the story of her struggles. In spite of her difficulties, she refuses to be pitied. The book covers five decades, from the birth of Christina Olson to the painting of her by Andrew Wyeth, the husband of her close friend Betsy. He is a frequent visitor to her farmhouse, a farmhouse whose location inspired him and was the place where he painted views and scenes he saw and imagined in the surrounding area. He also painted portraits of Christina’s brother Alvaro, who lived with her, surrendering his own life in support of hers.
The author has done an extraordinary amount of research into Christina’s background and Wyeth’s relationship with her and her family home. She succeeds in bringing both of them to life. Christina is imagined as a sometimes martyr, sometimes distraught and sometimes surly young woman, a woman who is always independent and perhaps single-minded, in spite of her affliction. Yet her need to be independent was fraught with obstacles. Her condition made it hard for her to manage everything on her own, in spite of the fact that she tried hard to ignore her shortcomings for much of her life. This was much to the consternation of others, and it caused her great suffering and loss. Often displaying irascible stubbornness alongside with kindness toward her family, she seemed to be witnessing life around her without participating in it. Protective of her private feelings, she shared little with others. Her experience with young love went unrequited and caused her great distress, altering her attitude about life permanently and consigning her to a rather reclusive future existence. The sacrifices demanded of the Olson family often seemed necessary, but nevertheless, cruel and selfish.
The book, written with tenderness and compassion by the author, as it developed the life and personality of Christina, was made even better by the narrator, Polly Stone, who truly enhanced this novel by making the characters reach out from the page into the reader’s heart. The narrator became Christina as she related her story, without overpowering her. She told the story of her life, the story of her happiness and her sadness, her loves and her losses, her loneliness and her suffering at the hands of an illness that severely compromised her ability to become a member of society as most of her friends did, as a wife and a mother. Her life was one of servitude to others, in spite of her illness, a life which sometimes made her bitter and a life which eventually strangled the life of her brother Alvaro when she was unwilling to let him lead a life of his own, considering his need for independence nothing more than an abandonment of her. Those who did not escape the farm did not truly live their life, but Christina loved the farm with the same fierceness as her mother did.
Since the timeline shifted from her youth to her current day, I often got a bit confused, but quickly sorted it out. Andrew Wyeth wanted to know just who Christina Olson was, and so did I. In 1948, when Wyeth painted the famous painting, “Christina’s World”, she was 55 years old, but he painted her the way he perceived her after seeing her crawl across a field. The image he painted of her is of a much younger woman, a woman who still might have hope in her heart, even as she yearned to reach the farmhouse in the distance.
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LibraryThing member book58lover
The fictionalized story of the relationship between Christina Olson and Andrew Wyeth which resulted in the painting "Christina's world".
This book grabbed my heart and I would recommend it without reservation. Kline has a wonderful writing style and really fleshes out her characters, including those
Even though this is fiction, the author appends an explanation of the 'real' story and her reasons for writing this book. She did an amazing amount of research and it shows.
This book grabbed my heart and I would recommend it without reservation. Kline has a wonderful writing style and really fleshes out her characters, including those
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that are just minor players. It also explains a lot about the painting. Christina is handicapped by a genetic disorder and this rules her life. Although it is present on every page it made me sympathize instead of becoming tired of the topic.Even though this is fiction, the author appends an explanation of the 'real' story and her reasons for writing this book. She did an amazing amount of research and it shows.
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LibraryThing member juliecracchiolo
This is the second book I have read by Christina Baker Kline; the first was Orphan Train, which I absolutely loved. After that runaway bestseller, Baker Kline was in search of her next project. According to the author, “As with Orphan Train, I liked the idea of taking a real historical moment of
The painting the author refers to is Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World, and Baker Kline chose the woman in the picture, Christina Olson, as her subject. She spent two year researching Christina, Wyeth, and life in rural Maine in the late 1930s to late 1940s. There is a comprehensive summary of what she learned about the Olson family in the Author’s Notes that is fascinating reading.
The subject of this book is Christina Olson. A woman with a disability who could barely get around. And on top of that, there was no running water or electricity in their rural Maine home. My heart broke for Christina, her life was so hard, yet her resilience is amazing.
Andrew Wyeth showed up on her doorstep and wanted to paint the surrounding countryside. I can’t say that the two drew close, I never got that impression, but Wyeth accepted her for her. Eventually he paints a picture of the house, the barn, and the waving grasslands, adds Christina in the foreground and calls it Christina’s World.
One of the things that the author does that confuses me is the jumping around. The novel opens in 1939, then it jumps to the late 1800s into 1900, then 1940, then 1911-12 so on. I’m not sure that the story couldn’t have been told chronologically, but it is what it is. I had hoped to give it 6 stars like Orphan Train, but the jumping around forces me to give A Piece of the World 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.
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some significance and, blending fiction and nonfiction, filling in the details, illuminating a story that has been unnoticed or obscured…a writer friend that she’d seen the painting at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and thought of me. I instantly knew I’d found my subject.”The painting the author refers to is Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World, and Baker Kline chose the woman in the picture, Christina Olson, as her subject. She spent two year researching Christina, Wyeth, and life in rural Maine in the late 1930s to late 1940s. There is a comprehensive summary of what she learned about the Olson family in the Author’s Notes that is fascinating reading.
The subject of this book is Christina Olson. A woman with a disability who could barely get around. And on top of that, there was no running water or electricity in their rural Maine home. My heart broke for Christina, her life was so hard, yet her resilience is amazing.
Andrew Wyeth showed up on her doorstep and wanted to paint the surrounding countryside. I can’t say that the two drew close, I never got that impression, but Wyeth accepted her for her. Eventually he paints a picture of the house, the barn, and the waving grasslands, adds Christina in the foreground and calls it Christina’s World.
One of the things that the author does that confuses me is the jumping around. The novel opens in 1939, then it jumps to the late 1800s into 1900, then 1940, then 1911-12 so on. I’m not sure that the story couldn’t have been told chronologically, but it is what it is. I had hoped to give it 6 stars like Orphan Train, but the jumping around forces me to give A Piece of the World 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.
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LibraryThing member maryreinert
A fictionalized version of the story behind Andrew Wyeth's painting "Christina's World" is a wonderful story of a woman who is trapped by her infirm body and trapped by the world she lives in. Christina Olson was born with a crippling disease on the coast of Maine in a home her family had resided
Living on the coast, the family was basically alone during the harsh winters but surrounded by other families who "summered" in Maine. Through one of those families, Christina meets a young man, Walton, who expresses his devotion to her over the four summers they spend together.
Christina's life, however, is shaped by decisions made by others. As her two of her brothers eventually leave, she and her brother Al are left caring for her rigid mother and every increasingly difficult father.
This is a story of family dynamics, societal restrictions, and the tug between responsibility and the lure of possibilities. I used to have a framed print of this painting and always found it fascinating; the book is equally so.
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for years; yet, she grew up fiercely independent.Living on the coast, the family was basically alone during the harsh winters but surrounded by other families who "summered" in Maine. Through one of those families, Christina meets a young man, Walton, who expresses his devotion to her over the four summers they spend together.
Christina's life, however, is shaped by decisions made by others. As her two of her brothers eventually leave, she and her brother Al are left caring for her rigid mother and every increasingly difficult father.
This is a story of family dynamics, societal restrictions, and the tug between responsibility and the lure of possibilities. I used to have a framed print of this painting and always found it fascinating; the book is equally so.
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LibraryThing member nyiper
I was disappointed---where were we heading with the story of "Christina," the woman in "Andy's" picture? When I reached the end of the CD, read by Polly Stone---and actually the story along the way was very listenable(!)----we are just sort of left at the end...hanging, sadly. Of course you see how
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the possible escape routes really weren't ever there in the first place and Christina's world gets smaller and smaller---is any of it, or all of it, her fault? Yes, with historical fiction you can go in many directions but this direction just didn't appeal to me. Show Less
LibraryThing member whitreidtan
When you look at a painting, do you ever wonder what the greater story outside of the painting is? Who are the people in the confines of the frame? What kind of life do they lead? Obviously the painting itself often gives the viewer clues but what else are we not told? Christina's World by Andrew
Christina Olson lives with her younger brother Alvaro on the family farm in a large house, once proud now shabby and dilapidated, when Andrew Wyeth strides into her life. Brought to visit by family friend Betsy, who will shortly become his wife, the young painter with the famous father is enchanted by the taciturn, private siblings and their home, eventually using a room in the farmhouse as a studio and painting pictures of both Christina and Al. But the book is not about Wyeth; rather it is about the inspiration for what is arguably his most famous work, so in parallel with the time leading up to his painting Christina's World, the story moves backwards in time to Christina's life growing up, refusing to be the object of pity because of her increasing disability, determined to live life without concessions, and imagining a wider world and more opportunities for herself than are available in her small Maine town. It takes her through the disappointments of her life and draws her as a proud, stubborn, and prickly woman. She and her quiet brother live a hard and lonely life and if that and her increasing disability (perhaps as a result of polio when she was young or perhaps because of the neuropathology of C-M-T disease) toughens her and makes her unforgiving and cantankerous, it is perhaps understandable.
Baker Kline has done a marvelous job drawing Christina and the world she lived in. The novel is very much character driven and Christina is not always a likable character. She is flinty, frustrated, and selfish but she's also loyal, smart, and fully realized in these pages. She is betrayed over and over again and just as when she physically trips, she endures the pain, picks herself up, and dusts herself off, refusing to let any one thing level her. The novel has a somber tone throughout most of its pages. The reality of the woman behind the painting was so circumscribed by her disability while her yearning knew no bounds and that bleak and unfulfilled feeling comes through in both the novel and the painting. But the novel is also one of friendship and the deliberate choice to allow people in, as was the case with the Olsons and Wyeth. This isn't a splashy book; it's quiet and deliberate, engrossing in its glimpse into the story behind the picture.
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Wyeth is certainly a painting that invites further speculation, especially once the viewer knows that there was in fact a real life Christina, Christina Olson, who inspired the painting. Christina Baker Kline has taken Wyeth's Christina and using the available historical information imagined a whole life for Wyeth's middle aged, spinster, Maine neighbor in her latest novel, A Piece of the World.Christina Olson lives with her younger brother Alvaro on the family farm in a large house, once proud now shabby and dilapidated, when Andrew Wyeth strides into her life. Brought to visit by family friend Betsy, who will shortly become his wife, the young painter with the famous father is enchanted by the taciturn, private siblings and their home, eventually using a room in the farmhouse as a studio and painting pictures of both Christina and Al. But the book is not about Wyeth; rather it is about the inspiration for what is arguably his most famous work, so in parallel with the time leading up to his painting Christina's World, the story moves backwards in time to Christina's life growing up, refusing to be the object of pity because of her increasing disability, determined to live life without concessions, and imagining a wider world and more opportunities for herself than are available in her small Maine town. It takes her through the disappointments of her life and draws her as a proud, stubborn, and prickly woman. She and her quiet brother live a hard and lonely life and if that and her increasing disability (perhaps as a result of polio when she was young or perhaps because of the neuropathology of C-M-T disease) toughens her and makes her unforgiving and cantankerous, it is perhaps understandable.
Baker Kline has done a marvelous job drawing Christina and the world she lived in. The novel is very much character driven and Christina is not always a likable character. She is flinty, frustrated, and selfish but she's also loyal, smart, and fully realized in these pages. She is betrayed over and over again and just as when she physically trips, she endures the pain, picks herself up, and dusts herself off, refusing to let any one thing level her. The novel has a somber tone throughout most of its pages. The reality of the woman behind the painting was so circumscribed by her disability while her yearning knew no bounds and that bleak and unfulfilled feeling comes through in both the novel and the painting. But the novel is also one of friendship and the deliberate choice to allow people in, as was the case with the Olsons and Wyeth. This isn't a splashy book; it's quiet and deliberate, engrossing in its glimpse into the story behind the picture.
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LibraryThing member hemlokgang
A beautifully written story by the author of "Orphan Train". The story is about the Christina of Andrew Wyeth's painting, "Christina's World". The tale of a woman with a physical disability and the life that ensues is a poignant, difficult portrait in words. What wpuld it be like to live a life in
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which one is never seen? Show Less
LibraryThing member JJbooklvr
A painting a lot of us have seen before. One I never really gave much thought too. From that starting point a story I would never have guessed. I picked this up for my book discussion groups next month and ended up really enjoying it. So much to talk about. I hope my two groups like it!
LibraryThing member LisaSHarvey
A Piece of the World
Christina Baker Kline
MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PUBLISHER William Morrow
PUBLISHED February 21, 2017
A beautifully lyrical but profound novel about family, friendships, passion and art.
SUMMARY
Andrew Wyeth painted an iconic work of art in 1948 titled Christina's
We first meet Christina in 1896, as a young girl of three, on her sickbed with a fever. It was an illness she never fully recovered from, it affected the muscles and bones in her legs. While she could walk it was painful and she was never totally in control of her leg muscles. She lurched as she walked and would often trip on uneven ground. She faced many challenges growing up: poverty, disability, ridicule and limited education. At a young age Christina was forced to quit school to help her mother and grandmother with the many responsibilities around the farm. She cooked, cleaned, laundered, gathered eggs and eventually took care of her ailing parents. She never complained about her pain or her responsibilities. Until she was introduced to a new friend, Walton, her only companions were her three brothers Alvaro, Sam and Fred.
Christina was smart, shy, stubborn, courageous and full of perseverance. But broken dreams and promises follow Christina. She never marries and continues to live in the farmhouse, with Alvaro, her younger brother. She is a very private, proud and resourceful woman.
One summer day in 1939, Andrew Wyeth and Betsy James, a neighbor girl who soon becomes his wife, drive up to the farmhouse in an old station wagon. Wyeth, who is twenty-two is enthralled with the old dilapidated farmhouse, he wants to paint it. "I'll bet I could paint it for a hundred years and never get tired of it." he says. He asks Christina if he can use an upstairs bedroom for painting. The lighting is perfect. Christina and Wyeth become friends, spending time together sharing stories over pie at the kitchen table. It's a friendship of shared perils, values and understanding. She is old enough to be his mother, yet in the iconic painting he affectionately portrays her as much younger woman.
"The truth is, this place--this house, this field, this sky--may only be a small piece of the world. But Betsey's right: it is the entire world to me."
REVIEW
Christina Baker Kline's atmospheric writing evoked a peaceful feeling as I read this book. A feeling and a book that I didn't want to end. Christina's character breathes in this book, she was at times stubborn, angry, spiteful and frustrated, and at other times happy, nostalgic, emboldened and proud. I felt empathy for this portrayal of the life of Christina Olsen. The chapters in A PIECE OF THE WORLD creatively alternate between Christina's interaction with Wyeth, and Christina's life story. The organization of the story in the book is simply masterful. Kline's writing is beautifully lyrical and yet profound.
With this novel, Wyeth's painting, Christina's World comes to life. A girl who wanted more, dreamt of more, but has come to peace with her world as it is, a simple life in the farmhouse on the hill. While a work of fiction, this story make sense overlaid with this painting. I loved Kline's creativity in creating a backstory full of emotion and interaction. The Author Notes at the end of the book are a must read, and have in fact, motivated me to read more about the real Christina Olsen and Andrew Wyeth.
Christina Baker Kline is an award winning American novelist. She is the author of seven novels, including the New York Times bestselling novel Orphan Train.
"He did get one thing right: Sometimes a sanctuary, sometimes a prison, that house on the hill has always been my home. I've spent my life yearning toward it, wanting to escape it, paralyzed by its hold on me."
Christina Baker Kline
MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PUBLISHER William Morrow
PUBLISHED February 21, 2017
A beautifully lyrical but profound novel about family, friendships, passion and art.
SUMMARY
Andrew Wyeth painted an iconic work of art in 1948 titled Christina's
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World. The painting shows a young dark haired woman in a pink dress lying twisted in a green field and gazing up longingly at a old grey weather beaten farmhouse in the distance. What's the backstory to this artwork? Who was Christina? A PIECE OF THE WORLD is a work of fiction which chronicles the brave but simple life of Christina Olsen. We first meet Christina in 1896, as a young girl of three, on her sickbed with a fever. It was an illness she never fully recovered from, it affected the muscles and bones in her legs. While she could walk it was painful and she was never totally in control of her leg muscles. She lurched as she walked and would often trip on uneven ground. She faced many challenges growing up: poverty, disability, ridicule and limited education. At a young age Christina was forced to quit school to help her mother and grandmother with the many responsibilities around the farm. She cooked, cleaned, laundered, gathered eggs and eventually took care of her ailing parents. She never complained about her pain or her responsibilities. Until she was introduced to a new friend, Walton, her only companions were her three brothers Alvaro, Sam and Fred.
Christina was smart, shy, stubborn, courageous and full of perseverance. But broken dreams and promises follow Christina. She never marries and continues to live in the farmhouse, with Alvaro, her younger brother. She is a very private, proud and resourceful woman.
One summer day in 1939, Andrew Wyeth and Betsy James, a neighbor girl who soon becomes his wife, drive up to the farmhouse in an old station wagon. Wyeth, who is twenty-two is enthralled with the old dilapidated farmhouse, he wants to paint it. "I'll bet I could paint it for a hundred years and never get tired of it." he says. He asks Christina if he can use an upstairs bedroom for painting. The lighting is perfect. Christina and Wyeth become friends, spending time together sharing stories over pie at the kitchen table. It's a friendship of shared perils, values and understanding. She is old enough to be his mother, yet in the iconic painting he affectionately portrays her as much younger woman.
"The truth is, this place--this house, this field, this sky--may only be a small piece of the world. But Betsey's right: it is the entire world to me."
REVIEW
Christina Baker Kline's atmospheric writing evoked a peaceful feeling as I read this book. A feeling and a book that I didn't want to end. Christina's character breathes in this book, she was at times stubborn, angry, spiteful and frustrated, and at other times happy, nostalgic, emboldened and proud. I felt empathy for this portrayal of the life of Christina Olsen. The chapters in A PIECE OF THE WORLD creatively alternate between Christina's interaction with Wyeth, and Christina's life story. The organization of the story in the book is simply masterful. Kline's writing is beautifully lyrical and yet profound.
With this novel, Wyeth's painting, Christina's World comes to life. A girl who wanted more, dreamt of more, but has come to peace with her world as it is, a simple life in the farmhouse on the hill. While a work of fiction, this story make sense overlaid with this painting. I loved Kline's creativity in creating a backstory full of emotion and interaction. The Author Notes at the end of the book are a must read, and have in fact, motivated me to read more about the real Christina Olsen and Andrew Wyeth.
Christina Baker Kline is an award winning American novelist. She is the author of seven novels, including the New York Times bestselling novel Orphan Train.
"He did get one thing right: Sometimes a sanctuary, sometimes a prison, that house on the hill has always been my home. I've spent my life yearning toward it, wanting to escape it, paralyzed by its hold on me."
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LibraryThing member flourgirl49
I've seen the famous painting "Christina's World" by Andrew Wyeth but never stopped to think that the subject might be a real person. This book is a fictionalized account of that person, Christina Olson, who suffered a crippling disability. In time, she could not walk and had to pull herself across
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the ground with her elbows - she refused to use a wheel chair and shunned pity and most assistance. She led an isolated, austere life - a life that struck me as both tragic but, in the end, uplifting. This is really a very good book, and I admire the author's desire to illuminate and enlarge our understanding of snippets of history about which we might otherwise know very little. Show Less
LibraryThing member brangwinn
Kline has recreated the story of Andrew Wyeth’s picture, Christina’s World. She’s done the research and the stark world of Anna Christina Olson comes to life in this deftly written book. I’ll never be able to see the picture without also seeing the dead-end life Christina had.
LibraryThing member BookConcierge
Digital audio book performed by Polly Stone
From the book jacket: To Christina Olson, the entire world was her family’s remote farm in the small coastal town of Cushing, Maine. Born in the home her family had lived in for generations, and increasingly incapacitated by illness, Christina seemed
My reactions:
As she did in Orphan Train, Kline uses multiple time lines to tell the story. I thought Christina was a marvelous character, and appreciated the way Kline took what little is known of this real woman to weave this narrative. I liked that she focused more attention on Olson’s relationships with her family and friends than on her connection to Wyeth. Her physical condition made life in a relatively remote, and simple homestead (they lacked any modern conveniences), all that more difficult. Yet, as Kline depicts her, she persevered with a fierce independence.
Christina Olson was a complex woman, and Kline does a good job of showing that complexity. I was already familiar with Wyeth’s painting, Christina’s World, but this “portrait” makes me appreciate the painting even more.
The audiobook is performed by Polly Stone, and she does a fine job. She sets a good pace for the narrative. I did get a little confused about the timeline at first, but this was more the result of Kline’s style of storytelling, than it was any fault of Stone’s performance.
From the book jacket: To Christina Olson, the entire world was her family’s remote farm in the small coastal town of Cushing, Maine. Born in the home her family had lived in for generations, and increasingly incapacitated by illness, Christina seemed
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destined for a small life. Instead for more than twenty years, she was host and inspiration for the artist Andrew Wyeth, and became the subject of one of the best-known paintings of the twentieth century, Christina’s WorldMy reactions:
As she did in Orphan Train, Kline uses multiple time lines to tell the story. I thought Christina was a marvelous character, and appreciated the way Kline took what little is known of this real woman to weave this narrative. I liked that she focused more attention on Olson’s relationships with her family and friends than on her connection to Wyeth. Her physical condition made life in a relatively remote, and simple homestead (they lacked any modern conveniences), all that more difficult. Yet, as Kline depicts her, she persevered with a fierce independence.
Christina Olson was a complex woman, and Kline does a good job of showing that complexity. I was already familiar with Wyeth’s painting, Christina’s World, but this “portrait” makes me appreciate the painting even more.
The audiobook is performed by Polly Stone, and she does a fine job. She sets a good pace for the narrative. I did get a little confused about the timeline at first, but this was more the result of Kline’s style of storytelling, than it was any fault of Stone’s performance.
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LibraryThing member bookworm12
In the same vein as Tracy Chevalier‘s work, the author explores a fictional story behind a famous painting. The working question is "Christina‘s World” by Andrew Wyeth. A disabled woman deals with quiet life on a farm in Maine, falling in love, and all of the complications of every day life.
I knew very little about Wyeth before reading this. I loved the fictional account of how he falls in love with the countryside and this family. I explored more of his work after I finished the book. He had such an incredible way of capturing light and motion.
BOTTOM LINE: I wasn’t a huge fan of Orphan Train, But I thought this one worked really well. It wasn’t an earth shattering novel, but it was a good fictional story that held my attention throughout.
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We flash back-and-forth from her current day situation where she is frequently visited by the painter and the past as we see her life unfold.I knew very little about Wyeth before reading this. I loved the fictional account of how he falls in love with the countryside and this family. I explored more of his work after I finished the book. He had such an incredible way of capturing light and motion.
BOTTOM LINE: I wasn’t a huge fan of Orphan Train, But I thought this one worked really well. It wasn’t an earth shattering novel, but it was a good fictional story that held my attention throughout.
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LibraryThing member novelcommentary
A Piece of The World is a well researched fictional account of the life of Christina Olsen, who is the muse and inspiration behind the famous Andrew Wyeth painting,Christina's World. The narrative begins when the young artist was introduced to Christina through a 17 year old, named Betsy. Not much
I enjoyed the novel and its depiction of this quiet, lonely life of a woman who inspired one of the most famous paintings of the 20th century. The descriptions of the artist's work were the most interesting. Example follows:
"Andy’s eye is drawn to every cracked or faded implement and receptacle and tool, objects that once were used daily and now exist, like relics, to mark a way of life that has passed. Through his perspective I see familiar things anew. The pale pink wallpaper with tiny flowers. The red geraniums blooming in the window in their blue pots. The mahogany banister, the ship captain’s barometer in the foyer, an earthenware crock on a shelf in the pantry, the blue pantry door scratched by a long-ago dog."
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time passes before Betsy becomes his wife and Christina's house, where she lives with her brother Alvaro, becomes a makeshift studio for the aspiring artist with the famous father. The other half of the novel centers around the life of Christina herself, growing up with a degenerative decease called CMT which results in her decreasing mobility and dexterity. Her existence is as remarkable as the painting and provides some insight into what Wyeth must have seen in the nobility of her existence. I enjoyed the novel and its depiction of this quiet, lonely life of a woman who inspired one of the most famous paintings of the 20th century. The descriptions of the artist's work were the most interesting. Example follows:
"Andy’s eye is drawn to every cracked or faded implement and receptacle and tool, objects that once were used daily and now exist, like relics, to mark a way of life that has passed. Through his perspective I see familiar things anew. The pale pink wallpaper with tiny flowers. The red geraniums blooming in the window in their blue pots. The mahogany banister, the ship captain’s barometer in the foyer, an earthenware crock on a shelf in the pantry, the blue pantry door scratched by a long-ago dog."
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LibraryThing member John_Warner
Many are familiar with the iconic painting by the 20th century American painter Andrew Wyeth entitled Christina's World, which depicts a solitary woman lying in a treeless field, face away from the viewer, looking at a barn in the distance. However, you might not know that the model named Christina
Christina Baker Kline, author of Orphan Train, has written a well-researched historical fiction of Christina's life, who wore leg braces as a child to ambulate but as an adult moved about the farm dragging herself forward using her arms. Although you might believe that this novel would be a depressing read, it was actually a story of a woman who refused to be defined by her handicap. I enjoyed Orphan Train better; however, I enjoyed knowing more about the woman who now lives forever.
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Olson, befriended by Wyeth, was a historical figure whose entire world was her family's farm situated along the Maine coast. Christina was born with a form of neuropathy which resulted in muscular weakness and atrophy in her adulthood. Christina Baker Kline, author of Orphan Train, has written a well-researched historical fiction of Christina's life, who wore leg braces as a child to ambulate but as an adult moved about the farm dragging herself forward using her arms. Although you might believe that this novel would be a depressing read, it was actually a story of a woman who refused to be defined by her handicap. I enjoyed Orphan Train better; however, I enjoyed knowing more about the woman who now lives forever.
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LibraryThing member judithrs
A Piece of the World. Christina Baker Kline. 2017. This is a novel based on the life of Christina Olson, the woman in the famous painting, “Christina’s World” by Andrew Wyeth. Kline certainly did her research. She spent a lot of time in Maine as a child and is familiar with the terrain and
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the people. She draws a picture of Christina’s personality, life, and I loved the book-reading about life in Maine, about Wyeth’s personality and the way he painted, and about Christina’s small sad world. Show Less
LibraryThing member yourotherleft
In A Piece of the World, Kline imagines the life of the subject of one of Andrew Wyeth's paintings, Christina's World. My heart broke for proud Christina, crippled at a young age by polio, whose determination not to give into the pains of her failing body leaves her unwilling to accept help or pity
A few times during the reading, I found myself worrying over the ending. How can this end without doing a disservice to the character and the rest of the story? How can it end without being too trite or just too depressing? I need not have worried. The ending strikes the most pitch perfect of notes between bitter and sweet, revealing a life that is so much more than the sum of its parts and inspiring that much more love for both the painter and his subject.
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but also desperately limited by the path she has chosen. This isn't a cheery book. It's hard to look at a character whose lot in life is often frustration, humiliation, and heartbreak as the able bodied people in her life come and go while she is consigned to a life of difficulty, a life that misses out on so much a "normal" life would offer. Kline's talent in making me care so much for this proud, sometimes selfish, sometimes downright ornery character imprisoned by a world both of her own and her disability's making, is what makes this book shine. A few times during the reading, I found myself worrying over the ending. How can this end without doing a disservice to the character and the rest of the story? How can it end without being too trite or just too depressing? I need not have worried. The ending strikes the most pitch perfect of notes between bitter and sweet, revealing a life that is so much more than the sum of its parts and inspiring that much more love for both the painter and his subject.
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Awards
Maine Literary Award (Winner — Fiction — 2018)
New England Society Book Award (Winner — Fiction — 2018)
Language
Original publication date
2017-02-21
ISBN
9780062644183
Local notes
"Harperluxe, an imprint of HarperCollins, Publishers."