A Piece of the World
by Christina Baker Kline
4 stars
Set in a farmhouse in Cushing, Maine during the 1940’s, Kline’s latest novel explores the real life story of Christina Olsen, the real life inspiration for “Christina’s World”, one of Andrew Wyeth’s most famous paintings. Christina Olsen lives her entire life on the farm dealing with a crippling form of polio and while it would seem her world is small, her quiet strength and determination is intertwined with Andrew Wyeth’s artistic talent. Wyeth comes to her farm house for the next 20 years and sees Christina as his source of artistic inspiration. The Orphan Train was one of my favorite books so I was excited to read A Piece of the World when it came out. I was not disappointed. I knew of the painting, but never knew the backstory. I would definitely recommend this book, and I loved the way the author intertwined Andrew and Christina’s fate while closely following both of their stories.
Read-alikes
Lisette’s List by Susan Vreeland
Georgia by Dawn Clifton Tripp
I Always Loved You: a story of Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas by Robin Oliveira
