Customer Reviews

Sunflowers

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Sheramy Bundrick's first novel based on art history is a gem of a book. "Sunflowers" is the story of Vincent Van Gogh's last 2 years of life as seen through the eyes of his Arlesienne prostitute lover, Rachel Courtreau.

Ms. Bundrick, an art historian at a Florida University, has taken the facts of Van Gogh's tortured life and woven them with beautiful descriptions of the time, place and people he painted. As if this information wasn't enough to base her novel on, Ms. Bundrick takes us inside the artist's head through his "imagined but possible" conversations with M. Roulin, Dr's Rey and Peyron, M. Trabuc, and others who featured in Van Gogh's brightly colored canvases. What caused Van Gogh's madness??? Was he bi-polar? Did he suffer from epilepsy? Did he feel the constant pressure to paint and be understood like all artists do?One can only imagine....

Rachel's part as Van Gogh's love interest, serves a dual purpose of "setting the scene". Through her story, we see the beautiful colors of the South of France, the artist's process, the weather, the festivals, the town of Arles as Van Gogh would have seen it, and what a woman's life was like if and when fate intervened.

A great way to enjoy this book even further would be to have an art book on hand that features Van Gogh's paintings.

I picked up this book because I enjoy historical fiction, the lives of creative geniuses, and severe mental illness. I think the author brought light to the topic of madness and creativity, how the two went hand-in-hand for Van Gogh, and illustrating the devastating effect the episodes ("crise") must have had on his personal relationships and his art. The author also does a very nice job of describing the places, sights, smells, sounds, and colors of the world of Vincent Van Gogh in the last two years of his life.

Unfortunately the love story for me was just a bit too sappy, but then I'm not a big romance reader. The love story didn't seem very sophisticated. I also found some of the characters a bit unbelievable--especially Dr. Rey, who is supposed to be very nice and normal, but his reaction to Rachel seems extremely naive considering that he is supposed to be a full-grown man who had gone through college and medical school. I did appreciate that even though the heroine was a prostitute there were no detailed graphic descriptions of sex, which I think would have detracted from the beauty of the book.

Overall, I found the sappiness of the love story distracting, but the author's loving description of the art and the way she makes the places and times come alive made the book enjoyable.

First time author and art historian Sheramy Bundrick takes a character who is a mere footnote in history - a prostitute by the name of Rachel was presented with Vincent Van Gogh's severed ear by the artist himself - and spins an artful (pun intended) tale around what-might-have-been. Told from the first person POV, Rachel awakes from a nap in a city garden to find a odd gentleman sketching her - and a new friendship begins that quickly turns to love - although Rachel's love is strongly tested when Vincent begins displaying bouts of madness and he is hospitalized and eventually taken away from Arles and Rachel. Can their love survive? Can Vincent overcome his madness and marry her? If you don't want to know the answers before reading the book stay off the internet.

Outside of a few minor quibbles, I found this was a very entertaining, albeit a quick and light read (heh, after Wolf Hall anything would be light and easy). I'm not terribly fond of the first person narrative, although it did work well here, especially seeing Rachel's reactions to Vincent's madness as well as to his paintings (nicely done), but it did box the author in when she had to use *letters* between Rachel and Vincent later in the book. There was more black and white in some characters than I care to see (argh! the prostitutes with the heart of gold), and perhaps some of the language (especially the cursing) was a bit too modern. Although I haven't a clue how any Frenchman (in this century or the last) swears so what do I know? Rachel seemed to have a touch too much freedom, both coming and going from the brothel as well as when Vincent was in the asylum - but those are all minor nits on an otherwise engaging tale.

A big thumbs up on the author's notes telling us what is known and what was not as well as when she *fudged* a date or two to make her story work. I like to see that - now if Ms. "historical entertainment" could learn to do that. This is a solid first entry into the historical fiction field and I look forward to who or what she'll write about next - love the art angle and want to see more.

Rachel, the young woman who narrates this tender novel, makes her living in a brothel where she has landed through bad fortune. First meeting the 35-year-old Vincent van Gogh as a customer in their town of Arles in the south of France, she soon begins to fall in love with this moody, sometimes sickly and brilliantly gifted man. He needs and loves her but is obsessed by his work, hasn't a penny and is supported by his brother; it is also unlikely that his good middle-class family will accept her. Even as they promise to marry each other and somehow make a life together, he begins his periodic collapses and intermittent weeks and months of madness which force him into a hospital where she often cannot even see him. Eventually his brother moves him far away near Paris, and still their passionate letters and hopes continue.

It is interesting that within the pages of SUNFLOWERS, it is first Van Gogh whose brilliant if erratic light shines over all the chapters like the sun over fields at midday and slowly, as the book progresses, Rachel emerges more as a person until you finally see that though he is the genius, she is the stronger one and the one who will actively struggle to make a life for both of them even with his bouts of madness. When he collapses, she goes on; when he can decide nothing, she makes plans as she can. Still, without money and with his brother deciding Vincent's course and mostly with Vincent retreating again and again, Rachel's struggle is momentous. The final chapters (I will not divulge them here) were particularly moving to me. It made me want to read it all again.

Anyone who loves novels about artists and the passion to create should read this book.

I am the author of MARRYING MOZART and CLAUDE AND CAMILLE: A NOVEL OF MONET (April 2010).

Sheramy Bundrick's expertise in art history allows her to paint a softer more human image of Vincent van Gogh. She deals compassionately with his mental illness, passionately with his talent and delicately with many of the social issues surrounding 19th century France. Her novel is set in the last year of van Gogh's life which was fertile ground for art, history, and mental illness. If the love of his life was a twenty-something prostitute, you will be inspired by the relationship; and impressed by what you learn about art.

Sunflowers is a rich novel of historical fiction that combines in-depth factual research with a vivid portrayal of Vincent van Gogh's world. The novel is told in first person through the eyes of Rachel, a young woman who suffers great misfortune and turns to brothel work to survive. A naive girl and innocent at heart, Rachel is deeply moved by van Gogh's artistry. She sees past his erratic moodiness into the heart of his gift, and slowly falls in love with him. He too falls in love with her, but that love competes with his passion for his art and weakness from his illness. Sunflowers tells the story of how these two unique souls make their way through the world, both together and individually.

While the story moves slowly, there is a great deal of information, detail and emotion to absorb. As I reached the climax of the novel, I could not help but cry at its poignancy. A wonderful read that you won't want to miss.

I am the author of WATERMARK: A NOVEL OF THE MIDDLE AGES, due out from Avon A in April 2010

The novel, Sunflowers, is a historically fictionalized account of Vincent Van Gogh's final years.Bundrick used a fictional relationship that Van Gogh suppposedly had with a prostitute ,Rachel,to tell the true story of Van Gogh in the Arles years 1888 to 1890. This fictionalized love affair just did not work for me. At times I was annoyed with the amount of time and detail that went into describing this fictionalized relationship. I did enjoy the real life Van Gogh story which was lovingly and painstakingly researched by Bundrick.In this aspect the novel is a thorough revelation of the gifted artist who fought the demons of mental illness to produce some of the greatest artworks of all time. It is wonderful to follow Van Gogh into the fields and French villages and experience what he did as he sat on his stool and created masterpieces that were not appreciated during his lifetime. His failed family relationships, his devoted relationship with Theo, the complicated doctor relationships as well as the interesting Gaugin relationship are beautifully rendered by the author. Her descriptions of Van Gogh's artworks will inspire many to look further into art books or museums. Sunflowers is a perfect title for this novel. These flowers have a vibrant but short lived life much like the artist Van Gogh himself.

Rachel Courteau was a prostitute in Arles, France in the late 19th century and in a chance encounter, she met Vincent van Gogh, thus beginning a two year relationship with him. Theirs was an odd relationship since she was a prostitute and he was fighting mental illness.

SUNFLOWERS by Sheramy Bundrick is told from Rachel's perspective and follows her relationship with Vincent from his time in Arles to Saint Rémy to Auvers with the latter parts of their relationship shown through their correspondence. I was drawn into this book very quickly because I was fascinated with Vincent van Gogh and his relationships with his brother and with Paul Gauguin. The end of the book was a little slower for me because Vincent had left Arles and he wasn't as involved in the story - I wanted more of Vincent and less of Rachel. I really liked Vincent - he comes across as a kind, artistic, sympathetic man who loved his art, his family and children. He was frustrated because of his dependence on his brother and his lack of success. Rachel is also kind, but I didn't always understand her motivations. Ultimately, this is a love story and I liked it but didn't love it.

I can't remember when I first heard about SUNFLOWERS by Sheramy Bundrick, but I immediately knew I wanted to read it. As you already know, I am a huge fan of historical fiction; and I kept hearing this book compared to GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING which I happened to lov. I also thought the cover was just stunning -- a picture of Vincent Van Gogh's Sunflowers. Needless to say, I had a really strong suspicion that I was going to like SUNFLOWERS; and guess what... I did! SUNFLOWERS captured my attention from the very beginning, and I didn't want to put the book down (even after I finished it.)

To be honest, I really didn't know much about Van Gogh except for that unfortunate ear incident. Of course, I am somewhat familiar with his paintings especially Sunflowers, Irises, and a Starry Night; but I knew little about his life. I guess I knew that he had some mental issues, but I might have just assumed that because he cut off his ear. That's one of the reasons that I was so anxious to read SUNFLOWERS -- I wanted to know more about Vincent Van Gogh. I am so happy to say that I found this fictional account of Van Gogh to be extremely interesting.

What I loved so much about this book was how the author decided to tell Van Gogh's story. While the book was about the last two years of Van Gogh's life -- his art, his love life and especially his mental illness, the story was actually told in first person by Rachel, a prostitute who had fallen in love with Van Gogh. It really was Rachel's story. I thought Ms. Bundrick did an excellent job developing Rachel's character and making the reader sympathize with her.

SUNFLOWERS does give the reader some insight into Van Gogh's troubled life, but I think at the very core, the book was a love story. My heart absolutely went out to Rachel from the first few pages. She was a young girl who was forced into prostitution when both of her parents died. She was immediately swept off her feet by Van Gogh, and she was continually optimistic that he would eventually marry her. She was so devoted to him and even stood by him throughout all of his "episodes." At times, I got frustrated by her naivete and unconditional love for Van Gogh; however, I couldn't help but be reminded of her unfortunate circumstances -- she really just wanted a happy ending. My heart especially went out to her after Van Gogh died. All of her dreams were shattered; butt she still found the strength to go on. I found this book to be tragic in so many ways, yet the book managed leave me with a feeling of hope.

SUNFLOWERS is Ms. Bundrick's first novel and it's just a terrific debut! It's obvious to me that not only did she conduct a lot of research to write this book, but that she is also very passionate about the subject matter. (Ms. Bundrick is an art historian and professor at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.) I thought she did an amazing job of incorporating the facts of Van Gogh's life into this fictional story; and, I was also impressed with how well she developed the characters. I sincerely hope that Ms. Bundrick is working on her next novel, and I'd love for it to be about another artist!

I know that my book club would absolutely love to read and discuss SUNFLOWERS. I think the basic consensus among our members is that we all enjoy historical fiction, and I think SUNFLOWERS is a great example of a discussion worthy book. There is a seventeen question reading guide in the back of the book which delves further into many of the topics I thought about while reading this novel. Some of the topics for discussion include the meaning of the title SUNFLOWERS, perception versus reality, and mental illness. In addition, many groups would find it fascinating to analyze many of the book's characters and their actions.

Rachel is the prostitute to whom Vincent gives his ear when he cuts it off. That is the only historical fact known about her. So the author took this seemingly minor person and spun a story about her relationship with Vincent during his time in Arles, France. Why would Vincent specifically ask for Rachel when he stumbles into the brothel that night? A good question, which the author answers with creativity and imagination.

The novel is littered with imagery of Vincent's paintings, especially my favorite, "Cafe Terrace at Night". The descriptions are so well written that I could vividly see his paintings in my head and feel emotions that he meant to convey through his art. I no longer have to go to the museum to get lost in his work; I only have to open this book and choose a paragraph.

This story is an emotional, artistic, whimsical journey through the life of a troubled artist. It makes Vincent a person instead of just a historical figure and gives life also to those who influenced him and loved him. It turns Rachel into something more than just a fille de maison, into a woman who held the heart of the artist. Reading this book was like following the swirls and brushstrokes of Vincent's own art.