- Hardcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: Viking Canada (AHC) (Feb 9 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0670044814
- ISBN-13: 978-0670044818
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15 x 3.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 635 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #647,895 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
The Canadian artist Emily Carr (1871- 1945) could be a feminist icon. Spirited and courageous, inspired by an inner vision of "distortion for expression" and by a mission to capture on canvas the starkly fierce totem poles carved by the Indian tribes of British Columbia, Carr endured the disapproval of her family and of society at large until her belated vindication. One of the pleasures of this beguiling novel based on Carr's life is the way Vreeland (Girl in Hyacinth Blue) herself has acquired a painter's eye; her descriptions of Carr's works are faithful evocations of the artist's dazzling colors and craft. No art schools taught the techniques that Carr felt suitable to the immense, rugged landscape of British Columbia. Moreover, when she ventured into isolated tribal villages and befriended the natives, braving physical discomfort and sometimes real danger, she was accused of "unwholesome socializing with primitives." Drawing on Carr's many journals, Vreeland imagines her experiences in remote areas of B.C. as well as in Victoria, Vancouver and (briefly) France. There are few dramatic climaxes; instead, Vreeland emphasizes Carr's relationships with her rigidly conventional siblings and with her mentors and colleagues. She vividly describes the obstacles Carr faced when she ventured into the wilderness and in her periods of near poverty and self-doubt. A fictitious French fur trader introduces a romantic element, which may offend purists. Much of the suspense comes through Carr's affectionate relationship with a real woman, Sophie Frank, a Squamish basket maker who loses nine children to white men's diseases. Adding to Sophie's emotional desolation is the torment introduced by inflexible Christian dogma that alienates tribes from their native traditions and spiritual beliefs. Vreeland provides this historical background with the same authoritative detail that she brings to the Victorian culture that challenged Carr's pioneering efforts. Her robust narrative should do much to establish Carr's significance in the world of modern art.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–This novel portrays 20 years in the life of British Columbia painter Emily Carr, who was determined to preserve the Indian heritage, especially the totem poles, of the Pacific Northwest in her art. Living in the late 1800s, when women were supposed to be subservient homemakers and not adventuresome and out on their own in the forests, Carr knew what she wanted and then went after it, even when this meant doing without food. Although she is about 30 when the story opens, teens will relate to her rebellious streak, her firm adherence to her beliefs, and her unusual friends. Those interested in art history will appreciate the discussions of technique and reading about her year in Paris as she learned from prominent artists. The novel is decidedly heavier reading than the author's Girl in Hyacinth Blue (MacMurray & Beck, 1999), and sometimes the Indians' dialogue is in pidgin English. Four black-and-white reproductions and the color dust jacket represent a few of Carr's works.–Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
No trees were harmed to make this book,
This review is from: Forest Lover (Hardcover)
At least I can't imagine they were . . . THE FOREST LOVER is just one of many books that have come out this past year, dealing with art, artists, and the general terrority that goes with that genre. Susan Vreeland has capatilized on this, and she's the best of the lot for doing so. The subject of Vreeland's book is the Canadian artist Emily Carr who traveled through British Columbia in the first part of the last century to paint villages, totem poles, and other artifacts before they disappeared. what might sound like a boring foray into the wilds turns epic and extrordinary in the hands of Vreeland. If you liked books such as GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING and the gorgeous and brilliant BARK OF THE DOGWOOD, then you'll probably enjoy this unusual novel as well.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A READING RICH IN TIMBRE,
By
This review is from: Forest Lover Unabridged (Audio CD)
A stage background in Shakespearean plays may be what gives voice performer Karen White's voice a richness of timbre so appropriate for this story. Further, she reads the life of an iconic artist with sympathetic understanding while not at all detracting from the courage and determination that defined this remarkable woman, Emily Carr (1871-1945).With messianic zeal Carr was determined to paint the incomparable totem poles carved and decorated by the Indians of British Columbia. Years ahead of her time she chose to do this with bold colors in modular, expressionistic depictions. Following her calling much to the distress and recrimination of her family and the society of her day, she became an art teacher who decried traditional ways. In this fictionalized portrait of the extraordinary artist Susan Vreeland (Girl in Hyacinth Blue and The Passion of Artemisia) traces Carr's travels into the deepest wilderness to meet an indigenous people. While many of her journeys were solo undertakings she did have friends and compatriots, among them were Sophie, A Native American basket maker, Harold, a missionary's son, and Fanny an Australian painter. Later Carr went to Paris where in 1911 she became a part of the avant garde artists who were developing modernism and cubism. With her third such novel Vreeland once again brings to unforgettable life another time, another place, and an extraordinary individual.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A READING RICH IN TIMBRE,
By
This review is from: Forest Lover Unabridged (Audio CD)
A stage background in Shakespearean plays may be what gives voice performer Karen White's voice a richness of timbre so appropriate for this story. Further, she reads the life of an iconic artist with sympathetic understanding while not at all detracting from the courage and determination that defined this remarkable woman, Emily Carr (1871-1945).With messianic zeal Carr was determined to paint the incomparable totem poles carved and decorated by the Indians of British Columbia. Years ahead of her time she chose to do this with bold colors in modular, expressionistic depictions. Following her calling much to the distress and recrimination of her family and the society of her day, she became an art teacher who decried traditional ways. In this fictionalized portrait of the extraordinary artist Susan Vreeland (Girl in Hyacinth Blue and The Passion of Artemisia) traces Carr's travels into the deepest wilderness to meet an indigenous people. While many of her journeys were solo undertakings she did have friends and compatriots, among them were Sophie, A Native American basket maker, Harold, a missionary's son, and Fanny an Australian painter. Later Carr went to Paris where in 1911 she became a part of the avant garde artists who were developing modernism and cubism. With her third such novel Vreeland once again brings to unforgettable life another time, another place, and an extraordinary individual. - Gail Cooke
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