- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: CANONGATE BOOKS; Reprint edition (April 29 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1841953229
- ISBN-13: 978-1841953229
- Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 12.7 x 1.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 159 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #569,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Matton uses the woman who served as Rembrandt's emotional anchor to explore the tumultuous second half of the artist's life in this fascinating novel. Twenty-year-old Hendrickje Stoffels makes the journey from her Dutch village to Amsterdam to model for the famous painter, who is 43 as the novel opens. The modeling job turns into a lifelong affair that produces a child, Titus but when Rembrandt refuses a marriage request from Stoffels's predecessor, Stoffels is condemned and labeled a whore by the Catholic Church. Their love goes far beyond the physical realm, however, and it is the young woman who ends up caring for the painter, protecting him from his voracious creditors and the Amsterdam politicians who would exploit his formidable talent. Matton hits some rough stretches in the early going as she bounces back and forth between Stoffels's first-person observations of Rembrandt, the politics of the era and the effect of the plague on Amsterdam. But things smooth out once she gets past their initial liaisons, and the plague becomes a de facto character in the background as Rembrandt struggles to consolidate his artistic legacy. Matton could have speculated more about what Stoffels may have known about Rembrandt's artistic inspirations, but overall this is a fascinating, illuminating look at the pressures he faced in the later stages of his life. Despite the tantalizing gaps in this unusual character study, the distinctive conceit and Matton's ability to follow through on it make this a noteworthy book.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Review
"A fascinating, illuminating look at the pressures he faced in the later stages of his life. . . . the distinctive conceit and Matton's ability to follow through on it make this a noteworthy book." —Publishers Weekly
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
God has been good. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
God has been good. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
My opinion,
By "mozart1781" (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Rembrandts Whore (Paperback)
I must disagree on one point with the top most reviewer. This novel was written before Tracy Cheveliers Girl with a pearl earring. Although "pearl earring" was a far more interesting read. I found this book boring but oddly intriguing. It is worded strangely and sometimes the main character (its in 1st person) Begins to speak to Rembrandt. These parts are second person and it all becomes very confusing. I also found I didn't really care about the main character and the ending was a let down. It leaves one dissatisfied with the novel. You would have to really love anything to do with Rembrandt to enjoy this book.I in fact found it so boring it took over three weeks to finish. And this is saying something when the book is only about 180 pages. I hated it so much I referred to is as the dreadful book that would not end. Once again someone really needs to enjoy aspects of Rembrandt's life to enjoy this complicated (what seems like) 500 page bore. The reason by the way that this received 2 stars instead of 1 is because the plot was enough to keep me reading up to a point.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Riding a wave...,
By
This review is from: Rembrandts Whore (Paperback)
Sylvie Matton is simply riding the Tracey Chevalier wave. Unfortunately, she is not a good enough surfer and crashes before the break. A boring book, a pale imitation.
5.0 out of 5 stars
extraordinary imaginative work,
By Robert Spencer (Portland, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Rembrandt's Whore (Hardcover)
Writing historical fiction or biography presents unique challenges. The author must reconcile what is known with an act of the imagination to create characters and story. This is true even when writing non fiction, with fiction it is even trickier. I have recently read "Girl with Pearl Earing" and "Girl in Hyacinth Blue", two other novels attempting to portray the golden age of art in Holland, both centering around Vermeer. Both are noteworthy, but this effort, about Rembrandt, surpasses both.First of all, the main character, from whose point of view the story is told, thinks more like someone in the 17th century than the characters in the other two novels. There is the omnipresence of religion, the imagery with which thought occurrs(the little white worms!). Then there is the sense of time and place..Amsterdam here is not some nostalgic spot in the Dutch past, but a complex culture mixing religion, innovation, and art in the country where modern capitalism arguably emerged. It is the merchants who rule this world, not the old aristocracy, and this world is in flux. The tension between the merchant class, the religious reaction to them, and artist as personified by Rembrandt is fascinatiog. One also feels the force of natural events, the Plague, and the floods which always threatened Holland. There is much about Rembrandt here, much about the struggle of an artist who attempts to remain true to his vision, both as an artist and as a human being, against the spirit of a conservative phillistine society.The descriptions of Rembrandt's way of seeing the world, and most importantly the people in it, will change the way you look at his art. Lastly, this book is simply a joy to read. Mattons language is rich and evocative and lingers in the mind. Her observations about the people who live in this world ar sharp and true. The love story in these pages is erotic and powerful. She also has a unique way of blending story lines with the Rembrandt's paintings that enriches the story even more. My highest recomendation!
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