A Piece of the World: A Novel

A Piece of the World is a fascinating look into the life of Christina Olson, a physically-afflicted woman who becomes a favorite subject of artist Andrew Wyeth, in particular his painting Christina's World. Christina's story is told with compassion and honesty; a woman who wants to be independent, but must rely on others. The story flows beautifully, with heart wrenching detail of Christina's physical challenges, and the longing in her heart to be loved, and to be whole. I could feel Christina's pain, her humiliation, and her determination in every excruciating step of her journey. Just as Andrew Wyeth did in his painting, Christina Baker Kline was able to capture the essence of Christina, living in her house on the hill.

Christina Baker Kline had published four novels — literary fiction, the deadliest of categories — when she handed “Orphan Train” to her publisher. The topic was niche: homeless children transported from eastern cities to the rural west from 1854 to 1929. The main characters were a 91-year-old woman and a troubled teen. Not a story or a cast that cries best-seller.

Kline’s last book had produced modest sales. If “Orphan Train” didn’t find a larger audience, the next stop for Kline could easily be self-publishing. And how’s this for unhelpful: Her publisher suggested putting it out as a paperback. An original paperback is born with every possible disadvantage: no reviews, minimal marketing and modest expectations. Reluctantly, Kline gave her approval, fearful that “Ghost Train” could disappear without a trace.

But early readers loved it, and they told their friends, and soon the book had a four-star review in People and was featured on NPR’s “Weekend Edition,” and then it became a New York Times bestseller, with sales topping two million in 35 countries. Target printed 30,000 separate “book club” copies and had Kline sign 10,000 of them. Twenty-five communities chose it as a common reading experience. If you’re in a book club, no way you didn’t read it.

Now, four years later, comes what is, for most readers, Christina Baker Kline’s second novel, “A Piece of the World.” The immediate inspiration is “Christina’s World,” Andrew Wyeth’s 1948 painting, on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. You’ve surely seen it — the 32’ by 48” painting shows a woman lying in the grass on a hillside. We share her point-of-view. And because we too are looking at a gray house and a barn at the top of the hill, we may not notice how thin her arm is.

Anna Christina Olson (1893 -1968) is the woman in the painting. She suffered from a degenerative muscular disorder that made walking impossible. But she refused to use a wheelchair. She crawled. Over the years, Wyeth made 300 pictures at her house in Maine, but it was the image of her crawling to pick blueberries that made him spend months on this painting. “The challenge was to do justice to her extraordinary conquest of a life which most people would consider hopeless,” he wrote. “If in some small way I have been able in paint to make the viewer sense that her world may be limited physically but by no means spiritually, then I have achieved what I set out to do.”

Christina Baker Kline had a different challenge: to tell Christina’s story in Christina’s voice. It’s an interior story: Christina’s actual world was, for most of her life, her house. For a writer to tackle a story with so little movement — hat’s off to Christina Baker Kline just for courage. I would not have attempted this book.

The early pages of the novel aren’t riveting. We meet young Andrew Wyeth and his bride. We learn the ancient history behind the family’s move to Maine. We get a postcard version of Christina’s childhood. It isn’t until page 32 that the young girl is confronted with her infirmity.

Wyeth had an infirmity of his own. A “twisted right leg and a faulty hip” made him gimpy as a child. “You’re like me,” he tells Christina. He confesses: “I am always painting myself.” And you get that Kline has written a love story — a rare, delicate, one-of-a-kind love story — and you’re hooked.

There are other characters — father, mother, brother, a suitor — but the major character in Christina’s world is Christina. Though she’s locked in to her body and her house lacks every modern convenience, including plumbing, she’s exceptionally present. This is not a memory book. Or a self-pitying fictional memoir. If anything, it’s a kind of thriller. How much can she take before she breaks? And although she does break down — for a very good reason — she comes back, fiercely. “It’s painful to hold out hope for the things that once brought you joy,” she says. “You have to find ways to make yourself forget.” Who has not been there?

I’ve never liked Maine — it’s too cool in summer, bleak in winter. Too elemental for me, too… flinty. Christina is that. But also wise. The ultimate kindness is acceptance, she says. There are many ways to love and be loved. Long before the end — when Wyeth finally shows her the famous picture — I had reached for my pen and was underlining. In a story without much traditional drama, I found not just pleasure and passion, but one teachable moment after another.

This was a very interesting book. It started slowly but became engaging about 50 pages in. The story focuses on a woman, Christina, who struggles throughout her life with an infirmity which makes her bitter at times and insular almost continually. She never recovers from a lost love and this loss impacts her entire adult life. I thought the author did an excellent job portraying the complexity of the emotions of the characters and their relationships. I loved the history of the Hathone/Olsen families and the tie in of all of the Maine visitors,especially Wyeth. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in art or historical fiction.

I enjoyed reading this more than I expected. Andrew Wyeth's life and art come alive and I found myself looking back at his paintings as referenced in the book. Christina's character is developed through the perspective of the other characters as well as her own. I especially like this passage "In each other, I believe, they came to recognize their own contradictions. Both embraced austerity but craved beauty; both were curious about other people and yet pathologically private. They were perversely independent and yet reliant on others to take care of their basic needs: Wyeth on his wife Betsy and Christina on Alvaro."

I know some people have given this good reviews and I loved The Orphan Train
but this book was unrelentingly sad and I didn't even like the characters.
I'm sure it was true to the information available about Christina's relationship
with Andrew Wythe and I know a person with crippling arthritis similar to hers
so that was factual but I didn't come away from this story a better person in any way,
just a sadder one with a little understanding of the hard lives they lead

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I believe it could have used some stronger editing...and I became aware, too many times, of the author 'writing' her sentences. there Is a lot of redundancy. that being said, the fact is that I fell in love with this painting when I was very young (18) and was living in NYC at the time. I learned the painting (i had seen a photo of it in a newspaper) was located at the MOMA and I called them to find out where it was. it was not on display at that time (1957?) and I was told that they would bring it back up and gave me a date when it would be on view again. I went to see it and was blown off my feet by the intensity of the story it told. So many of Wyeth's works, although bleak and dark and mysterious, tell stories and you can sit and look at them for hours and come away with a whole novel in your head. the titles of the paintings (is it true that his wife named them?) add to the mystery and intrigue of the art. But the story told in this book is a good background for anyone interested in Wyeth and this painting. I had several of my art books by my side as i read it, trying to match the work with the description in the book. If it were not for the painting, the story of Christina Olson would be sad, but not intriguing. But it is, of course, the painting that inspired the book. I read through the book very quickly, because of my interest in Wyeth and the painting. It is a quick read with some satisfying insights in places. Bottom line: if you liked the painting and are interested in some backstory, you will enjoy this book. it is written in short chapters and the author is pretty clear about when things happened. As for me, although i have several books about Wyeth and his paintings, i am looking for a more informative biography and i will find it.

This book captures a time and place quite well. The story is a for the most part true and it is hard to imagine a life that difficult. Not much joy or hope for the lead character and one does eventually grow weary of thinking how she lives. I am glad I read it. The lead character is the in an Andy Wyeth painting and you do find yourself thinking about art and artists.

I loved this book and appreciated the painting so much more after reading the story. This is, of course, the writer's imagination filling in the blanks, but I loved it. It's a beautiful story , and one that I highly recommend and may read again.

I'm sorry but apparently I am the only one that didn't get this book. I just can't understand why it was written and why I continued to read it. I'm still upset with the main character, Christina. Talk about your own worst enemy.

This story is a real "downer" . I realize it is based on a true story, but I kept feeling that she should have done something to help herself, and that her stubbornness was self-defeating. Perhaps the story was not worth telling as it had no redeeming value in its presentation. The writing was good; the subject not so much. The author should use her skills telling more meaningful stories.

Very interesting story of family hardship and perseverance. I did notice though, that the dialogue (not accented) did not place the story. The circumstances of families during the war, would have been the same, all along the coast, but the description and detail of place, makes the story as it did the painting. As rare as Christina's disease is, I knew someone thirty years ago who had it. They were doing surgeries to extend ligaments in hands and legs.

The story is interesting but I'm not fond of this style that goes back and forth in time.
I found more than some grammatical errors that irritate me and repetition of words in a sentence that a good editor/proof reader might have asked to be changed.

Christina Baker Kline has hit another high note in her illustrious career. I read "A Piece of the World" with a hunger for each page. The book is a stunner! After reading, I felt my heart weighed down as if someone had stepped inside my chest. I say this in the most complimentary way. Why waste time reading a book that doesn't move us to the deepest of places? I fully intend to reread it. I want to capture every nuance. I want to linger a little longer as this time around, I read it quickly.

A book such as this one will garner much praise, no doubt. But it is the way I felt at the end, tears in my eyes, that struck me that this is the way I want to feel when I am reading, when I have finished reading something so beautiful that I will never forget it. Pick up a copy of Kline's new book and luxuriate in language, lyricism and characters so unforgettable, you will be richer for having made the journey to this "Piece of the World."

With my city, Greenville, SC, having the largest collection of Andrew Wyeth watercolors anywhere, when I saw this book review I pre-ordered it. I could not put this book down and lost a lot of sleep this week trying to finish it. Now I am headed to the Greenville County Museum of Art to view the collection, as the museum is celebrating the 100th birthday of Andrew & included
S NC & Jamie's paintings as well.

The true value of this book, besides the excellent fictional recount of Andrew Wyeth world of Christina's world, is the recolection of the good old Rural America.
The writer, Christina Baker, develops a rich powerful novel that enlightens the struggle of human relationships in a time where bonds between family members and neighbors were built and carried through generations.
I enjoyed reading the book and hated to see it come to an end.
I have loved Wyeth works, specially this painting that always has fascinated me, for it captures the essence of spirituality.

The Orphan Train is one of my favorite books so I was excited to find Christina Baker Kline had a new book out. 'A Piece of the World' was as much of a page turner and very well written. I would definitely recommend, just be prepared to stay in all day to finish it in one sitting!

After reading Orphan Train by the same author, I was left feeling a little bit let down by this novel, which I ordered as an audio book. There were plenty of period details and stories about life on a farm in Maine, about the main character meeting an artist and ending up getting her portrait painted. But none of it was very compelling. The story just went along without any highs and lows.

I loved everything about this book. The writing was clean, concise and lovely. I was drawn into Christina's story and couldn't put the book down.
I immediacy got down my Andrew Wyeth book and studied her portrait and found a whole new interest after reading this novel. I highly recommend it to any one whether you are a Wyeth fan or just want to read a lovely book about a fascinating woman and time.

Favorite Quotes:

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. (There are many ways to be crippled, I’ve learned over the years, many forms of paralysis.) … You can never escape the bonds of family history, no matter how far you travel. And the skeleton of a house can carry in its bones the marrow of all that came before.

It is a terrible thing to find the love of your life, Christina… You know too well what you’re missing when it’s gone.

The day we bury her is dreary: a colorless sky, gray-boned trees, old sooty snow. Winter, I think, must be tired of itself.

… I put my hand over his, and he lays his other hand over mine. I feel the way I do when I lose something – a spool of thread, say – and search for it everywhere, only to discover it in an obvious place, like on the sideboard under the cloth.

My Review:

This was my first exposure to Christina Baker Kline’s talents and I became an instant devotee. The writing was emotive and often tinged with melancholy, lushly descriptive, thoughtfully observant, cunningly crafted, and intricately detailed. A fascinating mix of fact and fiction, I have since spent far too much time Googling Christina Olson and Andrew Wyeth’s iconic artwork. I was immediately immersed in this beautifully and insightfully written book from the first person POV of Christina, a girl/woman with few options and limited mobility. Christina lived her entire life in the same house with her slightly odd family in small-town rural Maine and had continued to live under extremely harsh conditions without indoor plumbing, running water, or electricity, long after others in her area were enjoying these luxuries.

Christina was possibly the most obstinate woman of her time. Unsteady on her weak limbs following an life-threatening and undiagnosed illness at the age of three, she despised pity, denied most offers of assistance despite frequent mishaps and injuries from falls, refused to seek medical assistance when offered, and in her later years when her legs were no longer of use to her she steadfastly refused to use a wheelchair and drug herself by her elbows, up and down stairs and even across fields to visit her neighbor. I ached for her and wanted to pop her in the back of the head at the same time for her stubborn pride.

What I liked about this book is how real the characters were, how unfair life can be, but you deal. Christina dealt with her pain her own way although she was obstinate about it. Life just continued on and happened each day, until years and years passed by. What I especially like is how Christina's whole life is captured in this one painting.

I have long been fascinated by wyeth's seeming realism which in truth harbors undercurrents of complex emotion. Christian Olson, the subject of Chritina's World had eluded me emotionally until I read this. Fleshing out the subject and her environment added an entire fresh dimension to his masterpiece.

This was a bit slow, but the writing is so powerful and absorbing. You feel and see everything that is written. This author is fantastic! This storyline is so unique and clever and " Yes" the author does justice to all involved, beautifully, I might add. The end gave me the chills...

Sometimes ya pick up a book, and begin to read. Then ya have that moment, thinking, " Gosh, why haven't I read this before?"
I love to highlight really nice bits of prose. While reading this novel, I was doing quite a lot of highlighting

It's been a long time since a book has moved me the way A Piece of the World did. I was mesmerized from page one. In fact, I didn't put the book down until I was finished. What a great character-on canvas and in the pages of this book

I read this as it was chosen by the book club to which I belong. I am interested to hear everyone's opinion on the book. I felt so much sympathy for Christina and admired her courage. Our book club doesn't meet until next month.

I dont understand how she thinks this is "historical". Throughout the book I periodically checked some facts only to learn she was wrong. But it still is interesting as to what rural life was like back then

I had never heard of this artist or picture. The book captured me and I didn't want to put it down. There were times I wanted Christina to be stronger and fight back at her disability, yet perhaps she did the only way she knew how. Excellent book, I didn't t want it to end.

I enjoyed the story for the most part because Christina's voice was so strong. You certainly felt the emotions Christina suffered from her small, self-imposed world. There weren't many happy moments in the pages as her story unfolded. When there were moments of joy I appreciated them more. Worth the effort to read.

Picked it up, got bored, put it down. Picked it up, got bored, put it down. I TRIED to like it, but it was just too hard to get "hooked" on the story, the characters, the writing style. Finally removed it from my Kindle without finishing it.

I have to admit that I did not realize how much I disliked the main character, Christina, until I had finished the book. I also must report that the book started out very slow and I seriously doubted I would even finish it, but suddenly and quite unexpectedly, I was deeply in love and could not put it down. This is a beautiful read. At the very end of the book, there is a small print of the photograph that is the foundation this story is built upon. I would suggest you closely examine this print after reading Christina's story, for it is the perfect conclusion; the magical swinging door between art and literature. I adore this book and I highly recommend it!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Christina and her world. Getting to know more of Andrew Wyeth was a bonus. Ms. Baker Kline has created full, complex characters and a vivid, particular setting to tell a rich story. There are truths in this novel that are now a part of my life.

3.5 STARS (increased to 4 stars for this site) --- After reading and absolutely loving Baker Kline's book, The Orphan Train, three years ago, I was more than a little excited to read her next book. As with Orphan Train, Baker Kline has done a tremendous amount of research - this time featuring New England, Andrew Wyeth and two eras, 1917-1918 and post WWII. She pulls her readers into the small world inhabited by Christina Olson, the woman who inspired the iconic Wyeth painting "Christina's World", as she writes a fictional account of the painting's real-life muse.

Each summer, for over thirty years, Andrew Wyeth went to Christina's farm house and painted. Over time, he and Christina bonded over shared experiences of their overbearing fathers and their physical limitations. It was through this connection that Christina became such an integral part of one of Wyeth's most famous paintings.

This is an intense and melancholic read. Christina is a woman with a deep attachment to her family, their house and land as well as her brother, Al who is always by her side. Christina's affliction, which initially keeps her mainly home bound, becomes less about her physical limitations and more and more about her stubbornness and her emotional and mental afflictions that bear down on her over time. Her bitterness is understandable with all that she lost and what she has had to endure but while she was a unique main character, her demeanor, apathy and choices made it hard to sympathize with her.

I'm grateful that the author provided a picture of the painting at the back of the book because I often turned to it as the story progressed. It is a quietly intense painting which features a stark landscape and a woman lying in a field looking towards a farmhouse. The more you look at the painting, the more it evokes emotion and additional questions.

This is a character driven story which was well researched and based on a unique premise. It is a quiet kind of read with no huge twists or jarring moments. Instead, it is a fictional story of the life and struggles of the mysterious woman in the iconic painting. I appreciate the work that went into sharing her story with the world and while I didn't connect with this book as much as I would have hoped, it was well written and an interesting read.

Baker Kline has given Christina Olson a voice and lets her readers into Christina's seemingly simple, stark yet complicated world. As Wyeth did so many years ago, Baker Kline has helped Christina Olson to finally be seen.

Favourite Quote: "What she wants most - what she truly yearns for - is what any of us want: to be seen."

A Piece of this World is inspired by Andrew Wyeth’s painting, Christina’s World. I am a fan of both Andrew and N.C. Wyeth’s paintings and was therefore very eager to read this book. While I love the painting Christina’s World and have seen it on display a number of times at MoMA, I never realized that Wyeth based the painting on someone he knew.

The story goes back and forth through time slowly imagining Christina’s sad story and how Andrew Wyeth came to know and paint her. Christina spent her entire life living in her family’s dilapidated farm house in the small coastal town of Cushing, Maine. As a young child, she developed a debilitating disease that was never diagnosed but slowly robbed her of the ability to walk and use her limbs effectively. While she was quite intelligent, her father made her leave school after eighth grade and tend to household items. She never fully got over having to abandon her education. Between the school issue, her illness, and an unhappy romance, Christina developed into a complicated and sometimes bitter woman making choices that demonstrated her acrimony. I found it hard to like her but enjoyed learning her story.

Wyeth met Christina one summer when his family was visiting Maine. They went on to develop a relationship that lasted many years. Andrew Wyeth brought out a more sympathetic side of Christina, which he immortalized in his painting. The portions of the story where Wyeth appears and interacts with both Christina and her brother Al were my favorites.

Christina Baker Kline writes a character driven novel that brings Christina’s World vividly to life. Thanks to BookBrowse and William Morrow for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Piece of the World by Kline is a well written marriage of literature and art. The story focuses on the woman who is the central figure in Andrew Wyeth's painting, Christina's World. Although we cannot see her face in the painting, Kline gives us a thorough rendering of who she is using research feathered with fiction.Christina, like the rugged Maine where she lived, is a strong, stubborn and isolated individual. Her life, peppered by huge disappointments, is a harsh one. Denied the education that could have freed her, she is anchored to the family farm with exhausting chores and family responsibilities. Limited by a deteriorating muscle disease and heartbreaking rejections Christina finds a light in the attention of Wyeth. He is a kindred soul who accepts her for who she is and makes no judgments about her life style or her physical disability. Their friendship leads to his rendering of Christina's World. In this painting Christina is finally the center of her small part of Maine not because of disability or limitation but because she is part of that land's ancestry and connection.. She is there facing her simple house, which is her haven, her prison and her destiny. Kline does a beautiful job of drawing us into Christina's world. I will forever look at the painting in a new way after reading this novel.

A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline is a novel which tells the story behind one of Andrew Wyeth’s iconic painting Christina’s World. Ms. Baker is a prolific writer with several best sellers.

Christina Olson lives in a small coastal town called Cushing, Maine. Christina’s home is an old farm which has been in her mother’s family for generations.

Christina has an unknown disease which increasingly degenerates her muscles, but she fights against it with every fiber of her being. For more than 20 years, the Olson farm has been the subject of artist Andrew Wyeth, a family friend.

I am familiar with the painting Christina’s World by Andrew Wyeth, but can’t say I have given it much thought. When I heard about A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline , I thought it would be a subject I’d be interested in, and anyway I enjoyed the book Orphan Train which the author wrote.

This is the story of Christina Olson, not Andrew Wyeth. The artist is a minor character in this story and the famous painting is a culmination of Christina’s life and the artist’s understanding of how she views the world.

This is a charming book, it brings forth the difficult life of an intelligent, but handicapped girl, then a woman, in the 1920s and throughout her life. Combine that with the difficult life of living and working on a farm, a back-breaking work for even the healthiest of people and one sees the painting in a whole new light.

At the end of the book the author wrote a bit of history about the real Christina Olson, and how she differs from the fictional character she created. As always the author’s note is very much appreciated to bring context to both stories, real and fictional.

I was immediately drawn to this book for so many reasons. I loved The Orphan Train and could not wait to read another book written by Christina Baker Kline. I love Andrew Wyeth’s work; I really could go on and on about how much I love his paintings. I’ll restrain myself though and say only that I’m unbelievably drawn to his signature color palette and his peaceful yet intense nostalgia-evoking subjects and scenery. Lastly, I love books that tell the little-known stories behind well-known people, places, and events.

A Piece of the World is the story of Christina Olson, Wyeth’s friend and muse. Christina is a very complicated woman; in turns she is stubborn, resilient, sensitive, strong, introspective, and perceptive. This story itself has obviously been meticulously researched. The scenery is beautifully rendered and made me feel as though I’d been transported to Cushing, Maine (where I am now itching to go). The author did an amazing job of blending fact and fiction into a book that I simply could not put down.

This book is special from start to finish but the thing that about it that really struck me was how the story was told. Many books are written in first person but few convey the enormous sense of intimacy found in A Piece of the World. The reader is made to feel as though they are Christina’s trusted confidant.

“Closing my eyes, I lean over the side, the salt spray on my face mingling with tears. I weigh the shell in my palm – this cameo shell that has no place with the others. A store-bought trinket with no history, no story. I knew, deep down, when he gave it to me that he didn’t understand anything about me.“

I was expecting to read an interesting story about Christina’s relationship with Wyeth but this book is so much more than that. It’s really an exploration of the life of a woman who, faced with many challenges, is determined to remain true to herself. It was a very emotional read for me and one I’ll not soon forget.

Many thanks to HarperCollins/William Morrow for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wish we could give 1/2 stars because I had a hard time choosing between 3 & 4. Kline's books are really well written and it definitely kept me interested enough that I finished in 3 days. I think if I had been more interested in the subject matter, I would have rated it a 4 for sure.

Kline created a character in Christina that has so many dimensions from determination to sadness to hopefullness and despair. She's is afflicted with a disease that greatly affects her ability to walk and it progresses with age. Even with her disability, she runs a household, attracts a potential husband and practically educates herself after her father no longer allows her to attend school.

Artist, Andrew Wyeth, knocks on her door one day wanting to draw their house and the entire story unfolds from there. He eventually capture's her in the painting as well naming it "Christina's World".

It was an interesting take on what Christina may have been like and how she came to be in the artist's work.

Before reading this book, I was not familiar with Andrew Wyeth’s iconic painting, “Christina’s World.” This novel provides a backstory for Christina, the woman on the ground in the forefront of the painting. Seen from behind, she is looking at a farmhouse, perhaps with longing, but we can’t see her face. We learn in the novel that Christina is disabled and ultimately loses the ability walk, as the years wear on. She is a stubborn woman, refusing a medical examination on multiple occasions. I found this intransigence to be more telling about her personality than just about anything else. I believe that her affliction gives her a sense of identity and uniqueness that she does not want to lose. Her only opportunity for escaping her hard life on the farm is the attention of a young man who ultimately goes to Harvard and probably does not want to be married to a woman whose father forced her to quit school at the age of twelve. When Christina is middle-aged, a friend becomes involved with Andrew Wyeth, who begins making regular visits to Christina’s home, which she shares with a younger brother. Wyeth paints a number of various seemingly uninteresting objects in the house but brings a breath of fresh air to Christina’s otherwise dreary life. The fact that someone who has lived her entire life in one place, rarely venturing beyond the boundaries of the Maine farm, should be immortalized in a painting known the world over is ironic but not uncommon. What is uncommon is that in this case we don’t see the subject’s face. This novel makes Christina human and reveals a bitter and lonely woman behind that hidden face.

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 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."

As a fan of the artist Andrew Wyeth's painting, "Christina's World," I was fascinated by the concept of this novel: a fictional account of the life of Christina Olson, the subject of the famous painting. Kline tells a wonderful and complex story of Christina in different time periods showcasing her family, her struggles with an undiagnosed muscular and neurological disease, a broken heart, and the friendships she develops. The story showcases love in different forms in this beautiful and often sad story. Several times while reading, my heart was so broken by Christina's hardships that I wished I could leap through the pages to hug and comfort the character. This novel is beautifully written and makes me love Wyeth's painting even more.

Christina Baker Kline has written another great book. First of all she has the wisdom to pick a unique subject, but still a subject people have the curiosity to want more information. Andrew Wyeth's painting entitled "Christian's World" is familia to many people but few know any thing about Christiana Olson. This book is about Christina, her family, her heritage, and her relationship with Andrew Wyeth. When the paining was done she was nearly 60 years old and Wyeth was about 30. Betsy who was Wyeth's wife was only 17 when they married and she was a neighbor and family friend of the Olson's. Betsy and her husband spent their summers in the state of Maine and Andrew choose the Olson home as his studio. He was in the large, old house from morning until night, working hard and seriously. After reading this book I recognized many of his paintings from the Olson home. The artist and this lonely, crippled women become special friends. Although both were distant and shy they bonded and could talk to each other. Many generations of seafaring men had lived in the, now, rundown and dilapidated house with no indoor plumbing and no running water. There is a love story, perhaps the fictional part of this book. It is a summer love between Christina and a Harvard student. She is a crippled farm girl who finished the 8th grade, it was an uncomfortable relationship because the reader could feel the hurt coming for Christina. I liked everything about this book. The characters were well drawn, the pace and the story were right on, and the excellent writing was easy to read.

Born in 1893, Christina Olson became ill at a young age, and from that day forward, her debilitating illness continued unabated. Doctors had no idea what was wrong with her, but over the years she continued to get worse. Her life was centred around the home she’d been born in – the family farm in Cushing, Maine. Christina lived with her mother, father and grandmother plus three brothers, and the duties of keeping the farm running increasingly fell on her shoulders. Made to leave school by her father at twelve years of age, Christina’s yearning to become a teacher fell by the wayside at her father’s demand that she was needed on the farm…

When Christina was forty-six, she lived with her brother Alvaro on the farm, and through her friend Betsy, she met a young Andrew Wyeth. Andy was an artist and his desire to paint and sketch Christina’s home led to him spending days on end upstairs, engrossed in his work. His eventual painting of Christina, which was named Christina’s World was much against her wishes – but Andy by that time was a good friend; little was she to know how well-known that painting would become. Over the years, Christina became Andy’s inspiration – she felt that finally, someone understood her.

A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline is a beautiful blend of fiction and non-fiction about Christina Olson’s life, and the inspirational and historical painting by Andrew Wyeth called Christina’s World. The Author’s Note at the end of the book is fascinating where she explains how she came to research and write this novel. She says “Ultimately, A Piece of the World is a work of fiction. Above all else, I hope I have done this story justice.” And to my mind Ms Kline, you most certainly have. A thoroughly intriguing and enjoyable read which I highly recommend.

This novel is well-paced and beautifully written in two time periods. It begins in 1939 and then goes back in time to 1896. The plot seamlessly goes back and forth between these times. I love how the author brings to life a woman whose claim to fame is as the subject of a famous painting. Christina Olsen is the woman in the painting "Christina's World" by Andrew Wyeth. The defining moments in her life were mostly out of her control--the disease that crippled her; a failed romance; her father's decision to not allow her to continue in school. I never felt sorry for her because she doesn't look at life as something to be endured, and she doesn't waste her time on "if onlys" and "what ifs". She takes what she has been given and makes the most of it.
She's a spare, proud, no-nonsense woman of few words who, for her whole life, lives in the same house with no electricity or running water. Her mother and grandmother taught her how to do all the household tasks: cooking, cleaning, laundry. One day is like the next, and like the one before it until she's introduced to a neighbor's boyfriend, Andrew Wyeth, a young artist who also is handicapped. I love the way Baker Kline portrays how Wyeth insinuates himself into Christina's life. In the end I realized that in spite of all their differences, Wyeth and Christina were very much alike. This is a fictionalized story, so there were a few parts that were a little hard to believe. But I love how it weaves together the lives of Wyeth and Christina and how they forge an unlikely friendship.

Somehow I had remained oblivious to the famous painting "Christina's World" which is the genesis for this novel. A reading friend loves the painting and highly recommended this book after she quickly devoured it. I read just enough about the painting to get bit of familiarity but didn't spend much time on the subject prior to reading the novel. Even without the love of the painting that other reviewers have expressed, I found the book to be engrossing, well written, and rich.

The main character is Christina Olson who was born, lived, and died at the Olson house in Cushing, Maine. The painting depicts Christina in the grass with her body and face turned toward the home. This narrative constructs a premise for how the painting came into being. All the background of her life, the manner in which Andrew Wyeth was introduced to the family, the impact her disease had on her life, the cultural norms of that period in American history. As is often true of books I love, it prompted me to further my knowledge of the subject matter and I have spent time reading about Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease, the artist, and the region. Days after finishing the book, it is still lingering in my thoughts.

I am so pleased to have a new outstanding read when people ask for a recommendation of a good book. I will also be following this up with reading Orphan Train: A Novel which has been in my TBR pile for quite a while.

I waited till I finished reading this novel to view the portrait, Christina’s World, which surrounded this novel. I had my own version of what this painting entailed as I read the novel but as I viewed the actual image, the landscape felt more void and lonely than I had anticipated. Christina’s image was ideal as she laid out on the harsh grass and the homestead’s deteriorating condition completed the print.

I felt for Christina throughout the novel as she stumbled to keep up. She kept her struggles inside as her determined and steadfast attitude pushed her through each day. Christina felt unattractive and when you added on her leg condition that brought on her clumsiness and her constant stumbling, Christina had a negative view of herself. She was smart, her teacher had told her so, but living on the homestead she didn’t feel it. Her legs cause her constant pain yet when her parents try to get her medical help, she refused it. It’s rough out on the homestead without any modern conveniences yet Christina doesn’t complain, she does what is expected of her. When all her friends start dating, getting married and having children, Christina imagines such a time but somehow, she knows her life is on her family’s estate. I was sad to see Christina, day-in and day-out laboring away for her family and only taking time for herself if there was any, at the end of the day.

Andy Wyeth comes to Christina’s homestead as he wants to use the surrounding area in his paintings. Andy becomes a constant figure in the household, using the upstairs bedroom for his studio. I enjoyed the relationship that Andy and Christina develop through the years. They discover how the two of them are alike and their conversations become personal and relaxed. Andy gets married and Christina finds a man who fills her heart. She wonders how Walton will fit into her world as their worlds are so different. Is this her opportunity to leave the estate and start her own life?

I found myself absorbed into Christina’s life. I wanted so much for her. When her teacher extended an opportunity to her, I was hoping that this would be where she would succeed and she would be off. I would only hope. I loved Christina’s relationships in this novel. They weren’t tight but she had a nice variety where I learned a bit more about her from different individuals. I really enjoyed the author’s writing, there was this, “this is how it is” feeling about it and I brought my own emotions to the table as I read. I really enjoyed how the painting was used in this novel and I am glad I didn’t look at it until I finished reading the novel. I think my parents had a copy of this painting when I was growing up, hanging in the hallway. You can read the interpretation of this painting, invent your own, or read this novel and apply it to this painting, it’s up to you. Super novel to read.

I won a copy of this novel from a Goodreads Giveaway. Thank you, William Morrow, - Harper Collins Publishers for this novel!

“The older I get, the more I believe that the greatest kindness is acceptance”

This is a fictionalized account of Christina Olsen of Cushing Maine, the inspiration for Andrew Wyeth’s most famous painting Christina’s World. Baker Kline did a massive amount of research on Olsen, a spinster living in rural Maine, who chose, or possibly was chosen to, to care for her family.

Disabled early on by a severe illness,now believed to be Charcot- Marie- Tooth syndrome, an inherited nerve disorder, Christina literally becomes the “chief cook and bottle washer” on her family homestead. She wants more, but is early on taught that she isn’t able to be anything more that that. She isn’t allowed to go to secondary school. The man she loves is insincere as she is not acceptable as his wife. Despite her growing pain she runs a house, caring for both parents and her dying grandmother. Her younger brothers run off to see the world. Her older brother, much more fit than she, gives up his own dreams to be the dutiful son, burying both his parents and running the farm they fought so hard to keep.

Later, the son of N C Wyeth, Andrew, himself disabled, begins to use the farmhouse as a seasonal studio, refining his starkly realistic style there. He and Christina forge a friendship as she learns how people see the whole person. Wyeth’s Christina’s World is seen as a masterpiece of 20th century realism, and the foremost MOMA scholar has written it is more a psychological profile than an actual portrait. This reviewer thinks of it as one of her favorite pictures which she first saw woven into a daily soap opera story as a tween and had a copy in her office most of her career.

I am amazed at the work this author has done, having researched historical characters for my own work. I found I wanted to kick most of the men portrayed in the story for their self-centeredness. But then, I had to look at this story through eyes of Christina Olsen’s times; where the men worked outside the home and the women cared for them. This is a fantastic book, one of my top choices for 2018. I want to share it with everyone but keep it for myself. Highly recommended 5+/5

[disclaimer: I won this book from a#GoodReads giveaway and have chosen to review it]

What is the difference between fate, pride, duty, stubbornness and fear? Why can some shed those burdens while others are prisoners of them? After reading this historical fiction, or narrative non-fiction, I have a bit more insight. Sad and depressing insight, but insight nonetheless. Author Kline does a good job of making the Andrew Wyeth painting “Christina’s World” come to life in this book, creating a portrait, so to speak, of the honest but bleak existence of Christina herself, her brother Al, their parents and the lives of many in a remote corner of Maine in the first half of the 20th century. Related to brave seafarers and a cruel judge from the Salem witch trials, the main characters seem to be ruled by the past, unable to break out of their hard-scrabble reality, secretly yearning for so much more yet all the while denying and rejecting it. The reader can understand much of how Christina feels, but she is far from a likable human being. When brother Al finally says, “you are the prisoner and I am the warden,” you know exactly what he means.

Although meticulously researched and generally well-written, one thing that bothered me about the structure of the novel was its shifting timeline. I’m not sure why the author chose to jump back and forth in time, other than to further depict how the characters were imprisoned by their own pasts? I think a more linear narrative would have been more effective. And the painter Andrew Wyeth himself remained a kind of enigma throughout the whole story. Is it possible to both love and pity your own Muse?

I looked forward to reading this book because I so loved Orphan Train. It is obvious that Christina Baker Kline is a talented writer and meticulous in her research. I love how she takes a real life event and brings it to life.

This book tells the story behind a famous painting by Andrew Wyeth called "Christina's World". The characters come to life, thus bringing the painting itself to life. I will definitely be heading to the MOMA next time I'm in NY to see the painting with a new appreciation for it!

While I enjoyed reading this story, I couldn't give it 5 stars because it didn't quite reach the high bar set by Orphan Train. However, this is a book I would highly recommend.

My sister recommended this book, knowing I love Wyeth paintings and live in Maine. She also mentioned how it reminded her of our great-grandmother and her brother who lived on a similar farm in Connecticut.
Christina Olsen lived all her life in Cushing, Maine on the farm her ancestors owned for many generations. When she was forty-six years old, Andrew Wyeth and his soon-to-be wife, Betsy, visited. Andy fell in love with the old farmhouse and spent most of his summers there painting in an abandoned upstairs room. Christina became his muse, most famously in the painting Christina's World.
Christina Olson was born in 1893, the eldest child and only daughter, to the last heir of the Hathorn family and the Swedish sailor she married. As a child, she suffered from an illness thought to be polio at the time (it was later diagnosed after her death as probably CMT, a rare debilitating disease). It didn't stop her from her farmwork though she often stumbled and fell, and also suffered cuts and burns as her hands and arms grew weaker and weaker. The two youngest brothers eventually married and moved off the farm, leaving Christina and her brother Al (Alvaro).
As portrayed by Ms. Kline, she is a proud and independent woman despite her disability. Eventually, she dragged herself around the farm, disdaining the use of a wheelchair. She lives a quiet life although there was a time when she had a suitor, a summer visitor who eventually married elsewhere.
As my sister noted, it was easy to recognize the way she lived from my own childhood visits to my great-grandmother. I can remember her churning her butter and pumps in the kitchen sink. Unlike Christina, she and my great-uncle got electricity and running water, but they had a working farm. My mother would bring us up there to pick berries, and we'd roam the woods.Uncle Gene often took his horse and wagon about town. It's a delight to have some of those memories brought back to life in this book as the Olsens lived much the same.
But this book is so much more. It is beautifully written story with descriptive prose that captures vividly the Maine coast. I could feel the bristles of the blueberry barrens, the salt air of the sea, and the calls of the gulls. While the art is important, it is the vignettes of Maine that will stay will me the longest.

Christina Olson has spent her entire life in the house she was born. The house that has been in her mother’s family for hundreds of years. It is on the sea in Cushing, Maine, in a small town where most people farm or fish and everyone knows everyone. Christina attends the one room schoolhouse with her brothers until she is 12. Due to a childhood illness she struggles physically with everyday tasks and chores but her determined nature pushes her forward. Christina doesn’t understand, until it is too late, that she most likely will never leave this house, this town, this simple but hard life. Although she learns very young about heartache and loss, she also sees poetry in the beauty of the land, the ocean and the stars - always wondering if she was meant to adventure the world as her Mamey did married to Captain Sam so many years ago. Later, when it is just her brother Alvaro and herself left on the farm there is an unexpected knock at the door. From that day forward the renowned American artist Andrew Wyeth uses their home, their land and their images to create a body of work that will live on forever. Their unique friendship, understanding and perspective creates an unlikely bond amongst these very private people and the infamous Christina’s World which I see in a whole new light. This magnificent novel by bestselling author Christina Baker Kline (The Orphan Train) is a quiet stream of words, filling pages, telling a story that pours straight into the reader’s heart. I could not put it down. I cannot stop thinking about Christina.

The Why?
First and foremost, it's Christina Baker Kline...I LOVED Orphan Train...if I made a list of best novels I've ever read, Orphan Train would be on that list.
I also love Twentieth Century Americana and American Literature.
What an idea...to take this well-known Wyeth painting and the history surrounding it and fill in the blanks with story.

First Impressions
As I first began to read, I noticed the slower pace...I was a little disappointed but then realized that maybe the pace was on purpose. The slow, mundane, sobering, self-sufficient, persistent, rural life pace.
I slowed myself down and really let the words and the imagery sink in.

The Publisher's Summary
"To Christina Olson, the entire world is her family farm in the small coastal town of Cushing, Maine. The only daughter in a family of sons, Christina is tied to her home by health and circumstance, and seems destined for a small life. Instead, she becomes Andrew Wyeth’s first great inspiration, and the subject of one of the best-known paintings of the twentieth century, Christina’s World."

My Perspective
Christina Olson's austere existence is defined by her past as well as the generations who came before her. Her existence is tightly interwoven with her her mother, the last child (a daughter no doubt) of the Hathorn clan, her father, who left his home in Sweden and became stranded from a fishing boat, only to meet the 34 yr. old "old maid" who would become his wife, her brothers, and her grandmother Mamey.
An undiagnosed neurological illness (which some have said was polio) keeps Christina from experiencing life as everyone else her age does, and she watches time flow by as if she is standing still.
"Andy" Wyeth visits one summer and chooses the Olson House as his painting perch. He and Christina form a bond like no other...only they can truly "see."
A Piece of the World honors a simple life, made by those living it, despite every possible obstacle thrown in your way.

The Google Factor (I'm a nerd)
Andrew Wyeth's painting habits and modes, his vision
Salem Witch Trials history - Bridget Bishop
Cushing, Maine
Harvard
the U.S. Navy
suffragettes
literature mentions
Emily Dickinson's poetry
Christina Olson's illness - I cringed at the descriptions Kline wrote as Christina moved from place to place...the imagery was vivid.

I'm a huge fan of historical fiction in which the author painstakingly keeps as much history as possible...I so appreciate what Kline did with A Piece of the World.

Kline conducted many interviews with people familiar with the artist, Andrew Wyeth, and his model, Christina Olson, forever captured crawling across a yellow field of grass, painfully distant from the farmhouse on the hill. Her face isn't visible, her arms are scrawny, her hair almost black. She is twisted at the waist in an impossibly awkward position, her arms holding her torso off the ground, her legs bent at the knees. One of her arms stretches before her, so it is obvious she is crawling toward that distant house and the observer of the painting searches, fruitlessly, the front of it, the area around the barn and other buildings, the stretch of grass between her and them for the presence of another person who might come to help her. The painting is, of course, the famous Christina's World and, though her dress is a lovely pink and her hair is youthfully blowing in the breeze, it produces a feeling of loneliness and sadness, of isolation and daunting hopelessness.

Here in the novel, Kline attempts to get into the person in the painting. She does not dwell at all on the relationship of artist and model, although she does suppose a kindredness of spirit between them. The book alternates between Christina's youth and young womanhood, in the early years of the twentieth century starting in 1896 ( a little 19th C but not much ) to about the 20's, and the mid-century until the finalization of the painting in 1948. She is only 55 years old then but you get the sense of a much older woman--I would have thought in her late 70's from the description.

From the start we are made aware of Christina's crippled condition. We first see her as a three year old and meet the parents and her siblings. From the start she is trying to do as much as all of them, refusing help so much so, she forces her father to take her home without visiting a doctor who might be able to help her condition. As the years go by she is given opportunities to escape the confining small town and isolated sea coast farmhouse but in one way or another she is prevented from taking advantage of them. The combination of place and her condition, which worsens as she ages, create the isolation evident in the painting. It also in time creates a bitterness which overwhelms her, causing pain to those few she keeps close and those she pushes away. In the end, it would seem, Andy's showing her as a young woman striving and enduring seems to finally give her peace for in it, she feels, he has captured her and, at last, she is truly seen.

I received a copy of this book from BookBrowse in return for an honest review.

I know little to nothing about art, but I think most everyone is aware of Andrew Wyeth's famous piece "Christina's World." Who can not notice and remember the image of a young woman lying awkwardly in a field, fixed on the old house in the distance. Who is she? How did she get there? Why is she lying in the field, for heaven's sake? When we read Christina Baker Kline's A PIECE OF THE WORLD, we find out all of the afore mentioned and more, because it is the story of the real Christina Olson who is pictured in that now classic painting. (Note: the author just happens to be named Christina, but is of no relation.) It is a novel produced from a blending of researched fact and the author's imaginative fiction to fill in between. "Andy" Wyeth and his wife had a summer home neighboring the Olsen House. His wife Betsy had been friends with Christina for several years, so naturally she brought her new boyfriend to meet her. Andy was more entranced with the house and surroundings than meeting Betsy's friend! Wow! So much here to paint! And paint he did. He came over every day in the summers they were in Maine and literally made himself at home, painting buildings, scenery, objects, Al (Christine's brother), and occasionally Christina herself. But the book is not about Wyeth; it is all about Christina Olson, a woman with unmeasured determination and unknown sorrow, understood by no one really---until Andrew Wyeth came along and painted her lying in a field near her home. Her home, her piece of the world, was all the world she was able to know. Christina tells her own story in the book, and a profound statement that sums all up pretty well is: "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." This is a fascinating account of the kind of life most probably lived and felt by a courageous woman.

I am a great admirer of Andrew Wyeth's work, particularly of his iconic painting Christina's World. This book was given to me by a friend who did not realize that the book is in fact a fictional memoir.

In reading over the reviews it seems that many readers are unaware that the relationship between Christina Olson and Wyeth as depicted in this book is purely fictional. While some historical information with regards to the iconic painting and its creation is on record, very little is known about the real Christina and her friendship with Wyeth.

This is a nice story about character, duty and perseverance in the face of adversity. But as an avid reader of the Wyeth family history, I would have enjoyed the book more if it were marketed as a straight piece of fiction. I am not knocking the historical fiction genre, it's just not my preference.

For readers who prefer factual accounts of Wyeth's life and works I can highly recommend Andrew Wyeth: A Secret Life by Richard Meryman as well as Andrew Wyeth: Autobiography by Thomas Hoving and Andrew Wyeth.

I loved this book. It's a fictionalised account of the life of Christina Olson, the subject of Andrew Wyeth's famous American painting 'Christina's World.' I'd seen images of this for years before I realised the subject suffered from a degenerative muscle condition which prevented her from walking properly. This story rings so true, I was willing to be drawn into its authenticity.

It weaves back and forth between the two world wars. There are flashbacks from Christina's youth in World War One, along with middle aged moments from the 1940s when she was friends with Andy Wyeth.

On the surface, the characters are nobody special. Just a family of battlers living a tough farming life in a cold climate, under fairly primitive conditions. But the young artist Wyeth recognised the austere beauty they embodied, and devoted a lot of time to bringing it forth in his canvases. I anticipated that the magic he saw would flow from the pages, and it sure did.

Christina's own voice, always in present tense, tells of the childhood illness her body never recovered from, her one experience of falling deeply in love, and her attitude toward her family and home. I like the snippy approach she uses with her brothers, although she loved them dearly. I found her so inspirational, because she never had aspirations to be famous or make a name for herself. Christina's idea of success was simply forcing her painful body to do what needed to be done around the house. The rare occasions when she allowed herself to dream other dreams (a teaching career and marriage) ended in disappointment. Yet still she carried on, noticing joy in small moments, shrugging off pity and doing her best with what she had. It's refreshing to have this sort of heroine, who simply reminds us to appreciate the basic goodness in our lives.

Her whole family is so vividly written, I could imagine them clearly. Although the stoic Christina was my inspiration, she wasn't quite my favourite character. That was her brother Alvaro, whose part of the story takes being taken for granted to a whole new level! He had such a warm heart, and just gave and gave. He was forced to relinquish dreams as much as his sister. Even more in a way, since he had the sound body to have followed his seafaring heart, if only he'd been free to do so. I'd recommend all ladies to read this book, to remind ourselves that there really are guys like him around. I wanted the best for him all the way through.

Christina comes across a bit prickly and cynical at times, but that's got to be a coping tool. She makes frequent wry observations that their whole lifestyle is one of privation and hardship. There's the fact that the whole family bathes on the 3rd Monday of each month, in the same water in the kitchen! Whoa, these guys sure didn't live sedentary lives, so you must've smelled them coming, even though the climate was chilly. She observes that when you live on a farm, everyone is uncomfortable for much of the time, and as for her own condition, 'The pain has become part of me. Just something I live with.'

I always jot down quotes that strike me as worth recording, and this book had several contenders for best.
Andy: Interesting, isn't it, what the mind is capable of? How the body can adapt if your mind refuses to be bowed.
Mamey (her grandmother): People have maladies of all kinds, and if they have any sense, they don't waste time whining about them.
Christina: No matter how long I hold a stick with fluttering rags above my head, no trawlers in the distance will be coming to my rescue.

But the winner is the good teacher, Mrs Crowley, who had this to say when Christina was forced to refuse her offer of further education.
Mrs Crowley: Your mind, your curiosity, will be your comfort.
I love that, because it's a good line for any one of us readers too.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Australia for my review copy.

A look through the window of the very simple but hard life of Christina and her family; how she struggles with her a physical and debilitating infirmity while living in the coastal Maine ancestral family house. The hard but daily routines to keep the family, house and farm running took everyone’s silent strength. Did Christina give herself selfishly or unselfishly to the house? The house and farm may only be a small piece of the world but it was the entire world to Christina. It was Christina’s World which was the name of the painting that artist Andrew Wyeth eventually painted showing Christina as a girl perceived by others ‘as a burden, dutiful daughter, girlfriend, spiteful wretch, and invalid….’ Christina didn’t want pity only a girl who ‘lived through broken dreams and promises.’ Once again Christina Baker Kline brings to life a portion of factual history with historical fiction with great imagery and emotion. Well done.

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 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.

Andrew Wyeth spent his summers in Cushing, Maine with his family. It is here where he first met Christina Olson who later becomes the inspiration for his painting “Christina’s World”. Christina lived a tough life along with her brother Al on the neighboring farm. Their dilapidated home lacked modern day conveniences and had fallen into disrepair. Andrew encounters the Olsons through their neighbor Betsy and he decides to express their lives via a painting. As Andrew puts paint to canvas, the details of the Olson’s hardships come to light.

The story unfolds with Christina’s as a young girl. A childhood illness left her with difficulty walking and no cure for her bone disease. As she grew older, the effects worsened leaving her crippled making her farm chores difficult. A bright student, the opportunity to further her studies to become a teacher were dismissed early by her parents. Her future only left her with two choices, to marry or maintain the farm. Sadly, she had very few opportunities to make romantic connections leaving her with no escape. Christina is not the most likable character, but by reading the book you become sympathetic to her disposition. Andrew Wyeth developed a relationship with her over many years and was able to capture a different side of her in this painting.

Andrew Wyeth painted the portrait, but the author writes a beautiful story by bringing it to life. Intertwined in the story is how she met Wyeth, who through his masterpiece, shows the world her softer side of someone having suffered so much both internally and externally. The author showcases a very moving and impactful novel

A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline

2017

I'd give it 3-1/2 stars.

I liked it and disliked it at the same time. It was well written and accomplished its goal of eliciting mixed emotions from me. As much as I felt conflicted for the protagonist I can ignore that it's her story and not mine. I don't have to agree with the character to validate the quality of the author.

What a difficult book at times to read. The main character, Christina Olson, is a stoic and stubborn woman who refuses any assistance or concern from others. Her suffering and depravity elicit strong emotions of sadness, pity, anger and apathy. What redeems the character to me is that I believe she was limited and restrained by her parents. A difficult family situation made worse by the decisions made to live a simple life.

I had to read some history about the book and the background story into order to fully understand and want to finish the book. On the surface the story feels to drag on in parts where you get tired of Christina describing how much pain and difficulty she endures daily.

It made me think about family traditions and culture, being able to endure difficult situations but also when do you ask for help or decide that he "old ways" aren't so effective? There are many hopes and dreams that are denied until it's too late to acknowledge what could have been. It reminds me that sometimes we can be the obstacle to our success and happiness in life.

I needed a minute to try and figure our why I felt connected to this book. Because truth be told, the story is really just ho-hum. The author doesn't do a very good job of grabbing your attention and making you want to know what happens next. My connection is with Christina. I, too, have a disease that attacks my legs and hands and takes away my ability to walk, and may one day force me back into a wheelchair. I felt connected to her spirit, to her determination, to her pridefullness, to her heartbreak, to her dreams. For that reason I wanted to know her story and what happens to her more so than "The girl behind the painting". Because of my connection with her, I give this a 3.75 star rating. Had it not been for that connection, I think I would have had a difficult time getting through this book. She made this book memorable to me, without that connection it wouldn't be. Having said that, I'm still glad I read this book.

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 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.

I received a free copy for my honest review

This was one of the best literature books I've read recently. When I was a young girl, I saw a picture of "Christina's World" and I thought it was a young woman resting on the ground after taking a long walk. I never wondered about the background of the subject or the painting. After reading this book and looking up further info on the Internet about Andrew Wyeth and Christina Olson, I found out there was a much deeper background and meaning to the painting. Now I see that her arms are thin and her torso does have an unnatural pose. I enjoyed Ms. Baker Kline's imaginings of Christina's life and her relationship with the Wyeths. I wonder if her fictional account is really more interesting than the truth. Christina's character is superbly drawn. You feel pity for her because of the illness, but also admiration for her fierce independence.

A fictional memoir inspired by Andrew Wyeth's famous painting, "Christina's World," A PIECE OF THE WORLD is lucid, well-told, and highly transportive.

I have a thing with art. Be it writing, reading, visual art, music, even nature, I'm swept away with the creative magic that appears at the hands of an artist. When those worlds collide, as they do in Christina Baker Kline's A PIECE OF THE WORLD, my heart sings.

"Christina's World" hung at my great-aunt's house in her den. Like many, I stared at that painting and imagined the breeze in my hair, the sweet scent of dried grass, lingered in that weather-worn house. And then, simply forgot about it. Christina Baker Kline brings the painting to the forefront once again with her use of tremendous description. She gives that women in the painting a name, a life...rather, that woman always existed, unbeknownst to me, and here, she comes alive, fully formed.

A PIECE OF THE WORLD is more about Christina Olson then Andrew Wyeth, though he's there, too and so is his wife, Betsy. The story is told entirely from Christina's POV and jumps around in time a bit (but with headings). If you prefer a more linear story, this *might* be burdensome, but I found it part of the charm. A PIECE OF THE WORLD is set in early 1900s Maine and Boston, the landscape rugged, worn, authentic. There's a tiny bit of a love story, but ultimately A PIECE OF THE WORLD is historical fiction, about the importance of family, artist and muse coming together, and what it means to be seen.

Evocative and astonishing, I so enjoyed A PIECE OF THE WORLD and highly recommend it.

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 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.

I read this for a book club. I would not have finished it otherwise. Truth is, I didn't like the main character, Christina. It seemed like she was angry and bitter since an unfortunate (non) visit to a specialist when she was 7. In the book, it stated that all she wanted was to be known, and there were plenty of parts where she was angry because people didn't understand her, Plenty! The problem was that she was so prickly and angry, she really didn't allow most people to get to know her. And, boy did she carry grudges! These issues didn't come out in the book, we were supposed to feel sorry for her, I think, even though she said herself that she hated people feeling sorry for her. Frankly, she had enough self-pity for the world. I gave it two stars because I liked learning what it was like to live on a farm with no plumbing and electricity. That was interesting.

I breezed through this book and had an enjoyable time doing so. I've loved Wyeth's haunting "Christina's World" for some time and thought it would be interesting to read the back story, even one I fully understood was re-imagined. I enjoyed peering into the Olson's simple life for awhile, but eventually the tedium wore on me. I liked Christina's young spirit. I could have done with less about her failed romance. I thought that for awhile the book bordered on so-called chick lit which is not my cup of tea. I did not care for the bitter vindictive person Christina later became. I would have loved to hear more from Wyeth. His search for truth through art would have made a wonderful foil to Christina's view of life. Had that been explored more, this could have been a superb book.

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 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.

In “A Piece of the World,” by Christina Baker Kline, Kline explores the story of a girl, and eventually woman, growing up in rural Maine. This character, Christina Olson, lives with her parents and brothers. She puts her family above herself. She even gives up all her dreams: being a teacher, a wife, and mother. She cares for her aging parents and her siblings. Christina just happens to be the subject of Andrew Wyeth’s painting, “Christina’s World”.
Our book club commented on Kline's excellent writing.
The book alternates between Cristina’s life on the farm with her family and meetings with Wyeth. Christina’s friend is married to Wyeth, and the couple summer in Maine. Initially, Wyeth and Christina become friends because of Christina and Wyeth's wife's relationship. Members discussed what Wyeth’s own physical disability helped cement the relationship. Christina feels that he can understand her discomfort and her stubbornness. It was also suggested that the Olson farm was ideal for a painter. There were no distractions and there was an abundance of material.
When discussing Christina's limited life, the group felt that she had some responsibility for her limitations. She never pursued medical treatment, and refused it when it was offered. A few members felt strongly that the parents should have intervened - that part of being a parent is being involved.
Her parents decided to curtail her education, and members suggested that Christina would probably have benefitted from more schooling.
Christina's relationship with Walton overwhelmingly elicited negative reactions. Although many thought that Christina should have gotten out, one member pointed out that it is not an easy thing to do.
The farm has no electricity, no phone, and no running water. We felt that the family was comfortable keeping things as they'd always been. No one thought money was a factor.
Although not our favorite book club read, enough members enjoyed to give this 4 stars!

The last paragraph of the book captures it all. A book about an extraordinary, ordinary woman whose world was so small yet so consuming. A beautiful read.

“This is a girl who has lived through broken dreams and promises. Still lives. Will always live on that hillside, at the center of a world that unfolds all the way to the edges of the canvas. Her people are witches and persecutors, adventurers and homebodies, dreamers and pragmatists. Her world is both circumscribed and boundless, a place where the stranger at the door may hold a key to the rest of her life. What she wants most—what she truly yearns for—is what any of us want: to be seen. And look. She is.”

I have always been fascinated by the painting Christina's World and even though this is a fictional piece history is interwoven in the story. We get to meet the model that made this paintings world renowned and the tender yet complex relationship she had with the acclaimed painter Andrew Wyeth. A truly remarkable story filled with hope and heartbreak. I read this through my library and am considering purchasing my own copy.

Christina's World, and iconic American Art painting by Andrew Wyeth depicted a girl crawling towards a dilapidated house. Who is that girl and why is she crawling? New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline answered those questions in her latest release, A Piece of the World. I had enjoyed Orphan Train and thought it well written. So I was looking forward to A Piece of the World, especially since I'm familiar with the painting that inspired it.

Somber and melancholic throughout, you may not even like the main character, Christina nor will you fall particularly in love with any of the characters for that matter. However, you won't be able to deny the story's intensity or the message of being fully attached to something or someone. Christina's paralysis is not only physical, though that is the reason, but it's emotional and even mental. She's anchored to her home, to the only place she knows, but to all, at least to her brother, Al, "it's become a prison..." and they're "inmates." (278) Maybe we can relate. Is there something or some place or even some one that you're attached to, and no matter what, that something or some place or someone is a reason for many of your decisions? However it is, I may not find A Piece of the World my cup of tea, or the type of story that satisfy my reading habits, but it is indeed well written. And if you're a fan of character driven fiction or you're a fan of art and its many reasons for how an artist depicts a subject, A Piece of the World is a story you should check out.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from the author/publisher. I was not required to write a positive review, and have not been compensated for this. This is my honest opinion.

After reading this beautifully written story, the meaning of Wyeth’s s painting “Christina’s World” will be forever changed for me. Kline gives the reader an intimate look at the real life muse of Andrew Wyeth; the inspiration for this painting. I’m not sure I ever grasped the significance of the painting’s title before reading this book.

Christina Olsen suffered from a rare and debilitating disease, which made her progressively weaker and less mobile as she got older; so by mid-life the scene Wyeth captured in his painting was literally her world. Christina’s life is filled with hardship and sacrifice. With longing, she sees her friends move on with their lives to courtship, marriage and families; while she remians somewhat a prisoner of her disease living in a house with no amenities. Kline ‘s writing allows the reader to feel and experience the depth of Christina’s disappointment and longing for more. And in his painting, Andrew Wyeth captured Christina’s essence and demonstrated to her and the world his deep understanding of her. The book is interesting and inspirational.A Piece of the World: A Novel

Pros: The writing is sparse, descriptive and the dialog and action moved along nicely. Really enjoyed the brevity and well constructed sentences and imagery. The characters were interesting, the events realistic and rooted for the main character throughout the book. Baker Kline did a great job with the historical background, the disability of Christine and her stubbornness to get along in life. The descriptions of the parents, the farm and small town personalities were fabulous. Especially liked the image of Al saying he was the warden and Christina was the inmate. Sums up a lot about the true existence of that time living on farms without the Internet, instant messages and Twitter. Well crafted story.

Cons: Felt it was a bit repetitive in some places. And felt that the romance was foreshadowed too much and a bit anti-climatic when the story reached the arcing point.

Art work: 5 out of 5 stars. Colors are subdued and perfect fit for the story line.

In A Piece of the World Kline has created a world so real you can feel its textures, and a central character so real you breathe through her lungs and see through her eyes. It's truly life-enriching to live Christina's life and experience her viewpoint. The novel is compassionate without sentimentality, and depicts human frailty without judgment. Be warned - your heart will grow three sizes. The novel will leave you wanting to know more about this lonely yet fiercely independent recluse, the iconic painting and the people who touched her life. I've just finished reading, and feel that sense of repleteness that only a humane and generous novel can impart. Be sure to return and reread the prologue once you have finished the novel's last chapter, as they enhance each other.

Borrowed with gratitude from the Greater Phoenix Digital Library.

This book mesmerized me. The story placed me into Christina’s World where a young girl only wanted to be recognized and loved and not pitied. Christina was Andrew Wyeth’s inspiration and muse. The author, Kline, writes a powerful story of both the young and older Christina who suffered from an unknown crippling disease that took away the mobility of her arms and legs. Chapter after chapter we learn about her “small” world, the hardships of rural life, lost love, and missed opportunities. Facts mixed with fiction made this novel fascinating and heart-breaking at the same time. I was not very familiar with Wyeth’s famous painting but now as I look at Christina’s World I see so much more than just a dark-haired girl in a pink dress. I wonder what you will see.

I truly love this novel. I was drawn to read it since it is about art and coastal Maine, someplace I have lived and loved. It was so good that I wanted to read it in one sitting, but work (and sleep) called. For people looking for a historical account of Andrew Wyeth and how his masterpiece painting, Christina's World, came about, this is not what you are looking for. It is a work of fiction that imagines what the life of the woman at the center of the painting might have been like. In the process, we learn more about a number of things, but especially about what it might be like to live a life with a great disability, pain and disappointment, but still find meaning, purpose, and love. The author, Christina Kline, also does a wonderful job depicting what life in mid-coastal, rural Maine might have been like in the early and mid-20th century. It reminded me of Girl With a Pearl Earring (Tracy Chevalier), though in all honesty, I love this book even more.

This is the best book I've read in a bit. I was lucky enough to go to Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, to see some of Andrew Wyeth's paintings in person and to see the farmhouse, barn, etc. I had forgotten that he painted a lot in Maine, as it was years ago. This novel is about the subject of his 1948 painting "Christina's World." I love how Christina Olson is brought to life, how her early-American family history was delved into, the depictions of everyday life in different decades, etc. She had a physical infirmity and there seems to have been some depression on her Mother's side. And once again, a woman had to put her life and dreams aside so she could basically be unpaid labor for her family, but she perservered. The natural feelings one would have about this were not ignored. The natural world is a wonderful character in this novel as well. Just great.

(I won this in a give away on Goodreads)
**spoiler alert** The book and story is based upon real people. It is based upon the artist named Wyeth and his paintings of the real Christina. (The main painting is called "Christina's World" but there are numerous paintings that are also mentioned in the story. It was fascinating to look up images of these paintings as I read the book.) It isn't a happy story. The character, although independent and tough seems to never triumph or find solace or joy for very long. I liked the style of writing and I liked the story, I finished it in a couple hours. The author writes with a simple style, portraying the characters and setting vividly yet often includes great insight and depth throughout the story. It is a rather depressing look at a handicapped girls life growing up in her ancestoral home on the Maine seacoast so I wouldn't recommend this book to readers who prefer clear cut, happy, triumphant and neat conclusions, but rather to those who enjoy a realistic and moody journey that is easy to read and get thru

This was a fictional Memoir book about a painting. I found the first few chapters slightly not interesting then the book picked up and I was interested in it the rest of the way through. The main character goes back and for from adulthood and reflects back to her childhood. It was easy to follow. The main character has a disability that she choses to deal with instead of trying to see if there was a way to be fixed in her childhood and when she is an adult is seen for it but the doctors were not able to diagnosis that actually was wrong. The story is about her and how she became the depicted person in this famous painting. It was a good read if you can get through the first few chapters.

Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings

What a piece of work! From beginning to end, I loved how this story unfolded. Christina Olson tells her story of growing up in a small town in Maine and how her and her family did not quite move with the times and how apparent that is when an artist comes to stay for a few summers and Christina can then see her life and her home through his eyes.

This book starts each section with a title and starts in the "present" time where Andrew Wyeth the artist is living in their home and spending summers making art. In the middle of this book while reading, I looked Andrew Wyeth and his artwork and read his Wikipedia page, it was interesting to see the truth behind this fictional story.

The only reason I read this novel is because it was chosen for our book group. I found the prose to be that of a writer who thinks she's very good but is not. Maybe it's unfair to judge her writing after just recently finishing the wonderful A Gentleman in Moscow by Amir Towles, who truly is a gifted writer, yet I could not help making the comparison. I have always loved the painting Christina's World since my college roommate hung up a poster of it in our dorm room--and then made it my business to go see it at MOMA in New York the first chance I got. Through the years I've visited it many times. So it's really too bad that this attempt to tell Christina's story falls flat. But it does.

This book will make you feel generally sad in a depressing sort of way, not in a "I'm crying because that was so poignantly beautiful" sort of way. I read it for a book club, and then recommended that no one else waste any of their life reading it. It was well written, but the storyline was just awful. I suppose it is based on a true story, and if the depiction of the main character is at all accurate, then she has my deepest sympathy because it seems she chose to live her life resigned to her disability but also full of resentment and bitterness.

A beautifully written book, expertly crafted; it makes a reader want to enter the unusual world of this complicated woman, and learn about how it intersects with the somewhat different and infinitely curious world of the famous, and complex painting that made her famous.
What I liked most is that the story Christina Baker Kline paints of Christina Olson's imagined life, is entirely human, nuanced, and unapologetic: a woman both flawed and fully alive, probably misunderstood by an image that is and is not her.
The author shows us a simple life, one that suggests missed opportunities and the demanding realities on an unforgiving, simple farm in rural Maine in the early 1900s. But we also get to experience the rich inner life of a woman committed to her family history, pragmatic about the gifts of what she has, devastated by what she's missed, and determined to hold on to a kind of independence. I found myself admiring and also questioning Olson at every turn.
That's exactly the kind of historical fiction I love: no easy answers, a story that carries me away to someplace new, and characters who are much more than their incomplete public image might have otherwise suggested. Even if you care or know nothing about Olson, or the famous Andrew Wyeth painting that depicts her against the backdrop of her stark home and land, this novel will lure you in.

While the story of Christina Olson's life--in this fictionalized account--is moving, the novel is ultimately a character study. As portrayed by Kline, Olson is extremely complex. She's driven, but solitary; caring but harsh when offended, which comes easily. She's in pain both physically and mentally and sometimes she takes that pain out on others. But her relationship with the painter Andrew Wyeth is special, and they both know it. I'm glad Kline wrote this story, and I'm glad to have read it.

A novel that begins with deceptive blandness turns into a tender, introspective tale of grim souls trapped by illness, family demands and dashed hopes. The power of APOTW is in its poetically rendered quotidian details, in its unsparing account of Andrew Wyeth's famous subject, Christina Olson, and in the way CBK's prose effectively mimics Wyeth's spare and chiseled canvases.

Do I wish that the author had not played it so safe, had used more authorial license and given these "characters"--especially Wyeth--messier, more intricate inner lives? Do I wish there'd been more of an interesting tension between Wyeth and his enigmatic subject? Yes. But I was nonetheless drawn into the story's quiet urgency, into Christina's long, heart-rending plight. Time itself is a character here. The reader feels its weight on every page. And when the ending comes--just as this reader anticipated it would, before she even cracked the prologue--that weight doesn't just lift but soars. Really soars. (less)

flag comment · see review

I love historical fiction and this book is so well researched that it really interested me. I knew nothing about the painting or about Andrew Wyeth, I had no idea of the depth of the relationship between Wyeth and Christina, nor about her disease which caused much suffering and huge disability. This is a story of perseverance, family, friendship and living through difficult times. I doubt many people today would/could be Madurese what Christina did. It was frequently hard to read, but I’m so glad I did.

A Piece of the World is a historical fiction, based on the life of Christina Olson. As a muse for painter Andrew Wyeth for more than 20 years, Christina was the subject of one of the most famous paintings of the twentieth century. Author Christina Baker Kline has weaved historical information into a fictional framework, telling the tale of a woman who spent her entire life in Cushing, Maine due to a debilitating illness stemming from childhood. The beginning of the book was so dry and lifeless that A Piece of the World never grabbed my attention. I found it hard to get through and did not think it was nearly as good as the author's other works of fiction.

I loved Christina Baker Kline's new novel. It was such a brilliant idea to bring Christina Olson, the iconic model in Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World, to life. I loved Christina for her stubborn determination, the fierce hold she had, at times to her own detriment, to her sense of self. A fascinating, compelling novel and an great portrait of a woman. Clearly Christina Baker Kline has inhabited her character. As Wyeth says in the novel, "every painting is a self-portrait," one could perhaps also say that every novel is a memoir. I can't help but feel as if Christina Baker Kline has reached deeply into herself to bring this story so movingly to life.

This book tells the life story of Christina, a girl born with a hereditary disease leaving her unable to walk without severe pain. It tells of her life growing up in a century old home in New England. It tells of how she took care of her aging parents and 3 brothers. We never guessed that he random little girl Betsy who showed up at her home one day, would someday aid in making her known around the world after Betsy’s husband uses her as his muse.

This is an amazing book! I had no clue what the book was about when I picked it up but it quickly drew me in. The story is of Christina Olson and a painting by Andrew Wyeth featuring Christina. The story while based on a true story is fictional but stays true to the foundation of the true story. This book penetrated my emotions in ways I never saw coming. I read with interest, pity, hope, joy, deep sadness, more pity and finally a deep feeling of relief. I cried and I laughed. I truly enjoyed this book and you will as well.

Knowing the back story of Christina Olson and her role as a muse for Andrew Wyeth, I was eager to read it. It's a historic novel based on the famous painting by Wyeth called "Christina's World". The back story is fascinating and Kline loosely portrays the life of Christina from birth to about age 56 and imagines her thoughts and feelings and her limited interaction with the outside world. The book covers the first 10 years of her friendship with Wyeth, though it continued for another 20 years. The painting is haunting and thought provoking and so is Christina Baker Cline's novel. Kudos.

This was a fascinating book and I really enjoyed it. Even though it was a novel, it really read like a biographical novel. The author has a beautiful way with word and stories. It is very evident that she does much research as the story is fully fleshed out.

The premise of the book was interesting as I knew very little about Andrew Wyeth and his work. I liked that the book went back and forth in different time periods to really explain the story.

Definitely a recommend!! It is an easy read that I finished very quickly!

Beautifully written and a welcoming read. This first-person novel is part historical fiction and part imaginative character creation. Most are familiar with Andrew Wyeth's painting "Christina's World"; but know nothing about Christina. Kline researched Wyeth, life in early to mid-nineteenth century rural Maine, Christina and her Hathorne family and then let the model tell her story. What emerges is a stark but far from simple life. However the dramas, joys, and pain are conveyed in muted tones, much the same as Wyeth's intentionally limited palette. In the novel, Christina is introduced to Emily Dickinson's poetry before her family insists she leave school. She returns to those poems from time to time in the book and the parallels help to remind Christina and the reader of the beauty that exists no matter how limited the audience. Lovely book.

Christina was not a likeable character, way too stubborn and almost reveled in her disability. She was not a nice person, broke up her brother's romance. Very predictable that Christina's summer romance would not last beyond his graduation. Andrew Wyeth's personality never really came through. He asks "who are you Christina?" We can ask "who is Andrew Wyeth?" As I told a friend I majored in Science, did not have time for art classes. The painting may be a big deal but it does nothing for me. And if "Christina's World" is so great, why does it hang in an obscure place in MoMA? I read this for book club so it will be interesting to see what the other members of the group say.

Devouring this book in one giant mesmerizing slurp while on vacation, I was completely transported to the very specific place and time of this gorgeous, limpid, soulful story. It perfectly captures the natural glories of coastal Maine as well as the soaring and twisted realms of the human spirit. The characters are memorable and vivid and the beautifully crafted writing was painterly - I could see the shifting quality of light in every paragraph. A tale of terrible heartbreak and extraordinary perseverance, full of historical detail, APOTW breathes life and heart into one of America's most beloved - and mysterious - paintings.

I hesitated to start this book, because I wasn't sure I wanted to know the "true" story, even the fictionalized "true" story. Especially if it would replace what I imagine the story to be, and that changes every time I look at the painting. But I did, and I am so glad! I absolutely LOVED this book! It is a perfect blend of beautiful writing and compelling subject matter. The author is able to draw the characters (not just Christina) in such a way as to reveal their essence, yet leave room for ambiguity. You may be able to predict where a plot line is going, but it still breaks your heart when you get there.

I love the imagery, and some of the details woven into the story have personal meaning to me. A chambered nautilus. Accounts of Wyeth's life and art. Sewing. Art. Reading this book will bring the reader a new appreciation for the painting, and for Wyeth. I am lucky to have seen some of his work at a local museum Greenville (SC) County Museum of Art.

Evocatively beautiful story told with razor sharp insight, by the author, into the mind and emotions of young child diagnosed with a degenerative nerve condition that defines and determines the life of pain and toil she comes to embrace. The protagonist is at times sweet and unassuming and at other times unappreciative and verbally unkind to those who wish only to offer a helping hand. The dialogue exchanged between Christina and Wyeth is honest, sensitive and wholly believable.....it is when reading these exchanges that the characters come alive and the reader is in the moment with them.

I loved this story and am impressed by the extensive research done by the author who produced this compelling historical narrative of the iconic painting of the girl in the grass. Bravo Christina Baker Kline!

Janice Blessington Kenny Author of The Stationery Box

I am not a fast reader but I read this in 2 days because I couldn't put it down. I had also read The Orphan Train which I liked but this novel surpasses that. The author writes incredibly well filling the pages with rich imagery. Some of the sentences were so descriptive that I wished I had highlighted them so I could go back and reread and enjoy them. I have become a fan of the author's books and wait anxiously for her next work. I have always admired the painting Christina's World and now I will never look at it in the same way. Kudos to this author!

I really LOVED this book. Although I was casually familiar with the painting, I had never paid close attention to it, nor did I know there was a real person and story behind it. I loved learning about the history of the area, farming in that time, and of Christina's disease, also the "stigma" of being a spinster. Christina's feelings are raw and genuine, and her struggle for independence and her place in the world are tender, heart-breaking, and uplifting. This book is a real treat!

Growing up, my aunt and uncle had a large framed print of Andrew Wyeth’s painting, Christina’s World, hung on the wall of their family room. I vividly remember staring at the bleak depiction of a young woman, visible only from the back, in a seemingly troubled, half-reclined pose, gazing upon a grim-looking farmhouse in the distance. To me, it seemed like this poor girl was in jeopardy. Her hair and dress looked disheveled, as if she had fled some horrible trauma inflicted upon her, and was just biding her time until she could return to the stark farmhouse on the hill. But if you ask around, there are as many different interpretations of this haunting portrait as there are stars in the sky.

Christina Baker Kline, author of the bestselling historical novel ORPHAN TRAIN, reinterprets Wyeth’s compelling painting, or, more specifically, its subject. Looking like a young farm girl, Christina Olson was, in actuality, an unmarried middle-aged woman. She is not sprawled amidst the wheat fields of Kansas, as I had assumed, but rather is on her family’s homestead in coastal Maine, where she lived her entire life. How did this unremarkable woman become the subject of one of the most recognizable paintings of the past two centuries? How did she come to know Andrew Wyeth, the youngest son of well-known artist N.C. Wyeth? What is this woman’s story? Kline skillfully creates Christina’s backstory in her fascinating sixth novel.

When Wyeth first approached Hathorn House in Cushing, Maine, in the summer of 1939, he could have had no idea he was about to meet the inspiration and subject of his most famous work. Introduced by Betsy James, his soon-to-be-wife and family friend of the inhabitants, Christina and her brother, Alvaro, Wyeth was immediately inspired by the cozy but dilapidated farmhouse and intrigued by the circumspect woman living within. Still in the nascent stage of his artistic development and desperately wanting to distinguish himself from his famous father, Wyeth was looking for inspiration and found it in his beloved Maine: “I’m trying to capture...something. The feel of this place, not the place itself, exactly. D.H. Lawrence --- he was a writer, but also a painter --- wrote this line: ‘Close to the body of things, there can be heard the stir that makes us and destroys us.’ I want to do that --- get close to the body of things.”

Wyeth took a room in the old farmhouse to use as his studio, and the Olson siblings were his makeshift models. He recognized a kindred spirit in Christina. Also sickly as a child, Wyeth was home-schooled by his father. Christina, whose legs were rendered practically useless by a cruel, unknown disease (likely undiagnosed polio), could well understand his isolation: “When your world is small, you learn every inch of it.”

Christina came by her lamentable affectation honestly. Suffering with her debilitating illness from late childhood, and having once tasted a life outside of her protected Maine homestead, she was well acquainted with regret. When she was 20, she fell in love with Walton Hall, a summer visitor to Cushing and a student at Harvard. For a second, Christina let herself dream of a life other than the one she'd always known: “It’s clear to me now that for twenty years I have gone through the motions of each day like a dumb animal, neither daring to hope for a different kind of life nor even knowing enough to desire one.” But that life wasn’t meant to be, and she had sadly realized and accepted her lot in life: “Everything comes back to this body, this faulty carapace. How I wish I could crack it open and leave it behind.”

But with Wyeth, Christina formed an easy bond that didn’t require much work. Over the years, the pair developed a familiar and unique working relationship, each one knowing what it felt like to be “...shackled by the past even though it’s populated by ghosts.” And in the summer of 1948, Wyeth finally “gets to the body of things” by having Christina pose for him half-reclining in the midst of tall grass, with her back to him, wearing a fading pink cotton dress, letting the whole world have a peek into her private one. A moment “to see her life from a distance, as clear as a photograph, as mysterious as a fairy tale.”

A PIECE OF THE WORLD is a welcome and worthy addition to Christina Baker Kline’s previous novels, and gives a hauntingly beautiful depiction of the woman behind one of the most beloved works of American art. Alternating between Christina’s painful past and her time spent with the artist in the 1940s, Kline breathes life and breadth into Wyeth’s stirring but one-dimensional image, offering readers a keenly observed fictional chronicle of one woman’s “mutinous body,” her desire to conquer it, and the one man who had the sensitivity to truly see her.

Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller

Christine Baker Kline has crafted a speculative look at the life behind Andrew Wyeth's painting 'Christina's World' that captures the strength and spirit of the famous work of art. It also portrays the harsh world of New England farm life in the early 20th century so clearly, I could almost see the house's weathered paint and Christina pulling herself up its dusty staircase. This book is very true to the title of the painting in describing Christina's world and in taking an introspective look into her life.

I have never heard of this famous painting until I stumbled upon this book. I loved the story about the heroin and how the painting came about (based on some facts and part fiction). I was especially touched by the tenderness portrayed between Christina and Al. It was a great story as well about overcoming adversity and the author did an amazing job! Strongly recommend this book!

This book captivated me from the getgo! I could envision each person and action as though I was watching a movie or sitting in the corner watching a real life unwind. The closer to the end, the more I wished for several more hundred pages to look forward to. I look forward to hearing this author speak next spring and to reading her other books as they become available. Enjoy!!

The beauty of Kline’s writing and her grasp of her characters is such that at first you want to sink into this book like a warm bath. But she doesn’t allow her reader to get too comfortable. A Piece of the World shows the healing power of simple, unexpected friendship area and time as this charming character portrayed in Andrew Wyeth's painting. I honestly don't think I can look at a painting again without imagining it's rich back-story . Sigh.

I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways. As always, an honest review.

Christina Olson's entire life is her family's farm and house in rural America during the 1940s. Due to an unknown disease she has difficulty moving about freely and completing every day tasks. She refuses to let it stop her from caring for her siblings and parents. While Christina says it doesn't limit her, she rarely leaves the farmland. Is she living the life she wants? Are her limitations ones she has been afflicted with or ones she has placed on herself?

I really enjoyed this novel. The author graciously explores the question I posed above, regarding Christina's freedom. The novel is beautifully written, accented with gorgeous Emily Dickinson poetry. Some could initially think the premise it dull, but the author ensure it is anything but.

There were very few moments when I didn't enjoy this story. Occasionally I became frustrated with Christina's stubbornness, but also understood it.

The biggest appeal in this historical fiction book is the brilliant writing. The author takes simple living and makes it gorgeous. Christina could be seen as dull, but through the story we learn that she's not. The beauty truly is in the details. The small nuances in life make the story exquisite. I also really appreciated the beautiful hardcover and jacket. The texture of the pages provides a wonderful sensory experience.

The following passage accurately sums up the beauty and overall tone of A Piece of the World.

'"It's about human nature, you see. You can live for a long time inside the shell you were born in. But one day it'll become too small."
"Then what?" I ask.
"Well, then you'll have to find a larger shell to live in."
I consider this for a moment. "What if it's too small but you still want to live there?"
She sighs. "Gracious, child, what a question. I suppose you'll either have to be brave and find a new home or you'll have to live inside a broken shell."'

Gorgeous, gorgeous writing that made me fall in love with this book.

* I originally posted my review on Goodreads.

Disappointing. The book is more about Christine and far less about Andrew Wyeth. Also, there is so much about the story of Christine that is fabricated, that you begin to wonder why you are wasting time with the story at all. There was a glimmer or two into the years of Andrew Wyeth painting at the Olsen property.

Exquisite, moody writing that grabbed me far more than in Orphan Train, the author's runaway best-seller. The main character is like few others who star in a novel--contemplative, gritty, not always kind. The book imagines the story of the woman in "Christina's World," Andrew Wyeth's most famous painting, but this is Christina's book, not Wyeth's. I applaud the author for going in a less commercial direction than her last book.

I liked this book. I could relate to the characters and was hopeful they really enjoyed their life in the early 1900's. It was simple, but very difficult at times and complicated by where they lived and then throw in a disability, and you have a story of life. Enjoyed my trip to the past before electric and all the modern conveniences we have now. Enjoyed meeting Christina, a very strong and determined women who made some mistakes along the way, as we all do.

I really enjoyed this book. It is very important to read the author's notes at the end. I have a debilitating condition and I can totally relate to Christina. She wants to be independent and not pitied even though a very small task takes a great amount of effort. Definitely a 5 star rating.

I received this book for free as a member of the Book Club Girl Book Club from Harper Collins, and it was a great read. The writing was wonderful, and the story so complete that I felt like I understood the characters, the time, and the setting. I really enjoyed this read, and it made for great discussion during our book club meeting.

I really enjoyed this novel. I had never particularly thought of the inspiration behind Andre Wyeth's painting "Christiana's World" so this novel provided me with an eye opening insight into Andrew Wyeth and his subject Christiania Olsen. I was stunned, saddened and inspired by the people in this novel and the hardships they faced on a daily basis.

Based on a true story, but the author brings Christina Olson, Andrew Wyeth’s muse and friend, to life for us in a novel form; the story gives us great insight in the personality of Wyeth as well as Christina. Wonderful book...highly recommend!

A friend gave me their copy and I just order another one on the store as a gift. I loved Orphan Train, and this book is equally as good. Kline style of writing is amazing. I’ve always loved Andrew Wyeth paintings so it was an especially interesting story line. Read this book you will love it!

What a beautiful, moving book. I read it during a busy period of my life, in sips, before bed. Some nights it left me soothed by its concise and loving descriptions of Maine country life and the gentle perspectives of its heroine, Christina Olson, and its portraits of Andy Wyeth and his wife, Betsy, along with others; and some nights I felt haunted by the losses and worsening restrictions of Christina Olson's life as depicted by Baker Kline. When I reached its redemptive ending, I cried.

This is a finely rendered portrait of an uncomplaining and sympathetic woman whose voice touched me greatly. Reading A Piece of the World was a rare and subtle treat, from start to finish.

I just finished reading this novel and have had a difficult time returning to the realities of the 21st century. Ms. Kline immerses her readers in a world full of the details of Christina's time, from Spry cans to oil lamps. Christina Olson's life with her family, and her physical impairment, is often difficult but she triumphs daily in her determination to let nothing deter her from a joy that exists in her piece of the world.
Much of her pleasure comes from the respect she receives from Andrew Wyeth, a simple man who comes each day to paint the wonderful views from the unused third floor of the Olson home.he respects her implicitly and this helps her find purpose in her daily life. Details of Wyeth's style and their relationship are joys that sustain the reader through some of the disappointments that Christina must face.
Thoroughly recommended.

One of the better books I've read in a while. I loved the historical fiction aspect of it, and I love Andrew Wyeth, so it was a pretty good bet I'd enjoy the book too! A very realistic portrait of what Christina of "Christina's World" might have been like and although I love the painting, I knew absolutely nothing about the woman in the forefront.

This was a really good story. I liked how the author blended fiction and nonfiction. I would like to read more work by this author . I wish that ending was a little longer but it was still a complete story. I borrowed this book from my online library .

...and I almost quit listening because I found the main character so flat--both from the outside and her inner thoughts, which seem devoid of any emotion for the first couple of hours. If I had been reading instead of listening, I may have like this a tad better.

Gradually, the main characters in the novel seem to become much better developed and Christina finally has emotion and depth. And the story, which had not interested me before, began to interest me. Though, frankly, I really didn't care about the Wyeth part of the story and would have liked to.

Ten years ago I probably would have really liked this novel, but the story is rather sad. Nothing very good or positive happens to the characters. In the end, it is a story of perseverance, however, which was enough for "3 stars--I liked it."

Christina Olson may have felt overlooked and left behind in her actual life, but in this novel Christina Baker Kline inhabits her so completely that the reader gets to feel the full richness of her life; from strength to frustration, in love and enraged, it is an unflinching and deeply moving portrait of a complicated woman, her family, and the painter who really saw her. I loved it.

The story told here is very captivating and engrossing. The writing is gorgeous and the description of the setting makes one feel that you are looking inside someone’s home and life. I became very attached to the main characters and will miss their presence in my daily life.

Being a big fan of Andrew Wyeth and the painting, Christina's World, I was immediately drawn into the potential of this book and was never disappointed where it took me. The combination of fact and story-telling was beautifully intertwined and incredibly joyful to follow. Beautifully written in a way that makes you feel like you are sitting on the front porch of Christina's home with her telling you the story herself. Christina Baker's Kline ability to tell a story and do so in a manner that is engaging, comfortable and immediately easy to relate to is a gift that so many authors have lost.

I loved every minute of this book and it made go back through the last book I had of writings about Andrew Wyeth and his art work. So many of the painting mentioned in this novel are there and it was a great way of tying the artist, Christina and the Olsen house together!

The story can be a bit bleak at times but Kline's writing pulls you through. It is absolutely gorgeous. The way she describes the art, the landscape, the characters and their emotions is simply masterful. I love books that tell a (real or fictional) story behind paintings and A Piece of the World is no exception. I was moved to tears.

I loved this book and I love this author's writing style. After reading her previous book, The Orphan Train, which was splendid, I wondered if I would be disappointed by this book. I was NOT. This book was so good! I highly recommend reading it. The characters, story, imagery, tone and soul of this book are just wonderful!

Every chapter, starting with life before Christina arrives; tells how she will be forged by history. The handicaps of her life in many eras adds to her strength. You will never look at the Wyeth portrait again without tears bluring your vision.

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.

The beginning of the novel is slow and measured but the pace picks up and becomes a thoughtful portrayal of a woman with physical limitations who refuses to be defined by them. It is what I call a quiet book but with a lot to say.

Can anyone explain why the paperback version is almost as expensive as the the store hardback price?

Beautifully written blending of fact and fiction, based on the life of Christina Olson, the subject of Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World. I'll admit to shedding a few tears here and there, which proves to me that Kline has written a book that truly brought the character's to life. She's a very talented writer. Loved it!

A haunting, beautiful novel. Kline takes Christina Olson, the iconic figure in the foreground of Andrew Wyeth's famous painting "Christina's World," and breathes life into her from the very first lines. Do not miss the opportunity to read this gorgeous evocation of Maine, of the hardscrabble life of Christina and her family, and of the complex relationship that evolves between artist and subject. One of my favorite reads of 2017 thus far. So perfect for book groups!

I must be missing something, because I don't understand the hype this author's books have received. No offense intended, but her writing style is just a bit too simplistic for me. The story and dialogue of this book (and her last) aren't engaging. I didn't find anything particularly interesting about the characters--they fell flat somehow, I didn't connect with them. This feels a bit like young adult writing, but geared toward adult audiences. There are far better and more engaging books to spend your time with.

I thought this was a very interesting, well written book. I was debating giving it 5 stars, but decided on 4 based on it not being a "page turner" (defined as "I can't wait to continue reading it"). I have no doubt it will be on the Best Seller list for quite a while.

I kep waiting for something positive to happen. It was just a gray cloud...one right after another and I didn't particularly care for the main character. I am trying to think of something good, empowering, positive, optimistic but there was nothing I can remember about the character or substance that I can take away with me.

Once I began reading this beautiful book, I couldn't put it down. Inspired by Wyeth's famous painting, 'Christina's World', the author weaves a poignant story about the painter and its subject. The picture that Christina B-K paints with her words is so clear, we feel as if we are in this small, coastal Maine town, and grow to understand and deeply care for its residents. 'A Piece of the World' is a moving, and at times, heart wrenching novel. It now joins her other book, 'Orphan Train" as a Must Read, and is on my list of favorites.

This is well written. In easy phrases almost like poetry, Kline paints Christina's world. For those who wish books had ratings, there are 3-4 times when Wyeth takes the name of God and one short scene that is a little too intimate.

It was hard for me to like Christina once her relationship ended. She seemed to bring so much pain to herself and to others. I understand, in the same circumstances, I might have had the same reaction to life. The author’ notes at the end of the book clarified, via intensive research, helped in understanding Christina’s character development.

I vacation in Maine just about every year and loved this book. I have often wondered about Andrew Wyeth's "Christina's World". Kline weaves fact and fiction to tell her story. She does a great job. Loved it!

That is what John Gardner held up as the novelist’s ideal and that is what Kline has created in her brilliant tour de force “A Piece of the World.” Every bit as mesmerizing as the painting that inspired it, we are transported into Christina’s gorgeously-rendered world and inhabited by the fascinatingly-complex woman at its center. I can’t wait to discuss this sumptuous book with my book club!

Christina Olson was a remarkable woman with dreams and regrets as we all have. She lost herself and her dreams but found herself in that losing. A remarkable woman for real and fictionalized. Thank you to the author Christina.

After finishing Orphan Train, and looking for Christina Baker-Kline's next book, I was so happy to start A Piece of the World. It is still with me, and I had trouble getting back into my own life, as I was living with Christina and Al for the entire time of the read. I can't put into words how this book has touched me. I could relate with Christina on so many levels. I am so grateful to have read this beautiful piece of work.

A bittersweet imagining of the life of Wyeth's muse for Cristina's World. Kline evoked the details of the life and details that Wyeth was famous. I highly recommend this novel and I will be reading the Orphan Train also by Kline very soon.

The captivating prose and imagery in this book settled into my soul with an unexpected ferocity. I found myself longing for Christina...angered with her stubborn disposition, empathetic for her despair, and awed by her perseverance. What a beautiful story!

I enjoyed this book very much. It was interesting reading about the differences before modern technology and now. I also liked how the writer flipped back and forth from when she was young and later grown into an older one.

I have long been an admirer of Andrew Wyeth's paintings and had the opportunity to visit the Farnsworth Museum. Ms Klines' book was a masterpiece - She described Christina as a woman with so much strength and dignity and despite her progressive infirmity, carried on with true New England tradition . Truly a brilliant novel.

A piece of the world is written beautifully. It made me feel both melancholic and wistful.

Christina is a very strong protagonist. She has a debilitating paralysis in her legs which has kept her from living a mostly normal life. She is in constant worry about the inevitable decline of her debilitation. She remains in her family's farmhouse her whole life and takes care of her family. She is very lonely but remains strong and perseveres.

Baker Kline's latest novel (and I've read them all) may be her best yet. I was reading in a noisy school hallway, but it all fell away as I became enveloped and captivated by the beautifully drawn characters of this lovely book. The juxtaposition of stories from different periods of time was very effective, and at the end I just wished there was more. Highly recommend!

This book has beautiful descriptions, but way too many of them. There were at least three places the book could have ended, but didn't. Some pages will contain two or three lists of words used to describe a scene, a person, a landscape, a cat, a pipe , a bird. A cat, a dog...

Not a real upbeat book but a great one to read as it is based on Andrew Wyeth's painting. This book gives a picture of life from a young girl's perspective as well as from her adult viewpoint. Excellent discussion book.

I loved this book. I was fortunate to see the author at an event in Portsmouth NH. She was destined to write this book. The research that she has done on this amazing novel is incredible. She is able herself to "paint" such a beautiful picture of life and love in rural Maine. This book is a treasure.

This book is very well written. The information about Andrew Wyeth's relationship with Christina and her home was interesting and touching. We love his art and appreciated that many of his subjects came from the Olson Homestead. If you love the coast of Maine, history, art, and "the salt of the earth" characters, you will love this book.

I can't say this was a happy "feel good" book, but I read it in 24 hours. The story drew me in and kept me interested. Still, I felt a bit melancholy after I was done, but the main character's life was in many ways a sad one. Good writing!

Although a work of fiction, this is a beautiful account of Christina’s life and the people in her world. I️ have always loved Andrew Wyatt’s works of art, and to have them come to life through this story was a real gift!