A Piece of the World
‘Graceful, moving and powerful . . . a wonderful story that seems to have been waiting, all this time, for Kline to come along and tell it’ MICHAEL CHABON
To Christina Olson, the entire world is her family’s remote farm in the small coastal town of Cushing, Maine. Born in the home her family has lived in for generations, and tied to the farm by health and circumstance, Christina seems destined for a small life. Instead, by chance she becomes the inspiration for the artist Andrew Wyeth, and eventually the subject of one of the best-known paintings of the twentieth century, Christina’s World.
”'A moving portrait of a woman in search of autonomy and purpose in her life” - SUNDAY TIMES CULTURE
”'A graceful, moving and powerful demonstration of what can happen when a fearless literary imagination combines with an inexhaustible curiosity about the past and the human heart: a feat of time travel, a bravura improvisation on the theme of art history, a wonderful story that seems to have been waiting, all this time, for Christina Baker Kline to come along and tell it” - MICHAEL CHABON
”'Christina Baker Kline writes about home and place with wisdom and tenderness, but most of all she writes about Christina Olson with compassion, empathy and resounding admiration. This is an inspiring, haunting, powerful novel” - HELEN SEDGWICK, author of The Comet Seekers
”'An affecting and memorable novel… unexpected and bleakly beautiful world. I thought it explored the nature of art and inspiration in a fascinating way, whilst also posing profound questions about what endures and what proves transitory; about the roles we choose and those which are forced upon us” - MATTHEW PLAMPIN, author of Will & Tom
”'With remarkable precision and compassion, A PIECE OF THE WORLD transports us to a mid-century farmhouse on the coast of Maine. But just like the painting that inspired it, this novel is about so much more. It’s about the terrors and injustices of childhood, the aches of adulthood, the regrets of middle age. It’s a story about a woman trapped by family and duty and her own ailing body . . . Christina Baker Kline has accomplished something grand” - NATHAN HILL, author of The Nix
”'Tender, tragic, A PIECE OF THE WORLD is a fascinating exploration of the life lived inside that house at the top of the hill” - LILY KING
”'Painterly, sensuous, and sympathetic” - KIRKUS REVIEWS
”'A pure, powerful story of suffering met with a fight” - O Magazine (The Oprah Magazine)
”'Insightful, evocative prose brings Christina’s singular perspective and indomitable spirit to life” - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY