* Denotes group favorites. AFRICAN ART * Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe This classic and seminal novel, noted for its brilliant use of language and elegant style, is a moving portrait of traditional village life in the Ibo culture of Nigeria. The Radiance of the King, by Camara Laye This masterpiece of African literature begins with the story of Clarence, who has been shipwrecked and stranded on the coast of Africa. His bewildering travels in search of an audience with the king combine elements of Kafkaesque absurdity and the African folktale. ANCIENT CULTURES * The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver Diary entries, letters, and newspaper clippings tell the story of Harrison William Shepherd, as he moves from a Mexican hacienda on Isla Pixol to the incendiary household of the painters Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo and finally to McCarthy-‐era America. * The Lost Chalice: The Epic Hunt for a Priceless Masterpiece, by Vernon Silver From mythic Troy to New York’s auction houses, this true-‐life detective story traces the history of one of antiquity’s most prized treasures, a wine cup depicting the death of Sarpedon by the Greek artist Euphronios, and offers a riveting portrait of the modern antiquities trade.
Artful Readings Past Selections
Stealing Athena, by Karen Essex The latest work by this award-‐winning author traverses a millennium and intertwines the lives of an ancient Greek courtesan and a Scottish heiress to explore the ambitions and controversies surrounding the Parthenon and its “Elgin Marbles.” Akhenaten: Dweller in Truth, by Naguib Mahfouz Nobel-‐winning author Naguib Mafhouz’s exploration of the life of the iconoclastic pharaoh Akhenaten guides our literary foray into the history of ancient Egypt. Thebes at War: A Novel of Ancient Egypt, by Naguib Mahfouz A young pharaoh’s epic struggle to regain power and reunify ancient Egypt after 200 years of foreign occupation depicts harrowing battles and undying loyalty on the eve of the New Kingdom. Land of Marvels, by Barry Unsworth The Booker Prize–winning British author’s latest novel is a tale of archaeological exploration and global political cross-‐purposes, set in the former Mesopotamia (now Iraq) in the immediate pre-‐war year of 1914. ASIAN ART & CULTURE * Peking Story: The Last Days of Old China, by David Kidd When a Kentucky-‐born teacher living in modern-‐day Beijing marries the daughter of a Chinese aristocrat, he takes a ringside seat to the sweeping changes of the Communist Revolution. His finely wrought memoir evokes a world of unmatched elegance and ancient customs on the eve of its destruction. * The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, by David Mitchell The ambitious new novel by one of today’s most acclaimed writers vividly evokes Edo-‐period Japan and the tale of a young clerk, whose five-‐year stint with the Dutch East Indies Company takes a turn towards forbidden love and surprising adventure. * The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy Awarded the Booker Prize for its stunning originality and intricate style, this novel, set in the lush southern province of Kerala, beautifully untangles one family’s tragic history and the collision of the ancient and the modern in rural India. * Peony in Love, by Lisa See This haunting novel steeped in the traditions and rituals of 17th-‐century China tells the story of young Peony and her richly imagined journey of love, sorrow, and destiny.
* The Samurai’s Garden, A Novel, by Gail Tsukiyama On the eve of the second World War, a young Chinese man recovering from tuberculosis moves to his family’s summer residence near a seaside village in Japan. His friendships with the stoic caretaker and a secreted community of lepers emerge in a tender story about loneliness and friendship, illness and wellness, and nature’s beauty set against the brutality of war. * The Hare with the Amber Eyes: A Family’s Century of Art and Ideas, by Edmund de Waal A memoir by the renowned British ceramicist and fifth-‐generation owner of a large collection of netsuke, or hand-‐carved Japanese miniatures, traces his family’s astonishing history through the story of these strange and charming objects. * The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom, by Simon Winchester The adventures of the brilliant and quirky Joseph Needham are chronicled in this riveting biography tracing his search across China to understand the origins of some of mankind’s greatest innovations. The Samurai Banner of Furin Kazan, by Yasushi Inoue This epic narrative from one of Japan’s most revered authors takes place during the 16th century, when rival warlords were in a constant state of turmoil. It centers on one young daimyo and his brilliant yet disfigured strategist, whose perspectives on military strategy, honorable enemies, and his master’s love affairs provide unique insights into the samurai way of life. Snow Country, by Yasunari Kawabata Set in the desolate beauty of western Japan, the snowiest region on earth, this haunting novel of impossible love embodies the suggestive qualities and powerful sense of motive that earned the author the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Laughing Sutra, by Mark Salzman This comic narrative chronicles the search for an elusive Buddhist scripture that allegedly holds the key to immortality. EUROPEAN ART: GENERAL * The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery Set in an exclusive Parisian apartment building, this enchanting satire weaves philosophical reflections on life, art, literature, class, and privilege through the voices of a middle-‐age concierge and a precocious but troubled teenage girl.
* A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters, by Julian Barnes This ingenious collection of short stories strings together revisionist histories that are by turns humorous, harrowing, consolatory, and absurd. Often staged on storm-‐tossed boats, chapters interweave ideas about the arbitrary nature of history and the transformative powers of art, including Théodore Gericault’s The Raft of the Medusa. * Parrot and Olivier in America, by Peter Carey This two-‐time Man Booker Prize winner’s playful “improvisation” on the life of Alexis de Tocqueville morphs into a picaresque adventure told by its two leading characters as they travel both together and apart through England, France, and eventually America. * A Month in the Country, by J. L. Carr This poetic reflection on the passage of time and the power of art centers on a veteran of the Great War and his memories of a summer spent in the English countryside restoring an anonymous painter’s depiction of the Apocalypse in a parish church. * Birth of Venus, by Sarah Dunant At the center of this vivid story of love, art, and betrayal, 14-‐year-‐old Alessandra negotiates the realities of an arranged marriage and her own artistic aspirations as Renaissance Florence finds itself changing in the grip of the fundamentalist friar Savonarola. * The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, by Robert M. Edsel, with Bret Witter This inspiring true story of a special force of American and British museum directors, curators, and art historians, called the Monuments Men, follows their heroic efforts to mitigate combat damage to monuments across war-‐torn Europe and to recover artworks looted by the Nazis. * The Lost Painting: The Search for a Caravaggio Masterpiece, by Jonathan Harr As vivid and suspenseful as any mystery, the real-‐life story of a young art historian on the trail of a long-‐lost painting by the Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio leads readers across a continent and centuries of history. * Master of Shadows: The Secret Diplomatic Career of the Painter Peter Paul Rubens, by Mark Lamster Revered by his contemporaries and sought by political leaders across Europe, the great Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens was also a key player on the international stage of 17th-‐century diplomacy and political intrigue. This gripping drama explores Rubens’s art and the society, culture, and private passions that influenced it. * Bring Up the Bodies, by Hilary Mantel Hailed around the world as a stunning literary achievement, the second work in a planned trilogy delves into the heart of Tudor history, the cunning designs of Thomas Cromwell, and the downfall of Anne Boleyn. Winner of the 2012 Man Booker Prize.
* The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris, by David McCullough The popular historian and two-‐time Pulitzer Prize winner sifts through mountains of correspondence and archival records to tell the compelling stories of the 19th-‐century American novelists, artists, doctors, politicians, and inventors who crossed the Atlantic for the experience of a lifetime. * Out Stealing Horses, A Novel, by Per Petterson Embraced around the world as a classic of universal relevance and power, this novel tells the story of a 67-‐year-‐old Norwegian man whose move to a remote cabin triggers memories of one summer with his father and the decades of searching and loss that followed. * On Beauty, by Zadie Smith A Rembrandt scholar who doesn’t like Rembrandt, a formerly sexy activist struggling with her own identity, and three children passionately pursuing their disparate paths are at the center of the cast of characters in this irreverent and touching book reminiscent of E. M. Forster’s Howard’s End. * The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt On the most fateful morning of Theo’s life, a terroist bomb explodes at the Met, leaving him without his adored mother and in possession of a Dutch masterpiece. His subsequent coming-‐of-‐age odessey combines unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and breathtaking suspense, while plumbing the deepest mysteries of love, identity, and art. * Derby Day, by D. J. Taylor The great horse race at Epsom Downs was the spectacle of the British racing season, where members of the highest and lowest classes in Victorian society found themselves rubbing shoulders. In the spirit of Thackeray and Dickens, this masterfully written intrigue is filled with chicanery and polish, numerous subplots, and a motley crew of colorful characters. Nominated for the 2011 Man Booker Prize. * The Music Lesson, by Katharine Weber At the heart of this gripping and thoughtful novel, a priceless Vermeer painting stored away in a remote Irish cottage is the silent companion to a woman coming to terms with her involvement in a high-‐stakes crime and the circumstances that brought her there. The Unknown Masterpiece, by Honoré de Balzac Heralded in the New York Times as the “greatest novelist of the 19th century and perhaps of all time,” Balzac described the world as he saw it. His celebrated classic about a painter struggling with the limits of true artistic creativity deeply touched such masters as Cézanne and Picasso.
Portrait of an Unknown Woman, by Vanora Bennett Set against the turmoil, intrigue, and tragedy of Henry VIII’s court, this novel centers on the family of the king’s advisor Sir Thomas More and their encounters with the great portraitist Hans Holbein. Old Masters: A Comedy, by Thomas Bernhard The final novel by one of Europe’s finest contemporary satirists is the uncompromising portrait of an aged musicologist, recounted by his friend, while he sits immersed in his regular contemplation of Tintoretto’s White-‐Bearded Man at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Giovanni and Lusanna: Love and Marriage in Renaissance Florence, by Gene Brucker The true story of Lusanna versus Giovanni, gleaned from 15th-‐century legal documents, brings to light the complex realities of love, class, and gender relations in Renaissance Florence. No Tomorrow, by Vivant Denon This stylish, yet brief, tale of seduction opens a window on the precious elegance of 18th-‐century French aristocratic culture and the fascinating life of its author, the first director of French museums appointed by Napoleon. Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation's Treasures from the Nazis, by Robert M. Edsel This poignant, captivating story of the little-‐known American effort to save Italy’s most treasured monuments and masterpieces during World War II recounts a dangerous web of intrigue involving the Vatican, top German SS generals, Italian officials, and American OSS operatives. Headlong, by Michael Frayn This intellectual comedy stars a “lost” Brueghel painting and an art historian’s consuming passion to both possess the artwork and uncover its meaning. Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane, by Andrew Graham-‐Dixon This compelling new biography on one of Europe’s most gifted and mercurial artists combines fresh art historical evidence with a natural storyteller’s eye for the grit and danger of Rome’s backstreets. The Forgery of Venus, by Michael Gruber This art-‐forgery conspiracy tests the tenuous lines between creative genius and madness, memory and illusion when a gifted painter finds himself caught up in a mysterious world of gangsters, greed, murder, and the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez.
The Accidental Masterpiece: On the Art of Life and Vice Versa, by Michael Kimmelman In his reflections exploring how life shapes and is enriched by the creative impulse, the chief art critic for the New York Times combines memoir, traveling writing, and biography to illuminate obsessive collectors and enthusiasts, alongside great artists like Bonnard and Chardin. The Leopard: A Novel, by Giuseppe di Lampedusa This beloved classic explores the decadent world of the Sicilian aristocracy in late 19th-‐century Italy and the forces of democracy and revolution that threaten this way of life. The Portrait, by Iain Pears In this suspenseful tale of revenge, a Scottish artist paints the portrait of the man he seeks to destroy—a powerful critic—and shares his recollections of the vibrant art scenes in Paris and London at the start of the 20th century. Venetian Stories, by Jane Turner Rylands A dozen interwoven vignettes evoke the daily encounters and mysterious charm of a city that has enchanted generations of natives and visitors. The Forger, by Paul Watkins The murky world of art forgery in Paris at the turn of World War II emerges from the shadows in this riveting intrigue. EUROPEAN ART: IMPRESSIONISM * The Masterpiece, by Émile Zola Claude Lantier, an ambitious and talented young artist who has come to Paris determined to conquer the art world, is at the center of this tragic novel based in part on the author’s friendship with the painter Paul Cézanne. The Ultimate Trophy: How Impressionist Painting Conquered the Art World, by Philip Hook The senior director of Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art department charts Impressionism’s ascent from worthless to priceless through art-‐historical vignettes and personal recollections. The Moon and Sixpence, by Somerset Maugham Loosely based on the life of Paul Gauguin, this compelling novel studies a man who abandons comfort and convention to pursue his obsessive artistic ambitions. Renoir, My Father, by Jean Renoir This delightful memoir from the renowned filmmaker recounts the life story of his famous Impressionist painter father. With touching remembrances and valuable insights into Renoir’s approach to painting, this book is an important document of Impressionism and its artists.
EUROPEAN ART: MODERN * The Matisse Stories, by A. S. Byatt Three short stories, each inspired by a painting of the artist Henri Matisse, beautifully evoke the intimate and often unexpected connections between seeing and feeling. * The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway This classic novel about the “Lost Generation” follows a group of Americans and Brits from Paris’s Left Bank to the bullfighting arenas of Pamplona, Spain. * My Love Affair with Modern Art: Behind the Scenes with a Legendary Curator, by Katherine Kuh In the midst of the Depression, Katharine Kuh defied the odds and opened a gallery where she exhibited such relatively unknown artists as Fernand Léger, Paul Klee, Joan Miró, and Marc Chagall. This memoir, edited by Avis Berman, reflects on Kuh’s experiences as collector, art writer, and the first curator of modern painting and sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago. Picasso at the Lapin Agile, by Steve Martin Modernism takes a humorous turn in this imaginary Paris café encounter between young Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein, highlighting the intersection of art and science as creative endeavors. The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain An intimate fictionalized portrait of Hadley Richardson, Ernest Hemingway’s first wife, evokes the excitement and pitfalls of married life in the hard-‐drinking and fast-‐moving expatriate circles of Jazz Age Paris. GENERAL * What I Loved, by Siri Hustvedt The lifelong friendship of an art historian and artist begins in New York City in 1975 with a single extraordinary painting and, over several decades, evolves into a deeply moving story about family, art, love, loss, and betrayal. * Life of Pi: A Novel, by Yann Martel The improbable survivor’s tale of a young castaway’s 227-‐day voyage across the Pacific with a 450-‐pound Bengal tiger acts as a classic parable about philosophy, art and life, zoology, linguistics, and God. Winner of the Man Booker Prize.
Red Brick, Black Mountain, White Clay: Reflections on Art, Family, and Survival, by Christopher Benfey In searching for patterns in the wanderings of his far-‐flung family, the author describes his narrative as more geological than genealogical. Threading stories about bricklayers and Quakers, North Carolina artisans and avant-‐garde exiles, this unconventional memoir explores how material objects, especially from the clay, populate and shape our lives. A Painter of Our Time, by John Berger A multilayered mystery by Booker Prize–winning author John Berger explores the motives behind an artist’s disappearance and response to the demands of his art and society. The Chemistry of Tears, by Peter Carey This haunting and miraculous tale of creation, catastrophe, and the chemistry of emotion spans centuries and continents to bring together a grieving mistress and the 19th-‐century Englishman who first commissioned the extraordinary mechanical creature she must now restore. Gentlemen on the Road, by Michael Chabon This Pulitzer Prize–winning author’s contribution to the tradition of epic adventure brings together a pair of renegade characters who find themselves embroiled in the politics of the medieval Khazar Empire. An Object of Beauty, by Steve Martin Described as a primer on the business of fine-‐art collecting and a close study of the personalities that make it run, this caustic tale of a charismatic and fiercely determined young art dealer parallels the New York art market’s turbulent fortunes of recent decades. The Museum of Innocence, by Orhan Pamuk Memories of Istanbul shimmer with exquisite detail in this stirring exploration of first love, lifelong obsession, and the everyday keepsakes that symbolically chart one man’s emotional fate. Orhan Pamuk won the 2006 Nobel Prize for literature. Year at the Races: Reflections on Horses, Humans, Love, Money, and Luck, by Jane Smiley Called a “love story” in the book’s introduction, this candid exploration of the world of Thoroughbred racing shares original insights into the bond between humans and horses, as well as their often humorous behavior. ISLAMIC ART & CULTURE My Name is Red, by Orhan Pamuk A voice from the grave introduces this nontraditional mystery set in 16th-‐century Istanbul, where stories within stories explore the nature of art in Islamic society and evoke the splendors and intrigue of the Sultan’s court. Winner of the 2003 Dublin Literary Award.