Sunflowers

Starred review from August 17, 2009
In a knockout debut novel, art historian Bundrick (Music and Image in Classical Athens
) brings Vincent Van Gogh's paintings and personal story to vibrant life. While Bundrick takes many liberties (recorded in an author's note) in her fictionalized account of Van Gogh's affair with her narrator, fille de maison
Rachel Courteau, she gives Rachel such a believable voice that the proceedings seem genuine. At 35, Van Gogh meets lovable spitfire Rachel while surreptitiously sketching her in a garden. Having taken refuge in an Arles brothel after the death of her parents, Rachel greets Van Gogh as a customer not long after, and soon feelings blossom between them. Visiting friend Paul Gauguin and the cloud of Van Gogh's madness undercut the couple's bliss, as do financial troubles and Rachel's life at the maison
, where she's kept a virtual prisoner. While infusing well-known historical moments (like Van Gogh's infamous self-mutilation) with vivid details, humanizing Van Gogh and putting his famous works in context, Bundrick generates an impressive volume of suspense, delight and heartbreak.

October 1, 2009
When French prostitute Rachel Courteau first sets eyes on Vincent Van Gogh, she knows shes met someone who will change the course of her life. The preacher-turned-painter has a passionate nature shes seen in no other man. Both Vincent and Rachel are outsiders in late-nineteenth-century Arles, France. Dutchman Van Gogh is the foreigner artist feverishly painting under the hot sun. Rachel is scorned by the citizenry for her trade. Vincent and Rachel revel in a physical relationship that grows deeper over time. But Vincent is plagued by demons; following extreme bouts of creativity, he succumbs to crises, periods of physical and emotional collapse. As Vincents breakdowns become more frequent, Rachel has nowhere to turn. She knows little of his family, in particular his brother, Theo, who has supported him financially his whole life. In the end, Rachel is powerless against the forces that destroy Vincents fragile state. Art-history professor Bundricks well-executed historical-fiction debut will appeal to readers interested in artists and the dark forces that shape their fates.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)