Mar 15, 2004 04:00 PM
6861 Views
(Updated Mar 15, 2004 04:00 PM)
This is one of the best books I have read and probably the best biography ever written. Truly a classic of English language.
I cannot stop thinking how Irving Stone could get so intimately into the life of this man Vincent Van Gogh. The author is truly a genius when it comes to writing about other people's life. One genius talks about another.
The painter comes forth alive in front of ones eyes as he goes through the book, page by page. Each and every page is interesting, except probably for the discussion on art of Van Gogh with some of this contemporary fellow artists.
This book is definitely better than Agony and Ecstasy where the same author had written about Michelangelo. But that book itself is a classic, a remarkable read. One can distinguish between the basic character of these two painters by reading the books.
The author has taken a lot of pains to paint a picture of the life in those days, how Vincent was looked at by others, his pains and pleasures (or shall I say ecstasy?) and sometimes of his very intimate thoughts. I do not think any other biography has got to this level of proximity with the subject it wishes to portray.
A truly remarkable and unputdownable read.
