kali's review
4.0
Gwendolyn Mary John was the sister of the painter Augustus John, and lover of Rodin. She was also a painter in her own right. And incidentally, a lover of her brother, and lover of her brother’s mistress. Such tangled webs she weaved. In 1903, Gwen set off to France on foot with Dorelia, who later betrayed her for a man, and then Augustus. This section of the book was my favourite, with descriptions of the French peasantry and countryside in the Langue D’Oc. Gwen as a character was also more assertive, in control of her journey, her relationships, and her aspirations, despite being troubled by an apparition of a Jewish man whose hair wrapped its tendrils around her. In the second part of the book, Gwen secures her ambition to model and learn from Rodin. But her artistic and independent spirit are usurped by ‘her master’, and she suffers a kind of sexual abuse victim Stockholm Syndrome, which made for difficult reading. However, the real victims of history are illuminated through a touching through-thread.
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