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The Last Painting of Sara de Vos
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
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The Last Painting of Sara de Vos
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Summary
This is what we long for: the profound pleasure of being swept into vivid new worlds, worlds peopled by characters so intriguing and real that we can't shake them, even long after the story's told.
In this extraordinary audiobook, The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, Australian writer Dominic Smith brilliantly bridges the historical and the contemporary, tracking a collision course between a rare landscape by a female Dutch painter of the Golden Age, an inheritor of the work in 1950s Manhattan, and a celebrated Australian art historian who painted a forgery of it in her youth.
In 1631, Sara de Vos is admitted to the Guild of St. Luke in Holland as a master painter, the first woman to be so honoured. 300 years later, only one work attributed to de Vos is known to remain - a haunting winter scene, At the Edge of a Wood, which hangs over the Manhattan bed of a wealthy descendant of the original owner.
An Australian grad student, Ellie Shipley, struggling to stay afloat in New York, agrees to paint a forgery of the landscape, a decision that will haunt her. Because now, half a century later, she's curating an exhibition of female Dutch painters, and both versions threaten to arrive.
As the three threads intersect with increasing and exquisite suspense, The Last Painting of Sara de Vos mesmerises while it grapples with the demands of the artistic life, showing how the deceits of the past can forge the present.
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What listeners say about The Last Painting of Sara de Vos
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sue
- 17-08-17
Wonderful story
If you could sum up The Last Painting of Sara de Vos in three words, what would they be?
Layered like paintings
What did you like best about this story?
Evocative descriptions of place, sensitive characterisations of people, wonderful descriptions of painting technique and the art world, an original and absorbing story, will listen again
What about Edoardo Ballerini’s performance did you like?
Good storytelling
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No one to savour
Any additional comments?
Terrible Australian accent for Ellie's character. She sounded South African.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gillian
- 07-07-20
Excellent story
Great story, beautifully written. Slightly annoying narrator, hopeless rendition of Australian accent, and too much overly sentimental tone of voice.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Laurie
- 16-11-17
An Intriguing story spoiled by inept narration
I wish I had read the novel, rather than listening to this narrator try to imitate Australian and English accents. The English accent was simply a poor stereotype, but the Australian was laughably inept. It slid randomly between South African and Irish(?). This was a major problem, since one of the main characters was Australian and some of the novel was set in Australia. It spoiled the novel for me. Read the book instead, I would suggest.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- bookylady
- 06-06-17
Wonderful storytelling
I loved this tale of female artists, forgery, art history and moral dilemmas. The story moves between different time periods and continents and concerns, as its central focus, a painting by a celebrated female painter of the Dutch Golden Age. The painting is to feature in a major art exhibition and the curator of that exhibition is aware of a secret surrounding the canvas, a secret that could destroy her career and destroy more than one life.
Fantastic storytelling, beautifully written and very sympathetic narration.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 23-10-19
Very enjoyable
Well written enjoyable story - narrator's accents almost comical but we're consistent so clearly identified the characters.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Gsy Girl
- 06-10-20
THE worst narration I’ve ever heard
OMG . This guy should not be let loose on Australian or British accents and some sense checks might have been helpful ... Ceylon loose leaf ( tea) was read as SILON ... er . There were many more of these howlers ...
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gerald
- 25-04-17
Compelling listening
This book was recommended to us and, having now listened to it, I can see why it is getting so much attention. The contrast between the artists and the monied patrons of the arts, and the sometimes shonky art industry certainly provides a compelling story. The reader is a favourite of mine so I managed to ignore his weird interpretation of an Australian accent.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Graham G.
- 21-08-19
a great read
perhaps the narrator struggles with Australian accents. the evocative reading overall is unaffected. great book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- sarah
- 18-02-19
A great listen
This was an astonishing book -- interesting characters, good insights into the art world, deep themes, beautiful writing and a seamless moving between time periods. And the narrator is superb. An absorbing novel.
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