REVIEW: The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Marta Molnar

OUR REVIEW:

Admittedly I'm a huge van Gogh fan, so when I heard about The Secret Life of Sunflowers a friend I knew I had to read it. The novel follows the meeting and eventual love story of Johanna Bonger and Theo van Gogh paired with the modern story of Emsley Wilson- a woman who ends up with the diary of Bonger. As we flip between chapters and their alternating narratives, we watch as they encounter huge challenges and deep grief, with moments of joy and hope. 

Johanna finds love and marriage and talent, all wrapped up in Theo. They fall in love and have a son all while trying to support Vincent. We are flies on the wall as Theo and Vincent descend into madness and Johanna has to figure out to financially support her family and stay true to Theo's mission: to make Vincent into a world famous artist. She believes deeply in the mission and refuses to give up, despite the impossible obstacles...and as we know that she was successful because who doesn't know about Vincent van Gogh?

Meanwhile, Emsley is grappling with a change in her business and the death of one of the most important people in her life. She had to somehow deal with the aftermath of the loss of her person and the betrayal that happened in her business. Thankfully she had assistance with a small cadre of people and we see her at the end of the novel on the cusp of many triumphs.

This novel was a surprise--interesting and easy to read and a tragic but triumphant take on the van Gogh family.

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SYNOPSIS:

When Hollywood auctioneer Emsley Wilson finds her famous grandmother's diary while cleaning out her New York brownstone, the pages are full of surprises. The first surprise is, the diary isn't her grandmother's. It belongs to Johanna Bonger, Vincent van Gogh's sister-in-law.

Johanna inherited Vincent van Gogh's paintings. They were all she had, and they weren't worth anything. She was a 28 year old widow with a baby in the 1800s, without any means of supporting herself, living in Paris where she barely spoke the language. Yet she managed to introduce Vincent's legacy to the world.

The inspiration couldn't come at a better time for Emsley. With her business failing, an unexpected love turning up in her life, and family secrets unraveling, can she find answers in the past?