What do you think?
Rate this book
Van Rijn
Amsterdam, 1667. Pieter Blaeu, a young publisher, meets the aged, destitute painter Rembrandt van Rijn, and is powerfully drawn into his orbit. Together with a poet named Clara he begins a pursuit of the elusive man's confidence, in a quest that is at once a love affair and a layered, luminous portrait of a most mysterious artist and his world. "Here are the sights, smells, sounds and colours of the Dutch golden age alchemised into fictional gold...The marriage of art, history and fiction has rarely been so alive. A cause for celebration" - "The Times". "It is no mean feat for a young writer to pitch herself against the great master and attempt to achieve in prose the explorations of identity that Rembrandt achieved in paint...Van Rijn returns us to [the paintings] with a renewed sense of wonder" - "TLS". "An enticing journey into the past, well observed and researched, and providing a tour of the alternative artistic life of the seventeenth century" - "Sunday Times".
496 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
82 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 13, 2011
Sarah Emily Miano must be obsessed with scrapbooks. Like her first novel, Encyclopaedia Of Snow, Miano uses the notion of fragments - to better effect - in her second novel, "Van Rijn".
A young publisher meets the ageing Rembrandt Van Rijn, and attempts to penetrate his inner circle. The novel wanders between timeframes, gradually uncovering the inner workings of our middle-class narrator, the varied people of his milieu, and, ultimately, the enigmatic artist himself. Parts of the novel are in relatively straightforward narrative; others are scattered diary entries from Rembrandt's unique mind; still others are excerpts from poems or thoughts of those on the fringes of the story.
Miano has expertly breathed life into her characters, to the point where the parables they tell and phrases they use struck me as straight from the history books, even as I began to realise that they were - for the most part - made up entirely. All of the characters are fascinating, but it is Rembrandt himself - tortured by age and loss, yet clinging on to his lustful, jovial youth, and always inspired by further aesthetic ambitions - who is most fully realised. As we view him from within and without, the icon becomes a man, yet remains suitably ambiguous nonetheless.
"Van Rijn" is an odd novel, stylistically unusual, and often academic in its discussion of the creation of art. Yet it works, because Miano conjures up an entire era, immersing us into the world of Rembrandt's Amsterdam, with the often tortured, yet always beautiful thoughts of the protagonists. Enchanting.
A young publisher meets the ageing Rembrandt Van Rijn, and attempts to penetrate his inner circle. The novel wanders between timeframes, gradually uncovering the inner workings of our middle-class narrator, the varied people of his milieu, and, ultimately, the enigmatic artist himself. Parts of the novel are in relatively straightforward narrative; others are scattered diary entries from Rembrandt's unique mind; still others are excerpts from poems or thoughts of those on the fringes of the story.
Miano has expertly breathed life into her characters, to the point where the parables they tell and phrases they use struck me as straight from the history books, even as I began to realise that they were - for the most part - made up entirely. All of the characters are fascinating, but it is Rembrandt himself - tortured by age and loss, yet clinging on to his lustful, jovial youth, and always inspired by further aesthetic ambitions - who is most fully realised. As we view him from within and without, the icon becomes a man, yet remains suitably ambiguous nonetheless.
"Van Rijn" is an odd novel, stylistically unusual, and often academic in its discussion of the creation of art. Yet it works, because Miano conjures up an entire era, immersing us into the world of Rembrandt's Amsterdam, with the often tortured, yet always beautiful thoughts of the protagonists. Enchanting.
September 11, 2013
Have you ever picked a book that speaks to you even when you are not listening?
Try reading Sarah's "Van Rijn" and here's why I think you should:
1. The story focuses on a reknowned painter's life- and his name is Remembrandt.
2. It is a story of friendship- that takes you in the painter's life, his choices, mistakes and faults-and all through a young boy, who comes across him once having been on an escort team with a Prince- and he immediately knows he would write about this man, and does everything he can to be close to him.
At times you pity the boy, Pieter, but all in all, you cannot stop believing that he would achieve what he sets his mind to and wish him the best.
3. The conversations Remembrandt Van Rijn (RVR) has with his teacher, fellow painters and those he loves- is worth reading, especially on painting portraits and how he mixes his colors.
And just when you think those reasons are not convincing enough- look up Sarah Emily Miano, and then you'll be convinced that no one knows how to dig into history and write it as beautifully as she does.
Try reading Sarah's "Van Rijn" and here's why I think you should:
1. The story focuses on a reknowned painter's life- and his name is Remembrandt.
2. It is a story of friendship- that takes you in the painter's life, his choices, mistakes and faults-and all through a young boy, who comes across him once having been on an escort team with a Prince- and he immediately knows he would write about this man, and does everything he can to be close to him.
At times you pity the boy, Pieter, but all in all, you cannot stop believing that he would achieve what he sets his mind to and wish him the best.
3. The conversations Remembrandt Van Rijn (RVR) has with his teacher, fellow painters and those he loves- is worth reading, especially on painting portraits and how he mixes his colors.
And just when you think those reasons are not convincing enough- look up Sarah Emily Miano, and then you'll be convinced that no one knows how to dig into history and write it as beautifully as she does.
December 30, 2016
Maybe I had too high expectations of this taking me into the streets and daily life of Rembrandt. The Times note on the cover says, 'Here are the sights, smells, sounds and colours of the Dutch golden age alchemist into fictional gold.' Uh--not really. More character studies, descriptions of people, than the life.
The perspective is an older teen who hardly interacts with the artist at all till 1/3 or the way in when he happens upon Rembrandt's diary. The diary is made up, of course, and then I think we'll begin to get insight into the artists life. Not so much. The insights are into what he thought about art and read like quotes from lecture notes--perhaps what others have said his perspective on art was.
The debauchery seemed superfluous as if it was only there to get the book into a certain category, and on the whole it was such a let down I didn't finish it. Recommend "The Golden Tulip" instead.
The perspective is an older teen who hardly interacts with the artist at all till 1/3 or the way in when he happens upon Rembrandt's diary. The diary is made up, of course, and then I think we'll begin to get insight into the artists life. Not so much. The insights are into what he thought about art and read like quotes from lecture notes--perhaps what others have said his perspective on art was.
The debauchery seemed superfluous as if it was only there to get the book into a certain category, and on the whole it was such a let down I didn't finish it. Recommend "The Golden Tulip" instead.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 19, 2016
I've never read a book so beautifully written. This is a special book, if you ever had the chance to see a real Rembrandt's painting. Miano writes in such a way you get convinced those were exactly the words that passed through the great artist's mind.
The narrative has an interesting structure, mixing regular narratives with dialogues, letters, journals, poems, etc., varying the characters' perspectives. The result of this is a piece of art itself. I'd say it's a fiction that brings again to life this very gifted man, Rembrandt. A great chance to try to know the artist behind the brush.
The narrative has an interesting structure, mixing regular narratives with dialogues, letters, journals, poems, etc., varying the characters' perspectives. The result of this is a piece of art itself. I'd say it's a fiction that brings again to life this very gifted man, Rembrandt. A great chance to try to know the artist behind the brush.
August 4, 2019
Het boek mist richting en zwalpt inhoudelijk én qua vorm. Sarah Emily Miano gebruikt verhalend proza, beschrijving, dialoog, technische uitleg en lyriek zonder aanwijsbaar doel. Het vertelperspectief verandert zonder aanwijsbaar doel. De stijl, meer bepaald de beeldspraak is, zoals The Guardian stelde, "underwhelming". De interessantste passages zijn nog die waarin tijdgenoten (Huygens, Descartes, Spinoza) aan het woord komen, maar ook die passages dienen amper de al zo vage verhaallijn. Alleen het deel over de dood en de begrafenis van Titus overtuigt, maar die luttele bladzijden maken een boek van 429 pagina's niet goed
December 28, 2009
Very good novel about the life of Rembrandt told in a variety of formats...straightforward narrative, journal entries and conversations between Rembrandt and others. Reading so many details about his painting methods and how he actually made his paints gets a bit tedious at times, but overall very enjoyable and well written. Quite an eyeopener about the way Rembrandt's life ended as well.
April 16, 2014
slow... but none the less cool :)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews