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The Diver and the Lover
Description
Soaked in sunlight, love and the mysteries surrounding a famous artist The Diver and the Lover is a novel inspired by true events.
It is 1951 and sisters Ginny and Meredith have travelled from England to Spain in search of distraction and respite. The two wars have wreaked loss and deprivation upon the family and the spectre of Meredith's troubled childhood continues to haunt them. Their journey to the rugged peninsula of Catalonia promises hope and renewal.
While there they discover the artist Salvador Dali is staying in nearby Port Lligat. Meredith is fascinated by modern art and longs to meet the famous surrealist.
Dali is embarking on an ambitious new work, but his headstrong male model has refused to pose. A replacement is found, a young American waiter with whom Ginny has struck up a tentative acquaintance.
The lives of the characters become entangled as family secrets, ego and the dangerous politics of Franco's Spain threaten to undo the fragile bonds that have been forged.
A powerful story of love, sacrifice and the lengths we will go to for who - or what - we love.
Soaked in sunlight, love and the mysteries surrounding a famous artist The Diver and the Lover is a novel inspired by true events.
It is 1951 and sisters Ginny and Meredith have travelled from England to Spain in search of distraction and respite. The two wars have wreaked loss and deprivation upon the family and the spectre of Meredith's troubled childhood continues to haunt them. Their journey to the rugged peninsula of Catalonia promises hope and renewal.
While there they discover the artist Salvador Dali is staying in nearby Port Lligat. Meredith is fascinated by modern art and longs to meet the famous surrealist.
Dali is embarking on an ambitious new work, but his headstrong male model has refused to pose. A replacement is found, a young American waiter with whom Ginny has struck up a tentative acquaintance.
The lives of the characters become entangled as family secrets, ego and the dangerous politics of Franco's Spain threaten to undo the fragile bonds that have been forged.
A powerful story of love, sacrifice and the lengths we will go to for who - or what - we love.
Kindle Edition
Published September 3, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
October 28, 2021
Passionate
Jeremy Vine is a popular host and commentator on BBC TV and radio, and The Diver and the Lover is his debut novel. It is a highly imaginative historical story based on the controversial painting by Salvador Dali, titled Christ of Saint John of the Cross. A fascinating premise that twists the recognised narrative behind the painting and the recognised Hollywood stuntman Russell Saunders used as Dali’s model being suspended from an overhead gantry to see how the body appeared being pulled under gravity.
The painting came under criticism from the Church for viewing the crucified Christ from above, looking down from a position where no one should be placed higher than Jesus. The twist on the true story is that Adam a young diver manages to convince Russell Saunders to teach him to improve his diving skills, in return Adam will replace Russell as Salvador’s model hung from the gantry, without taking the credit. Adam meets Ginny and Meredith in Catalonia where most of the story takes place. Meredith and Ginny are half-sisters, united after discovering they shared the same father. Meredith is a unique and fascinating character developed from her early years with deep mental illness that often causes psychological trauma related blindness. She is such a fragile and endearing person, struggling to come to terms with the loss of her father, a youth spent in care and an asylum experience that she just managed to survive. The relationship between Meredith and Ginny reveals how delicate Meredith’s mental state is and how she has a fixation on art and particularly Salvador Dali. Ginny is a supportive sister who meets Adam on their trip to Spain and where they find a deep attraction towards each other. Love it its many guises is explored throughout the story, love in romantic relationships, love between family and friends, love of art, love of spiritual clarity, and the diver, Adam, seems to be the connection. A title of the book where the Lover may be many abstract things or simply just a person.
While the timeline covers various decades, it focuses mainly on 1951 during the Franco rule in Spain and the year Dali painted this famous painting. Dali is a known Franco supporter and with political factions seeking change, the characters are thrown into perilous events. The historical elements are well researched and delivered and the book offers an intriguing lens on the Franco and Dali situation that I didn’t know a lot about. There is a lot to appreciate in the book, but many interactions and choices felt unrealistic and jarring. It felt like a debut that still required work to improve the portrayal of relationships and certain situations. As the book progressed the style became more robust and paced much better, so I look forward to Jeremy’s next novel.
I would rate this book 3.5 stars and I would like to thank Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in return for an honest review. Out of interest the painting of Christ of Saint John of the Cross currently resides in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, in Glasgow, Scotland.
Jeremy Vine is a popular host and commentator on BBC TV and radio, and The Diver and the Lover is his debut novel. It is a highly imaginative historical story based on the controversial painting by Salvador Dali, titled Christ of Saint John of the Cross. A fascinating premise that twists the recognised narrative behind the painting and the recognised Hollywood stuntman Russell Saunders used as Dali’s model being suspended from an overhead gantry to see how the body appeared being pulled under gravity.
“The crucified Christ was positioned exactly as she had imagined, the view from above the same as the sketch by Saint John of the Cross. But in Dali’s painting the Christ was so real that she believed for a second she could reach out and touch him.”
The painting came under criticism from the Church for viewing the crucified Christ from above, looking down from a position where no one should be placed higher than Jesus. The twist on the true story is that Adam a young diver manages to convince Russell Saunders to teach him to improve his diving skills, in return Adam will replace Russell as Salvador’s model hung from the gantry, without taking the credit. Adam meets Ginny and Meredith in Catalonia where most of the story takes place. Meredith and Ginny are half-sisters, united after discovering they shared the same father. Meredith is a unique and fascinating character developed from her early years with deep mental illness that often causes psychological trauma related blindness. She is such a fragile and endearing person, struggling to come to terms with the loss of her father, a youth spent in care and an asylum experience that she just managed to survive. The relationship between Meredith and Ginny reveals how delicate Meredith’s mental state is and how she has a fixation on art and particularly Salvador Dali. Ginny is a supportive sister who meets Adam on their trip to Spain and where they find a deep attraction towards each other. Love it its many guises is explored throughout the story, love in romantic relationships, love between family and friends, love of art, love of spiritual clarity, and the diver, Adam, seems to be the connection. A title of the book where the Lover may be many abstract things or simply just a person.
While the timeline covers various decades, it focuses mainly on 1951 during the Franco rule in Spain and the year Dali painted this famous painting. Dali is a known Franco supporter and with political factions seeking change, the characters are thrown into perilous events. The historical elements are well researched and delivered and the book offers an intriguing lens on the Franco and Dali situation that I didn’t know a lot about. There is a lot to appreciate in the book, but many interactions and choices felt unrealistic and jarring. It felt like a debut that still required work to improve the portrayal of relationships and certain situations. As the book progressed the style became more robust and paced much better, so I look forward to Jeremy’s next novel.
I would rate this book 3.5 stars and I would like to thank Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in return for an honest review. Out of interest the painting of Christ of Saint John of the Cross currently resides in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, in Glasgow, Scotland.
August 19, 2020
I wanted to enjoy this book because I like Jeremy Vine. Doesn’t everyone? It needed to be good though. [For non UK readers, Jeremy Vine is a radio and tv broadcaster and a journalist.]
I’ll start with the positives. The idea of writing a book about the painting of Christ of St John of the Cross by Salvador Dali is original and interesting. It allows Vine to look at the history of the painting and of Spain around that time. The discussion about early mental health care is also interesting. These parts are well researched but Vine lets himself down by consistently having Glaswegians refer to Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum as ‘The Kelvingrove’. A Google search of local newspaper articles will verify that it’s always referred to as ‘Kelvingrove’ or ‘the Art Galleries’ or a combination of the two. Also, and I know this is fiction but, the denouement takes place at Kelvingrove in 2001. The painting was at that time hanging in the St Mungo Museum of Religion where it was taken in 1993 and it didn’t return to Kelvingrove until 2006. Vine describes it as being hung in a small oblong room. My recollection is that it was placed there when it returned in 2006, having previously been hung in a corridor at the top of one of the grand staircases.
On balance, I enjoyed the first half of the book. Sadly, once the main characters meet Dalí, it descends into a preposterous melodrama, if not farce, starting with one of the worst sex scenes I’ve ever read and which is a contender for the Literary Review’s Bad Sex in Fiction award. Very few men understand women sufficiently to write from their perspective and Jeremy Vine isn’t one of them. Ginny is 16 going on 17 in 1951. I’ll leave it to other readers to decide if she would behave in the way she does. In general, I found the explanations of the plot clumsy and contrived and the ending just too twee for words.
I honestly can’t believe that this novel would have been published if it had been written by anyone else. I’m giving it 2 stars because the premise of the novel was a great idea.
With thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a review copy.
I’ll start with the positives. The idea of writing a book about the painting of Christ of St John of the Cross by Salvador Dali is original and interesting. It allows Vine to look at the history of the painting and of Spain around that time. The discussion about early mental health care is also interesting. These parts are well researched but Vine lets himself down by consistently having Glaswegians refer to Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum as ‘The Kelvingrove’. A Google search of local newspaper articles will verify that it’s always referred to as ‘Kelvingrove’ or ‘the Art Galleries’ or a combination of the two. Also, and I know this is fiction but, the denouement takes place at Kelvingrove in 2001. The painting was at that time hanging in the St Mungo Museum of Religion where it was taken in 1993 and it didn’t return to Kelvingrove until 2006. Vine describes it as being hung in a small oblong room. My recollection is that it was placed there when it returned in 2006, having previously been hung in a corridor at the top of one of the grand staircases.
On balance, I enjoyed the first half of the book. Sadly, once the main characters meet Dalí, it descends into a preposterous melodrama, if not farce, starting with one of the worst sex scenes I’ve ever read and which is a contender for the Literary Review’s Bad Sex in Fiction award. Very few men understand women sufficiently to write from their perspective and Jeremy Vine isn’t one of them. Ginny is 16 going on 17 in 1951. I’ll leave it to other readers to decide if she would behave in the way she does. In general, I found the explanations of the plot clumsy and contrived and the ending just too twee for words.
I honestly can’t believe that this novel would have been published if it had been written by anyone else. I’m giving it 2 stars because the premise of the novel was a great idea.
With thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a review copy.
August 21, 2020
Set primarily in the luscious surroundings of Catalonia and spanning decades and continents, Jeremy Vine’s fascinating debut novel is inspired by real events surrounding the painting of Salvador Dali’s controversial 1951 work, Christ of Saint John of the Cross. The story begins and ends in 2001 in Glasgow at the home of the painting in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum where an elderly woman’s frequent visits to see the exhibit result in damage. The novel tells not only her story and motivations but weaves authentic historical details alongside to merge fact with fiction in a compelling story of ulterior motives, love and the sacrifices made along the way.
The death of seventeen-year-old Ginny’s father reveals the existence of Meredith, a much older half-sister, whose troubled childhood has left her plagued by mental illness and resident in an asylum with trauma-associated blindness. Ginny offers Meredith the family she longs for and takes her abroad with the stated intention of helping her recovery and a dubious hidden agenda. That a bond begins to form between the sisters is a surprise to Ginny as they reach Catalonia and the destination Meredith has chosen in memory of her dead mother who loved modern art. Discovering that Dali is staying nearby and his intended model for his new project, an American movie stuntman, is planning to renege on their agreement, people-pleaser Ginny spots an opportunity that is to the advantage of both the sisters. By finding an ideal replacement model in the shape of Adam, an athletic diver who she has designs on, and sending her sister along to witness her idol at work, Ginny dares to think is it a perfect solution. But with Dali’s political allegiance to Franco no secret and Catalonia fiercely separatist, the rumblings of political dissent threaten everything.
Clearly thoroughly researched but without ever feeling hard going I was impressed with how the emotions and interests of the characters were more than a match for the actual historical events included in a novel of tumultuous emotions and love in many different guises. Although the scope of the novel is immense and did initially have the potential to confuse things quickly become clear when the two sisters arrived in Spain, however early perseverance is rewarded by giving the reader an appreciation of the family history of the sisters. Given that much of the novel is set in 1951 I did find the phraseology more akin to that of a contemporary period setting and on occasions this distracted from the story. Dali is spoken of a great deal more than he actually features in the novel thereby retaining the air of mystery about the eccentric surrealist.
A fascinating and surprisingly intriguing story that educates in equal measure!
The death of seventeen-year-old Ginny’s father reveals the existence of Meredith, a much older half-sister, whose troubled childhood has left her plagued by mental illness and resident in an asylum with trauma-associated blindness. Ginny offers Meredith the family she longs for and takes her abroad with the stated intention of helping her recovery and a dubious hidden agenda. That a bond begins to form between the sisters is a surprise to Ginny as they reach Catalonia and the destination Meredith has chosen in memory of her dead mother who loved modern art. Discovering that Dali is staying nearby and his intended model for his new project, an American movie stuntman, is planning to renege on their agreement, people-pleaser Ginny spots an opportunity that is to the advantage of both the sisters. By finding an ideal replacement model in the shape of Adam, an athletic diver who she has designs on, and sending her sister along to witness her idol at work, Ginny dares to think is it a perfect solution. But with Dali’s political allegiance to Franco no secret and Catalonia fiercely separatist, the rumblings of political dissent threaten everything.
Clearly thoroughly researched but without ever feeling hard going I was impressed with how the emotions and interests of the characters were more than a match for the actual historical events included in a novel of tumultuous emotions and love in many different guises. Although the scope of the novel is immense and did initially have the potential to confuse things quickly become clear when the two sisters arrived in Spain, however early perseverance is rewarded by giving the reader an appreciation of the family history of the sisters. Given that much of the novel is set in 1951 I did find the phraseology more akin to that of a contemporary period setting and on occasions this distracted from the story. Dali is spoken of a great deal more than he actually features in the novel thereby retaining the air of mystery about the eccentric surrealist.
A fascinating and surprisingly intriguing story that educates in equal measure!
November 27, 2023
The author has taken an actual historical event – the making of Salvador Dali’s painting Christ of Saint John of the Cross, which is in the collection of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow (but currently on loan to the Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Spain) – and surrounded it with a generous helping of fiction. For example, there is an imagined role for Dr Tom Honeyman, the man who acquired the painting for the museum, in a particularly dramatic scene towards the end of the book.
The main leap of authorial imagination is that the man who in real life acted as the model for the painting, Hollywood stuntman Russell Saunders, was replaced by a young American waiter. This provides the opportunity for the author to introduce a love story – albeit one of the ‘love at first sight’ variety whose credibility I often struggle with.
The Diver and the Lover is the author’s debut novel and it does show in places, such as the inclusion of the occasional “information dump” – I don’t think I really needed to know how many bullets a minute a Lee Enfield rifle fires – and a rather over-the-top female villain.
For me, the most compelling character in the book was Ginny’s older sister, Meredith. The story of her early life is tragic but the response to her mental breakdown is even more tragic and a shocking indictment of the attitude to mental illness at the time. Ginny’s gentle support of her sister’s recovery is moving even if Ginny doesn’t fully understand the reason for Meredith’s intense interest in Salvador Dali’s work.
The events surrounding the making of this particular painting were completely new to me and I enjoyed this aspect of the novel. (Having an image of the painting in the book would have been helpful but I imagine rights issues perhaps didn’t make that possible.) The story also filled in some gaps in my knowledge of Salvador Dali’s life, for instance the consequences of his support for General Franco’s regime. In the book he comes across as an intensely self-absorbed and rather petulant individual. ‘To Dali an occasion was special once her arrived. It ceased being special once he left.’ However, one glance at the painting demonstrates it is the work of an artistic genius.
The main leap of authorial imagination is that the man who in real life acted as the model for the painting, Hollywood stuntman Russell Saunders, was replaced by a young American waiter. This provides the opportunity for the author to introduce a love story – albeit one of the ‘love at first sight’ variety whose credibility I often struggle with.
The Diver and the Lover is the author’s debut novel and it does show in places, such as the inclusion of the occasional “information dump” – I don’t think I really needed to know how many bullets a minute a Lee Enfield rifle fires – and a rather over-the-top female villain.
For me, the most compelling character in the book was Ginny’s older sister, Meredith. The story of her early life is tragic but the response to her mental breakdown is even more tragic and a shocking indictment of the attitude to mental illness at the time. Ginny’s gentle support of her sister’s recovery is moving even if Ginny doesn’t fully understand the reason for Meredith’s intense interest in Salvador Dali’s work.
The events surrounding the making of this particular painting were completely new to me and I enjoyed this aspect of the novel. (Having an image of the painting in the book would have been helpful but I imagine rights issues perhaps didn’t make that possible.) The story also filled in some gaps in my knowledge of Salvador Dali’s life, for instance the consequences of his support for General Franco’s regime. In the book he comes across as an intensely self-absorbed and rather petulant individual. ‘To Dali an occasion was special once her arrived. It ceased being special once he left.’ However, one glance at the painting demonstrates it is the work of an artistic genius.
October 11, 2020
I'll be honest and say that my main motivation for reading The Diver and the Lover was that it is written by Jeremy Vine (although I was bewitched by the title and cover as well).
Two half-sisters, Ginny and Meredith, from Hull, England need each other for different reasons and they travel together to Catalonia, a destination Meredith has chosen in memory of her dead mother who loved modern art. The death of seventeen-year-old Ginny's dad revealed the existence of her older half-sister Meredith who suffers from trauma-related blindness and mental illness and Ginny offers Meredith the family she has longed for. Jeremy Vine’s compelling novel is inspired by real events surrounding the painting of Salvador Dali’s Christ of Saint John of the Cross. With a cracking narrative focusing on Ginny and Meredith, The Diver and the Lover delves into the history of Franco as well as Dali. From a relatively quiet start, the narrative slowly builds, reaching some exciting, dramatic moments. Meredith is an admirer of Dali, who lives close to the sisters' hotel. After a chance meeting with Siobahn Lynch, PA to stuntman Russell Saunders who is supposed to model for Dali’s new painting, Ginny and Meredith find themselves in Dali’s home with a young American diver, Adam Bannerman, who will model instead of Saunders.
This is a multi-layered story of love, betrayal, politics, and art set in 1950’s Spain and I found the characters fascinating. Meredith’s mental health condition, Ginny's emergence from childhood to womanhood and Adam's timidity along with Siobhan’s scheming, created a set of convincing people. All in all, a very well written novel of historical fiction featuring a fabulous love story.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Hodder & Stoughton/ Coronet via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.
Two half-sisters, Ginny and Meredith, from Hull, England need each other for different reasons and they travel together to Catalonia, a destination Meredith has chosen in memory of her dead mother who loved modern art. The death of seventeen-year-old Ginny's dad revealed the existence of her older half-sister Meredith who suffers from trauma-related blindness and mental illness and Ginny offers Meredith the family she has longed for. Jeremy Vine’s compelling novel is inspired by real events surrounding the painting of Salvador Dali’s Christ of Saint John of the Cross. With a cracking narrative focusing on Ginny and Meredith, The Diver and the Lover delves into the history of Franco as well as Dali. From a relatively quiet start, the narrative slowly builds, reaching some exciting, dramatic moments. Meredith is an admirer of Dali, who lives close to the sisters' hotel. After a chance meeting with Siobahn Lynch, PA to stuntman Russell Saunders who is supposed to model for Dali’s new painting, Ginny and Meredith find themselves in Dali’s home with a young American diver, Adam Bannerman, who will model instead of Saunders.
This is a multi-layered story of love, betrayal, politics, and art set in 1950’s Spain and I found the characters fascinating. Meredith’s mental health condition, Ginny's emergence from childhood to womanhood and Adam's timidity along with Siobhan’s scheming, created a set of convincing people. All in all, a very well written novel of historical fiction featuring a fabulous love story.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Hodder & Stoughton/ Coronet via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.
August 18, 2021
I gave up only 26 pages in because I couldn't get into this book at all and I felt like I was forcing myself to read it.
August 19, 2020
I'm a Londoner living in Glasgow and whenever I have a visitor I always take them to Kelvingrove Art Gallery to see the wonderful Dali painting, Christ of St John of The Cross and I had no idea that this book was based on that painting!
This is a beautifully written historical novel that goes back to the 1950's when two sisters from Hull, Meredith and Ginny, travel to Spain. There they meet Dali, the stuntman who is his model for the controversial painting, and a diving loving waiter.
A story of sisters, art, passion, secrets and a dramatic romance
This is a beautifully written historical novel that goes back to the 1950's when two sisters from Hull, Meredith and Ginny, travel to Spain. There they meet Dali, the stuntman who is his model for the controversial painting, and a diving loving waiter.
A story of sisters, art, passion, secrets and a dramatic romance
September 14, 2020
Meredith and Ginny need one another for very different reasons.
I had seen a few mixed comments about The Diver and the Lover so I was intrigued to read it for myself. I very much enjoyed it, not least because of the sweeping scope of the narrative which draws in the reader beautifully.
Jeremy Vine has meticulously researched Dali’s painting Christ of St John on the Cross that has been the catalyst for the story, and blended factual detail, events and real people with character and fiction in an entertaining, intriguing and absorbing read. I confess my ignorance of many elements of this story, so that I found my pleasure in reading The Diver and the Lover extended beyond the confines of the smashing narrative as I looked up various aspects, having been interested by their inclusion in the book. I’m desperate to see the painting for myself now too.
I found the title intriguing. Certainly there are several divers and lovers within the narrative, but the title could refer entirely to Adam, or someone like Meredith might be the lover through her love of Dali, art and family or perhaps The Diver and the Lover could represent a more allegorical concept with characters diving into relationships and free-falling from sanity, from their usual lives and from normality. I loved this almost contradictory aspect to contemplating the story. I think The Diver and the Lover rewards a contemplative approach to reading it as the more I thought about the narrative, the more I found.
And it’s a cracking narrative. With Ginny and Meredith at its heart, The Diver and the Lover spans geographical location from Scotland to Spain and delves into the history of Franco as well as Dali and Hollywood film so that there really is something for any reader here. From a relatively quiet beginning that reminded me of Elizabeth Buchan’s writing, the narrative builds until there are dramatic moments that I simply wasn’t expecting. I thought the balance between national and personal drama was very well achieved, and with the factual detail cleverly woven into the story I believed in the plot completely.
I found the characters fascinating. Meredith’s mental health condition, Ginny’s transition from child to woman, the arrogance of Dali and the diffidence of Adam spiced with Siobhan’s scheming jealousy, all created a cast of believable people. Indeed, I would have loved to tell Siobhan what I thought of her in person!
However, plot and character aside, once again it was theme that made The Diver and the Lover such a compelling read for me. Jeremy Vine explores passion and obsession so that his own interest in the painting shines through alongside the characters’ emotional, sexual, monetary and artistic desire, making for an intense atmosphere that I found captivating. I so enjoyed the way love is presented too. What touched me most was Meredith’s desperate desire to find family love and the overall message that fame and fortune pale into insignificance when place alongside friendship, acceptance and belonging felt very moving. There’s a brilliantly depicted picture of both avarice and altruism and when these themes are placed alongside real world events as they are here in The Diver and the Lover they make for a super read.
I thought Jeremy Vine’s blend of history, fiction and theme made The Diver and the Lover an interesting, engaging and actually very moving story. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I had seen a few mixed comments about The Diver and the Lover so I was intrigued to read it for myself. I very much enjoyed it, not least because of the sweeping scope of the narrative which draws in the reader beautifully.
Jeremy Vine has meticulously researched Dali’s painting Christ of St John on the Cross that has been the catalyst for the story, and blended factual detail, events and real people with character and fiction in an entertaining, intriguing and absorbing read. I confess my ignorance of many elements of this story, so that I found my pleasure in reading The Diver and the Lover extended beyond the confines of the smashing narrative as I looked up various aspects, having been interested by their inclusion in the book. I’m desperate to see the painting for myself now too.
I found the title intriguing. Certainly there are several divers and lovers within the narrative, but the title could refer entirely to Adam, or someone like Meredith might be the lover through her love of Dali, art and family or perhaps The Diver and the Lover could represent a more allegorical concept with characters diving into relationships and free-falling from sanity, from their usual lives and from normality. I loved this almost contradictory aspect to contemplating the story. I think The Diver and the Lover rewards a contemplative approach to reading it as the more I thought about the narrative, the more I found.
And it’s a cracking narrative. With Ginny and Meredith at its heart, The Diver and the Lover spans geographical location from Scotland to Spain and delves into the history of Franco as well as Dali and Hollywood film so that there really is something for any reader here. From a relatively quiet beginning that reminded me of Elizabeth Buchan’s writing, the narrative builds until there are dramatic moments that I simply wasn’t expecting. I thought the balance between national and personal drama was very well achieved, and with the factual detail cleverly woven into the story I believed in the plot completely.
I found the characters fascinating. Meredith’s mental health condition, Ginny’s transition from child to woman, the arrogance of Dali and the diffidence of Adam spiced with Siobhan’s scheming jealousy, all created a cast of believable people. Indeed, I would have loved to tell Siobhan what I thought of her in person!
However, plot and character aside, once again it was theme that made The Diver and the Lover such a compelling read for me. Jeremy Vine explores passion and obsession so that his own interest in the painting shines through alongside the characters’ emotional, sexual, monetary and artistic desire, making for an intense atmosphere that I found captivating. I so enjoyed the way love is presented too. What touched me most was Meredith’s desperate desire to find family love and the overall message that fame and fortune pale into insignificance when place alongside friendship, acceptance and belonging felt very moving. There’s a brilliantly depicted picture of both avarice and altruism and when these themes are placed alongside real world events as they are here in The Diver and the Lover they make for a super read.
I thought Jeremy Vine’s blend of history, fiction and theme made The Diver and the Lover an interesting, engaging and actually very moving story. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
September 5, 2020
I don’t really read a lot of celebrity authors but as many of my regular readers know I love historical fiction and especially when it involves art. The Diver and the Lover weaves a fictional account of Dali’s Christ of Saint John of the Cross, a painting where in reality a stuntman hung from the gantry in his studio to get the unique perspective. Jeremy Vine writes a fictional account that sees sisters Ginny and Meredith travel to Spain for a holiday, after the death of their father. Meredith is a modern art fan and an admirer of Dali, who lives very near their hotel. After a chance encounter with Siobahn Lynch, PA to stuntman Russel Saunders who is supposed to model for Dali’s new painting, they find themselves in Dali’s home with a young American diver, Adam Bannerman, who will model instead of Saunders. This is a multi layered story, of love, betrayal, politics, and art set in 1950’s Spain, post Civil War.
Christ of Saint John of the Cross is a painting I have seen twice in Glasgow and really understand Jeremy Vine’s obsession with it. It is an impressive and powerful piece of art, and I have often wondered how Russel Saunders, the stuntman, felt hanging in that position. The Diver and the Lover is however a fictonal account that sees Saunders refuse to model, he sees it beneath him and a young American waiter, Adam Bannerman, takes his place. I have to say after reading this book I much prefered the fictional account, with it’s drama and romance.
But this book is much more than just about the painting, it is about two sisters, Ginny and Meredith, with different mothers, and eighteen year age gap who have just met. The relationship between these two sisters is fascinating, they are very different both in looks, upbringing and mindset yet there is bond there that can’t be broken. I loved watching their relationship develop, as roles reversed and they learnt more about each other. Merededith has had a troubled life, her mother died when she was young, her father sunk into depression and being admitted to an asylum whilst she was brought up by another family. All of this effects Meredith’s mental health as well and she also ends up in an asylum which is where Ginny finds her. Ginny has had the perfect childhood, being brought up by her mother and father, after his recovery. She is very self assured and confident, taking control of her and Meredith’s lives, and acting like the older sister. I loved watching their relationship develop, and ultimately their roles in each others lives change over their time in Spain. Meredith, Ginny and Adam are characters I loved, whilst Siobahn and Dali to an extent are the villans of the book; self centered, selfish and egotistical.
Spain had been through a civil war and a world war and in 1951 tensions still ran high. There were still opposoing sides that led to retaliations and attacks, especially by those against Franco. Jeremy Vine anchors the historical aspect of the story in this political climate, the landscape of ruins, the effect on the citizens, the lack of visitors and the patrisan attacks, in which Dali become a target. The writing completely drew me in, the characters were wonderful and well rounded and developed, in particular the extrovert and self agrandising Dali, and the portrayal of Meredith and her mental health problems. Jeremy Vine creates his own painting in his descritive prose, capturing the Spanish landscape, and his multi faceted characters, so that I felt I was part of this wonderful story.
The Diver and the Lover is a captivating and compelling read that I adored. Jeremy Vine captures the essence of this stunning work of art, the artist and the sacrifice it required. This fictional account of Christ of Saint John of the Cross weaves a complex but inviting web, that draws you in and doesn’t let go until the final full stop. A stunning read of art, romance, relationships and family; sublime.
Christ of Saint John of the Cross is a painting I have seen twice in Glasgow and really understand Jeremy Vine’s obsession with it. It is an impressive and powerful piece of art, and I have often wondered how Russel Saunders, the stuntman, felt hanging in that position. The Diver and the Lover is however a fictonal account that sees Saunders refuse to model, he sees it beneath him and a young American waiter, Adam Bannerman, takes his place. I have to say after reading this book I much prefered the fictional account, with it’s drama and romance.
But this book is much more than just about the painting, it is about two sisters, Ginny and Meredith, with different mothers, and eighteen year age gap who have just met. The relationship between these two sisters is fascinating, they are very different both in looks, upbringing and mindset yet there is bond there that can’t be broken. I loved watching their relationship develop, as roles reversed and they learnt more about each other. Merededith has had a troubled life, her mother died when she was young, her father sunk into depression and being admitted to an asylum whilst she was brought up by another family. All of this effects Meredith’s mental health as well and she also ends up in an asylum which is where Ginny finds her. Ginny has had the perfect childhood, being brought up by her mother and father, after his recovery. She is very self assured and confident, taking control of her and Meredith’s lives, and acting like the older sister. I loved watching their relationship develop, and ultimately their roles in each others lives change over their time in Spain. Meredith, Ginny and Adam are characters I loved, whilst Siobahn and Dali to an extent are the villans of the book; self centered, selfish and egotistical.
Spain had been through a civil war and a world war and in 1951 tensions still ran high. There were still opposoing sides that led to retaliations and attacks, especially by those against Franco. Jeremy Vine anchors the historical aspect of the story in this political climate, the landscape of ruins, the effect on the citizens, the lack of visitors and the patrisan attacks, in which Dali become a target. The writing completely drew me in, the characters were wonderful and well rounded and developed, in particular the extrovert and self agrandising Dali, and the portrayal of Meredith and her mental health problems. Jeremy Vine creates his own painting in his descritive prose, capturing the Spanish landscape, and his multi faceted characters, so that I felt I was part of this wonderful story.
The Diver and the Lover is a captivating and compelling read that I adored. Jeremy Vine captures the essence of this stunning work of art, the artist and the sacrifice it required. This fictional account of Christ of Saint John of the Cross weaves a complex but inviting web, that draws you in and doesn’t let go until the final full stop. A stunning read of art, romance, relationships and family; sublime.
April 21, 2024
A fictional account of events surrounding one of Salvador Dali's most famous paintings, Christ of St John of the Cross. The novel begins in the present day in the Glasgow art gallery that displays the painting, before going back to 1915 and the birth of Meredith. Fast-forward to 1951 and Meredith and her half sister Ginny, holidaying in Spain, become involved in the surreal world of Dali and his artwork. The novel was an interesting back story to the painting, with interesting references to the Spanish Civil War and it's aftermath, with a cast of largely likeable characters. The novel came full circle and ended in the art gallery and a security guard's description of the painting being targeted by an elderly lady. I particularly enjoyed the relationship between the two sisters, and how that developed from a sense of duty to real affection. An enjoyable read.
September 2, 2020
The Diver and the Lover has the most beautiful cover that draws you inside to an equally gorgeous storyline within. If you’re a fan of having your historical fiction woven around real events, people and places then this book will be one you need to put on your preorder list. I loved how the author explains at the front of the book, rather than the back, the seed that sprouted into his own version of events surrounding the painting of Christ of Saint John of The Cross in 1951 by Salvador Dali. And what follows is an emotional story of love, obsession and tragedy that will become your own personal obsession whilst reading it.
The relationship between the two sisters Meredith and Ginny lies at the heart of this novel but the real star is the painting itself. If you’ve never heard of it or seen it yourself (I used to live near Glasgow so often went along to admire its strength and beauty at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum) then make sure you google it so you can have it in your mind throughout your reading. I hadn’t really looked any further into its history so The Diver and The Lover was an interesting read for me from that point of view. And to have it as the point of focus in both of the timelines worked particularly well as I tried to work out what happened back in 1950s Spain and how it related to the incident that has just happened in the Kelvingrove Gallery. The two sisters are both very different characters and it was difficult to imagine that they would have anything in common due to those differences but it also became obvious that the secrets they both held onto would quickly resonate throughout their encounters in Catalonia.
Jeremy Vines has shown me a completely different side to his talents here and the tv presenter has written a beautifully evocative and intriguing storyline. The plot is easy to follow and his characters were brought perfectly to life. It is his love letter to a stunning piece of artwork that has now, hopefully, gathered new admirers from far and wide. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have already sent my copy to my Mum as I know she will love it too.
The relationship between the two sisters Meredith and Ginny lies at the heart of this novel but the real star is the painting itself. If you’ve never heard of it or seen it yourself (I used to live near Glasgow so often went along to admire its strength and beauty at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum) then make sure you google it so you can have it in your mind throughout your reading. I hadn’t really looked any further into its history so The Diver and The Lover was an interesting read for me from that point of view. And to have it as the point of focus in both of the timelines worked particularly well as I tried to work out what happened back in 1950s Spain and how it related to the incident that has just happened in the Kelvingrove Gallery. The two sisters are both very different characters and it was difficult to imagine that they would have anything in common due to those differences but it also became obvious that the secrets they both held onto would quickly resonate throughout their encounters in Catalonia.
Jeremy Vines has shown me a completely different side to his talents here and the tv presenter has written a beautifully evocative and intriguing storyline. The plot is easy to follow and his characters were brought perfectly to life. It is his love letter to a stunning piece of artwork that has now, hopefully, gathered new admirers from far and wide. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have already sent my copy to my Mum as I know she will love it too.
August 14, 2020
I thought that this book by Jeremy Vine was fast paced and an interesting story. Lots going on and some great characters. I had issues with a couple of things that I thought would have been picked up by editing Maybe it's not a final proof although it doesn't say anywhere that it not. Pantyhose, gel on a moustache and a plastic paint can - all in the 1950s. I do hope these have been corrected before publication. With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the oportunity to read and review an e-ARC of this title.
January 13, 2025
im going to need a few business days to process this one... expect a change in rating
August 16, 2020
This book is an imagined fiction centering around a painting by Salvador Dali, ‘Christ of Saint John on the Cross’, a real piece of art which resides in Glasgow. The book imagines what happened around the time it was painted, in 1950s Catalonia, and centres around two sisters who are staying in a hotel there and the events that led them to meet Dalí while he was absorbed with a new project - a painting of Christ unlike one any has seen before.
The sisters from Britain did not grow up together - they are in fact half sisters who have only recently met. Meredith’s tragic past saw her mother die young and her father put into an asylum - it was a shock to her as an adult to see her father with a new family in the art gallery where she works many years later. Meredith has maintained an obsession with art, the only connection she has left to her mother who loved the modern artists. The sighting of her father who does not recognise her throws her into a spiral of depression that ends in her being committed to the very same hospital he had been admitted to many years before. There Meredith stays until her young sister learns of her existence and rescues her.
They decide to go to travelling to help Meredith with her recovery; Meredith chooses the place associated with so many of Dali’s paintings but never expects to meet him. They also meet the famous American stuntman, Russell Saunders, whom Dalí has lured to Spain to model for him; his spiteful assistant Siobhan; and a young diver called Adam who idolises Russell. The story painted between these characters is one cleverly crafted and inspires great empathy for the sequence of calamitous events which occur as a result of Dali’s art. A very well written piece of historical fiction featuring a dramatic love story.
My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher Hodder & Stoughton for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is out on the 3rd September in the UK.
The sisters from Britain did not grow up together - they are in fact half sisters who have only recently met. Meredith’s tragic past saw her mother die young and her father put into an asylum - it was a shock to her as an adult to see her father with a new family in the art gallery where she works many years later. Meredith has maintained an obsession with art, the only connection she has left to her mother who loved the modern artists. The sighting of her father who does not recognise her throws her into a spiral of depression that ends in her being committed to the very same hospital he had been admitted to many years before. There Meredith stays until her young sister learns of her existence and rescues her.
They decide to go to travelling to help Meredith with her recovery; Meredith chooses the place associated with so many of Dali’s paintings but never expects to meet him. They also meet the famous American stuntman, Russell Saunders, whom Dalí has lured to Spain to model for him; his spiteful assistant Siobhan; and a young diver called Adam who idolises Russell. The story painted between these characters is one cleverly crafted and inspires great empathy for the sequence of calamitous events which occur as a result of Dali’s art. A very well written piece of historical fiction featuring a dramatic love story.
My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher Hodder & Stoughton for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is out on the 3rd September in the UK.
July 23, 2020
An Amazing Book.
This novel is inspired by true events, a Spanish surrealist artist, Salvador Dali and a world renowned painting, Christ of Saint John of the Cross, painted in 1951.
The story starts in Glasgow 2001, with Craig Maskell, security guard, distressed that the world famous painting hanging in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, has become damaged on his watch. Who is the old lady who has made frequent visits to stare at the painting, sometimes three times a day and why ?
All is revealed as we travel back to Spain 1951 and follow sisters Ginny and Meridith as they travel from Hull through France to Spain, where an adventure awaits them which they could never have imagined. Ginny and Meridith are in search of some rest and recreation following difficult times within their family lives.While exploring Spain and taking in their surroundings, they come across American stuntman, Russell Saunders and his personal assistant Siobhan Lynch, which is a catalyst for their association with the famous Salvador Dali.
I really enjoyed this book. Jeremy Vine is a master storyteller to weave historical facts and fiction together to produce a great story. Russell Saunders did act as a model for Dali and was suspended from an overhead gantry in order that Dali could create the figure of Christ accurately, depicting the effects of gravity on the human body. In this novel there is a twist to this fact. Dr Tom Honeyman did purchase the painting for Glasgow Corporation in 1952 for £8,200, but his character in the book plays a much greater part. You will just have to read this book to find out.
Having been born and raised in Glasgow, I have stood in front of the Christ of Saint John of the Cross painting on many occasions and I now know a little more of the true facts surrounding this amazing work of art. In my opinion, the fictional element is superbly interwoven, binding the whole story together with a spectacular ending.
A great read.
Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This novel is inspired by true events, a Spanish surrealist artist, Salvador Dali and a world renowned painting, Christ of Saint John of the Cross, painted in 1951.
The story starts in Glasgow 2001, with Craig Maskell, security guard, distressed that the world famous painting hanging in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, has become damaged on his watch. Who is the old lady who has made frequent visits to stare at the painting, sometimes three times a day and why ?
All is revealed as we travel back to Spain 1951 and follow sisters Ginny and Meridith as they travel from Hull through France to Spain, where an adventure awaits them which they could never have imagined. Ginny and Meridith are in search of some rest and recreation following difficult times within their family lives.While exploring Spain and taking in their surroundings, they come across American stuntman, Russell Saunders and his personal assistant Siobhan Lynch, which is a catalyst for their association with the famous Salvador Dali.
I really enjoyed this book. Jeremy Vine is a master storyteller to weave historical facts and fiction together to produce a great story. Russell Saunders did act as a model for Dali and was suspended from an overhead gantry in order that Dali could create the figure of Christ accurately, depicting the effects of gravity on the human body. In this novel there is a twist to this fact. Dr Tom Honeyman did purchase the painting for Glasgow Corporation in 1952 for £8,200, but his character in the book plays a much greater part. You will just have to read this book to find out.
Having been born and raised in Glasgow, I have stood in front of the Christ of Saint John of the Cross painting on many occasions and I now know a little more of the true facts surrounding this amazing work of art. In my opinion, the fictional element is superbly interwoven, binding the whole story together with a spectacular ending.
A great read.
Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 5, 2020
This book is about a famous Dali painting- Christ of St John on the Cross, a painting which in itself is controversial and has its own chequered history. The painting , of which I learnt so much as well as about Dali himself of course a controversial character of his time, shows Christ on the cross from above- however no-one should be “above” him. Dali used a stuntman for the pose and the story is of how he was introduced to a diver to be used in the stuntman's place introduced by two sisters who were travelling having only just found each other as one had been in a mental asylum having suffered temporary blindness and mutism due to stress and trauma. This is my first book by Jeremy and I found it very well written and very interesting. I had to keep stopping to look things up- for example Dali’s famous pool shape (If you don’t know- look it up) and his dream ball. A book which has been very carefully researched, although I know Jeremy has a keen interest in both Dali and especially this particular painting. He describes the book as “ A work of fiction based on a real painting and a real story that means so much to me” and his passion shows in the writing. A wonderful summer read, brilliantly written.
September 19, 2020
I was instantly intrigued by the concept for The Diver and The Lover as I enjoy novels which pull on true events throughout history, especially when it’s based around something I know little about, as is the case here.
The novel is inspired by the author’s love of Dali’s painting, ‘Christ of Saint John of the Cross’ which was painted in 1951. The model for the painting was Russell Saunders, a Hollywood stuntman, and to pose, he was hung from a gantry in Dali’s studio so that the artist could study the pull of gravity on his body. The novel suggests that the stuntman had in fact refused and a replacement was found in a young American waiter, whom one of the central characters, Ginny has formed a friendship with. Ginny and her sister, Meredith – a troubled woman suffering with severe mental health issues – are travelling in Spain, and the group soon become embroiled with the artist, his painting and the simmering tensions within 1950s Spain.
It truly is a fascinating concept, and I found The Diver and The Lover to be an enjoyable read. For me, the character of Meredith was the highlight. Her backstory and struggles with her mental health was an engaging read, and I’ll admit to being far more invested in the relationship between the sisters than the one forming between Ginny and Adam. In terms of the historical aspect, I was inspired to do some of my own research after reading and in Googling, I didn’t find any evidence of Saunders not being the model for the painting, and so I presume that much of the novel was in fact pure fiction. I did find myself wondering if any of the fiction was based on any truths, or even gossip surrounding the painting and I would have liked to have seen a post-novel note delving into this a little more, essentially because I am nosy but also because I like to understand where the line between fact and fiction is when a novel claims to be inspired by real events (I read an advance copy – so this may well have been added to the finished version!)
A novel I initially struggled to get into, although I thoroughly enjoyed the latter parts. I appreciated the fast pace of events towards the end, and the heart felt epilogue tied everything together beautifully. An enjoyable read for whiling away a lazy afternoon, ‘The Diver and the Lover‘ offers a compelling fictional tale behind the creation of Dali’s famous painting
The novel is inspired by the author’s love of Dali’s painting, ‘Christ of Saint John of the Cross’ which was painted in 1951. The model for the painting was Russell Saunders, a Hollywood stuntman, and to pose, he was hung from a gantry in Dali’s studio so that the artist could study the pull of gravity on his body. The novel suggests that the stuntman had in fact refused and a replacement was found in a young American waiter, whom one of the central characters, Ginny has formed a friendship with. Ginny and her sister, Meredith – a troubled woman suffering with severe mental health issues – are travelling in Spain, and the group soon become embroiled with the artist, his painting and the simmering tensions within 1950s Spain.
It truly is a fascinating concept, and I found The Diver and The Lover to be an enjoyable read. For me, the character of Meredith was the highlight. Her backstory and struggles with her mental health was an engaging read, and I’ll admit to being far more invested in the relationship between the sisters than the one forming between Ginny and Adam. In terms of the historical aspect, I was inspired to do some of my own research after reading and in Googling, I didn’t find any evidence of Saunders not being the model for the painting, and so I presume that much of the novel was in fact pure fiction. I did find myself wondering if any of the fiction was based on any truths, or even gossip surrounding the painting and I would have liked to have seen a post-novel note delving into this a little more, essentially because I am nosy but also because I like to understand where the line between fact and fiction is when a novel claims to be inspired by real events (I read an advance copy – so this may well have been added to the finished version!)
A novel I initially struggled to get into, although I thoroughly enjoyed the latter parts. I appreciated the fast pace of events towards the end, and the heart felt epilogue tied everything together beautifully. An enjoyable read for whiling away a lazy afternoon, ‘The Diver and the Lover‘ offers a compelling fictional tale behind the creation of Dali’s famous painting
September 26, 2020
he book begins with us being introduced to the painting featured in the story
Christ of Saint John of the Cross which is in The Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow.
The story then goes back to an introduction to Ginny and her sister Meredith on holiday in Spain in the 1950’s, there is a big age gap between the sisters and Meredith has health problems. Ginny witnesses a young man jump off a cliff and is terrified the man has died.
The story then takes the reader back to Meredith’s earlier life which has been a really troubled, with the death of her mother and her father’s own mental health. Her mental health is portrayed sensitively by the author but it is really sad how she is treated, unfortunately a sign of the times then at the hospital as a single woman with no family. I do not want to give away spoilers but she is reunited with a sister that she does not know exists and she is able to leave the hospital with her, Ginny.
As a huge art lover, this book was a joy to read, very emotional at times but I was enthralled by the story of the sisters and the link with Dali. The story is really well researched and I learnt a lot about 1950’s Spain and its politics. The painting and its composition which are very controversial was also fascinating. It is a love story but also about family devotion between sisters.
I love the Walker Gallery in Liverpool and was delighted to find its inclusion in the book within Meredith’s story. It was wonderful to read how Meredith used art as her mother did to escape her troubles in the real world and her meeting with Salvador Dali is a very hugely important to her and links her to Scotland, the eventual home for the painting. You can tell that the author has a real love for this painting in the descriptions he writes in the story they are really beautiful.
If like me you like the history of art and a really good story this book will keep you gripped, a beautiful tender read and I really loved it.
Christ of Saint John of the Cross which is in The Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow.
The story then goes back to an introduction to Ginny and her sister Meredith on holiday in Spain in the 1950’s, there is a big age gap between the sisters and Meredith has health problems. Ginny witnesses a young man jump off a cliff and is terrified the man has died.
The story then takes the reader back to Meredith’s earlier life which has been a really troubled, with the death of her mother and her father’s own mental health. Her mental health is portrayed sensitively by the author but it is really sad how she is treated, unfortunately a sign of the times then at the hospital as a single woman with no family. I do not want to give away spoilers but she is reunited with a sister that she does not know exists and she is able to leave the hospital with her, Ginny.
As a huge art lover, this book was a joy to read, very emotional at times but I was enthralled by the story of the sisters and the link with Dali. The story is really well researched and I learnt a lot about 1950’s Spain and its politics. The painting and its composition which are very controversial was also fascinating. It is a love story but also about family devotion between sisters.
I love the Walker Gallery in Liverpool and was delighted to find its inclusion in the book within Meredith’s story. It was wonderful to read how Meredith used art as her mother did to escape her troubles in the real world and her meeting with Salvador Dali is a very hugely important to her and links her to Scotland, the eventual home for the painting. You can tell that the author has a real love for this painting in the descriptions he writes in the story they are really beautiful.
If like me you like the history of art and a really good story this book will keep you gripped, a beautiful tender read and I really loved it.
December 1, 2020
The debut novel by TV and radio presenter Jeremy Vine was inspired by Salvador Dali’s painting Christ Of Saint John Of The Cross.
The painting hangs in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and, in a prologue set in 2001, we learn from security guard John Maskell that something terrible has happened to it.
He is devastated. The painting so dear to him that he knows every brushstroke by heart.
The reader is then transported to 1950s Spain where two sisters, Ginny and Meredith, have travelled from the UK to see if a warmer climate will help with Meredith’s slow recovery from a long and painful battle with mental illness.
Her tragic history is sensitively detailed and her terrible treatment laid bare, making for heart-breaking reading. Her illness has also seen the sisters separated for many years.
However, throughout it all, Meredith retained her passion for modern art, something she
inherited from her late mother. So, when the women discover that Salvador Dali is staying nearby, Meredith is determined to meet him.
Dali is undertaking one of his most ambitious projects, using famous stuntman Russell Saunders as his model.
However, since Saunders is refusing to obey Dali’s orders, a young American waiter takes his place. And when Meredith and the young waiter meet, both sisters’ lives will change forever.
Vine deftly blends themes of love, loss and politics, his story brought to life by a strong sense of time and place, attention to detail, and characters as colourful as the scenery. I was totally entranced by a tender, gripping, and powerfully moving read.
The painting hangs in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and, in a prologue set in 2001, we learn from security guard John Maskell that something terrible has happened to it.
He is devastated. The painting so dear to him that he knows every brushstroke by heart.
The reader is then transported to 1950s Spain where two sisters, Ginny and Meredith, have travelled from the UK to see if a warmer climate will help with Meredith’s slow recovery from a long and painful battle with mental illness.
Her tragic history is sensitively detailed and her terrible treatment laid bare, making for heart-breaking reading. Her illness has also seen the sisters separated for many years.
However, throughout it all, Meredith retained her passion for modern art, something she
inherited from her late mother. So, when the women discover that Salvador Dali is staying nearby, Meredith is determined to meet him.
Dali is undertaking one of his most ambitious projects, using famous stuntman Russell Saunders as his model.
However, since Saunders is refusing to obey Dali’s orders, a young American waiter takes his place. And when Meredith and the young waiter meet, both sisters’ lives will change forever.
Vine deftly blends themes of love, loss and politics, his story brought to life by a strong sense of time and place, attention to detail, and characters as colourful as the scenery. I was totally entranced by a tender, gripping, and powerfully moving read.
September 24, 2020
The tale revolves around the Kelvingrove Gallery in Glasgow and a Dali painting. We are with the security guards trailing an old lady around the gallery on her repeated visits. She spends time staring at a particular painting as they try to figure out if she represents a danger to their treasures. Every time they approach to talk with her she moves away.
We then visit Meredith, hear her story and the horrific start to her life which results in many years spent in a mental institution. As she is being wheeled to surgery for a frontal lobotomy, a woman appears and stops the operation. So enters Ginny, her younger sister. We stay with them through a trip to Spain to try and improve Meredith’s health and the introduction of Adam, the diver.
Salvador Dali lives a short distance away and has contracted with an athletic stuntman to model for him. Dali wants to paint Jesus on the cross but not from the normal angle. This was originally painted in the 1400s and the artist was sentenced to death as ‘no-one should be placed above God’.
This story brings to life the sometimes knife-edge existence of life in Spain in the early 50s. Tourism wasn't common then so foreigners in some parts of the country were caught between Franco’s authority and the partisans. Dali’s house and studio, the coastline and pine forest on top of the cliffs, and the graves of Franco’s opponents are all vividly portrayed.
Grateful thanks to Bookends for a free digital copy in exchange for a review.
We then visit Meredith, hear her story and the horrific start to her life which results in many years spent in a mental institution. As she is being wheeled to surgery for a frontal lobotomy, a woman appears and stops the operation. So enters Ginny, her younger sister. We stay with them through a trip to Spain to try and improve Meredith’s health and the introduction of Adam, the diver.
Salvador Dali lives a short distance away and has contracted with an athletic stuntman to model for him. Dali wants to paint Jesus on the cross but not from the normal angle. This was originally painted in the 1400s and the artist was sentenced to death as ‘no-one should be placed above God’.
This story brings to life the sometimes knife-edge existence of life in Spain in the early 50s. Tourism wasn't common then so foreigners in some parts of the country were caught between Franco’s authority and the partisans. Dali’s house and studio, the coastline and pine forest on top of the cliffs, and the graves of Franco’s opponents are all vividly portrayed.
Grateful thanks to Bookends for a free digital copy in exchange for a review.
September 20, 2020
The background to this book is fascinating and I was intrigued by the presence of a well known painter, Salvador Dali and one his controversial pieces of art - Christ of Saint John of the Cross. A painting I knew nothing about, which forced me to look it up and to understand the background to it's creation and subsequently it's arrival in a Glasgow art gallery in the 1950s.
All of this is subsequently weaved into the book.
Ginny and Meredith, sisters have only just found each other when their father dies and Ginny discovers she has a half sister.
Meredith is traumatised by past experiences and is in an asylum. Ginny becomes her rescuer and with an ulterior motive vows to heal Meredith. This is what leads them to Spain, to Catalonia, where Meredith's passion for art, is the path that Ginny sees can heal her.
With a famous artist in the area, it seems that Meredith can indulge in this passion. Ginny has her head turned by another passion and when these collide with the politics of the time and the execution of this famous painting, the book takes a somewhat nasty turn.
I wanted to like this book, but I found it descend into a bit of a muddle and mess but it had these brilliantly handled passages of prose which worked so well, especially the affects of the asylum on Meredith. For me the rest of it did not fit together so well and I found myself skim reading just so I could see how it concluded.
I learnt a lot despite not enjoying the plot and for that I am grateful, but I was left disappointed overall.
All of this is subsequently weaved into the book.
Ginny and Meredith, sisters have only just found each other when their father dies and Ginny discovers she has a half sister.
Meredith is traumatised by past experiences and is in an asylum. Ginny becomes her rescuer and with an ulterior motive vows to heal Meredith. This is what leads them to Spain, to Catalonia, where Meredith's passion for art, is the path that Ginny sees can heal her.
With a famous artist in the area, it seems that Meredith can indulge in this passion. Ginny has her head turned by another passion and when these collide with the politics of the time and the execution of this famous painting, the book takes a somewhat nasty turn.
I wanted to like this book, but I found it descend into a bit of a muddle and mess but it had these brilliantly handled passages of prose which worked so well, especially the affects of the asylum on Meredith. For me the rest of it did not fit together so well and I found myself skim reading just so I could see how it concluded.
I learnt a lot despite not enjoying the plot and for that I am grateful, but I was left disappointed overall.
April 4, 2021
I love the cover so I decided not to ruin it for myself and put it down about 1/4 into the book, after already forcing myself to continue. It's my first Jeremy Vine read.
I love art and have the utmost respect for mental challenges, but when it comes to introductory/main characters in fiction I feel that they shouldn't border on pathetic. Nothing makes me root for the characters at the beginning of the book, especially not the one the story is introduced with.
Meredith's childhood is the only event that made my heart move, she's annoying as a fictional adult. The events in the first 100 pages are already melodramatic and within these few pages, there is more than one pitiful character (in fact, not one of them is normal.)
Ginny's personality compared to her age doesn't make her believable enough, I think she needed a better introduction. Ginny's character has as much potential as Tully Hart from Firefly Lane (Kristin Hannah), but she becomes a shadow in Meredith's tiresome presence.
The book would probably have read more easily if each chapter didn't jump between timelines and if the narrator didn't change with a jump of a paragraph. Having dramatic characters and a dramatic timeline is over the top.
Just a side note: Again. I love the cover. ;)
I love art and have the utmost respect for mental challenges, but when it comes to introductory/main characters in fiction I feel that they shouldn't border on pathetic. Nothing makes me root for the characters at the beginning of the book, especially not the one the story is introduced with.
Meredith's childhood is the only event that made my heart move, she's annoying as a fictional adult. The events in the first 100 pages are already melodramatic and within these few pages, there is more than one pitiful character (in fact, not one of them is normal.)
Ginny's personality compared to her age doesn't make her believable enough, I think she needed a better introduction. Ginny's character has as much potential as Tully Hart from Firefly Lane (Kristin Hannah), but she becomes a shadow in Meredith's tiresome presence.
The book would probably have read more easily if each chapter didn't jump between timelines and if the narrator didn't change with a jump of a paragraph. Having dramatic characters and a dramatic timeline is over the top.
Just a side note: Again. I love the cover. ;)
February 10, 2022
Genuinely can’t really decide what I think of this. It wasn’t what I was expecting. I picked it up from a pile of books of my Mum’s as the cover made it look like a nice relaxing read! However it wasn’t really at all and the synopsis on the back gave no clue about the story. It implied the story is about 2 sisters who go travelling for some escapism in the 1950s. However it turns into a story about Salvador Dali and his painting of “Christ of St John of the Cross”. The sisters meet him where they are staying and the story is a combination of facts and fiction about the production of the artwork by Dali, in particular that someone called Russell Saunders modelled for him by being hung on a gantry so the artist could see how the body was pulled under gravity! The artwork now hangs in a gallery in Scotland. The story kept me reading and although not an art lover at all, I was quite interested in the facts surrounding the painting and did Google it all during and after reading. However the strange love story and back drop and the politics of Spain at the time all combined to create quite a strange fiction book that was just a bit odd really. I can’t really think of any other way of describing it. So an average 3 ⭐️.
October 4, 2020
I was sent a copy of The Diver and The Lover by Jeremy Vine to read and review by NetGalley. I was intrigued by this novel because of the fact that it is loosely based on the true story of a Salvador Dali painting – Christ of St John of the Cross. I became totally engrossed in the book and the relationships between the players and also the arrogance of Dali himself. The author has cleverly woven a believable back story around the truth as it is known, both regarding the painting and the era it was set, 1950s Franco’s Spain. The novel gives a great insight into the mind and obsession of the great artist and had me, and I suspect many others, searching the web to find a visual image of the painting. Well worth the maximum 5 stars in my view.
September 5, 2021
This started off great and got boring real quick and then got great again. Overall it was very relaxing and I ended up having to google about it as the story felt so convincing I genuinely thought it was a nonfiction. It definitely transported me into a nice relaxing holiday mode.
December 24, 2020
Theme of family and ambition cenred on a Dali painting in the museum in Glasgow (which I must have walked straight past!). explained some of Spain's history under Franco too.
March 13, 2021
My kind of story; quirky and creative with an arty side.
March 20, 2021
Fascinating, I knew nothing about Salvador Dali before this. The actual storyline was quite intense and different, quite hard to handle at times but very readable
August 13, 2022
Excellent. It really gripped me because at the heart of the story is the Salvador Dali painting which I saw for the very first time a few months ago and was just entranced by it.
June 16, 2023
RAO 2022 O vara cu Dali
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