The Last Van Gogh

August 7, 2006
Richman (The Mask Carver's Son
; Swedish Tango
) speculates in her third novel that Vincent Van Gogh found his muse in the 21-year-old daughter of his last doctor. Marguerite Gachet, accustomed to her father's revolving door of artist patients (Cezanne, Pissarro, Bernard among them), finds herself enamored of the disheveled Van Gogh ("a rare blend of vulnerability and bravado") shortly after his arrival at her father's home in Auvers, where Van Gogh undergoes treatment for his manifold illnesses. Though Marguerite is little more than a servant to her father, a failed painter turned physician who prides himself to an absurd extent on his art collection, she manages, with the help of her cloistered half-sister, to begin a covert flirtation with Van Gogh. Between sitting—thrice—for Van Gogh and carrying on her household duties, Marguerite uncovers a family secret and has a clandestine rendezvous with the painter. Though Marguerite's frustrated love is carefully rendered, other characters are mostly memorable for their quirks (her father, the failed painter; her brother, the goofy sycophant; her half-sister, the gold-hearted sage). The climax may be a bit breathless, but, then again, Van Gogh isn't remembered for his subtlety.

October 1, 2006
Vincent van Gogh spent the last two months of his life in 1890 in Auvers-sur-Oise, under the care of Doctor Gachet, a homeopath and aspiring artist. Richman (Swedish Tango) portrays that time from the perspective of Gachets 20-year-old daughter, Marguerite, the subject of two of Van Goghs paintings. Rigidly obedient to her widowed father, Marguerite seems little more than a servant to him, her brother, and two women who remain hidden from society, Madame Chevalier and Louise-Josephine. With Louise-Josephines encouragement and help, Marguerite arranges clandestine encounters with the artist. After posing for his last painting, she spends the rest of her life under the domination of her father and her cruel and jealous brother. The characters of Gachets household are strange and unlikable; one wishes Van Gogh could flee to Paris to escape. Marguerites repression seems so extreme that she likely would have pursued any eligible male visitor allowed to interact with her, and although Van Gogh responds with passion, he remains focused on his work. Libraries with large fiction collections may want a copy, but they should also have materials about Van Goghs life and art for those wanting to know more."Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State Univ. Lib., Mankato"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2006
Vincent van Gogh ends his life in a French village under the care of Dr. Gachet, who treats his patients and himself with holistic concoctions of herbs. Gachet's daughter, Marguerite, lives a circumscribed life of domestic duties in a rather peculiar household. She finds joy in her garden and her music and, upon the arrival of Van Gogh, the excitement that his presence brings. To her father's dismay, she is the one the painter seeks as a model, rather than her more favored brother. Marguerite serves as narrator, and though unschooled and naive, her passion and clarity shine through. She finds love, but it is not destined for a happy ending. Marguerite does achieve a sort of immortality through Van Gogh's portraits of her, but except for the secret that she holds close, her life is lonely and bereft. Richman captures the flavor of the period and the nature of her characters in a story that will appeal to many.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)