Sunflowers is a wonderful fictional account about the famous artist Vincent Van Gogh. I chose this book for our book discussion because when I was in a Humanties class in high school we read Lust for Life by Irving Stone. For some reason that book stayed with me, at least the part about Van Gogh. I remember it not being too terrible of a classic to read! So I thought why not read more about this interesting man?
This account covers a period of approximately 2 years of his life. During this time he meets Rachel, a prostitute, and starts to have a relationship with her. He spends his days painting and she spends as much of her off time with him as possible. At some point he has a mental breakdown and cuts off his ear and brings it to her at her house in front of other patrons and co-workers. He is hospitalized for the injury as well as his mental health. In this period of time, they were not sure of his diagnosis. During our book discussion we concluded that he was probably bi-polar. He struggled in an institution for awhile and when released moved to a small town to start again. It is here where he commits suicide.
The story is told in a way that draws you into their lives immediately. I felt compassion for Rachel and the struggles she dealt with in loving Vincent. Van Gogh was a man who did not live long enough to realize how important his art would become!
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