This is a debut novel. It is a historical fiction story based on a Dali painting
This is a fantastic novel which is so educational

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.

I loved this book - Jeremy Vine is a talented writer as well as a great broadcaster. Beautifully written and well researched. Reminded me of 'Miss Garnet's Angel' by Sally Vickers.

Unfortunately, the book came through onto the kindle all muddled. Sentences running into each other and it was impossible to read.

An interesting story, but I found it hard to get immersed in this book. It all seemed a bit superficial, rather than getting under the skin of the characters. I usually like to lose myself in a book, but this one didn't really enable me to do that.

Whilst an interesting story, it really could have been set anywhere at any time - supposedly set in the 50s in Spain but it certainly didn't feel like it at all. Plus the story is far too much tell and not show.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

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.

Very interesting take on Salvador Dalí, his work and his work ethics. Beautifully written! Too bad I'm not supposed to quote from an ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

I really enjoyed this book. I will admit that it was the cover which caught my attention before anything else, but very early on the story captured me and the setting hooked me in. I found it a very evocative read, and one that was a wonderful book to escape with. It is a little bit of a slow burning in relation to it's plot, but I found the setting and the characters kept me entertained throughout, and it does speed up towards the end. I enjoyed all the characters in the story and found them all very different from each other, from their personality, to their upbringing and country of birth. I've read a few books recently that have a real life character as a central role in the story and this one didn't disappoint with it's use of Picasso. A flamboyant character to say the least and the description of his house in Spain was extremely well done. The historical detail and element of the story was also well conveyed. An enjoyable read..

While holidaying in Spain, half sisters Meredith and Ginny encounter stuntman Russell Saunders, who is there to pose for Salvador Dali’s painting, Christ of Saint John of the Cross. When Dali and Saunders have a disagreement, the girls help persuade a young waiter to take his place, and he and Meredith stay at Dali’s villa.

I’m never sure how I feel about novels centred around real life events, and The Diver and the Lover hasn’t changed my opinion. While it’s an interesting concept for a story - the unknown standing in for the stuntman, never to be acknowledged in public - it doesn’t portray either Saunders or Dali in a particularly good light. Not knowing the actual circumstances of the painting means that it’s difficult to completely get into the story.

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.

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.

Wasn't sure what to expect with this book by Jeremy Vine, but I was really surprised by how much I loved the story. A magical blend of fact, woven with a tale of love, I really enjoyed the book.

Half sisters Ginny and Meredith are in Spain to get to know each other and to enjoy the beauty of Catalonia; it is 1951 and when there, the sisters meet the celebrated artist Salvador Dali, as well as a young waiter who Ginny falls for. Meredith is fascinated by art and she determines to meet Dali, who is about to start a new painting, for whom he requires a male model.

The young waiter is The Diver; the book also takes us into the political ramifications of Franco's Spain.

I have given this book 5 stars, an unusual but fascinating subject, a trip to Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum is on my list, to view this magnificent painting by Dali.

An interesting piece of fiction wrapped around fact? A thoroughly good story with plenty of factual information.

An interesting concept and read. Emotional and challenging at times.

This novel explores relationships between half siblings and mental health, alongside a passion for art and the human cost of a masterpiece.

The plot is intriguing and the characters well described- their actions convincing. At one point I believed there would be a maligning of the artist working within the story but this is further explored and resolved by the end of the book.

I’ve read this for book club this month and am anticipating a lively discussion!
Recommended

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.

I requested this book because of the author. It was not the type of book I expected and was not my cup of tea. Sorry.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

A beautifully written novel which grabs your interest from the very first page.
It has all the elements needed, love betrayal and sisterly devotion.
Set in the early 1950’s in Catalonia and surrounding Salvador Dali and his painting of Christ of Saint John of the Cross.
Partly based on fact with a little poetic license gave it a very interesting premise.
Thoroughly enjoyed it

I read this e-book partly because of the author and partly for the description. Having only just finished it I am still making up my mind about it but it is certainly an engrossing read. There is true historic context to the story which is set mostly in 1951/2 and 2001. There are all sorts of issues touched upon, including mental health and Franco's regime in Spain. Central to the story though is the question of the amount of suffering which should be endured in the name of art. An interesting novel.

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!