First of all, that ending? The audacity of making us go through everything with that man just to end like that.

Loved that we never got to know his name, the villages name or what happened in his past. It made everything more enigmatic and made the reader get their own conclusions. Adding the scenery and the magic realism of it all, made this short novel beautiful and easy to read (and to suffer).

"Madame Sorel's Lodger" by Tracy Wise is one of those rare literary gems that feels like a delightful surprise. If I’d had the time, I would have devoured it in a day—but I’m glad I didn’t. Reading it slowly over a few days let me savor its beauty. The storytelling is elegant, with each word carefully chosen. There are no overly elaborate passages trying to impress—just simple, poetic, and genuine prose. This book brought me moments of joy and a few of sadness, and while I’m not sure exactly who to recommend it to, I know it’s absolutely worth reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Rating: 3.5 stars.
I almost DNF-ed this at about 40% of the way in because I did find myself growing bored. However, I stuck with it and at the 50% mark, I found it became much more interesting. Immediately, I found Tracy Wise's writing captivating (even while finding myself bored with the story) and I think that was the one thing that made it so I continued reading.

After the midpoint in the book, I was pleasantly surprised to discover how invested I became in the Artiste's journey and well-being. There were some things in the mid to later half in the book that I felt were left a little unclear in regards to the relationship the Artiste had with someone in the book (trying to avoid spoilers). I have an idea of what was actually going on, but again, I'm not certain. I don't know if this was the author's intention.

Other than that, I found myself disliking Madame Sorel but understanding her position, particularly during this period in time.

One thing I wish the author did was acknowledge the fact that they took inspiration from Van Gogh's life. I understand this is a work of fiction but as a Van Gogh fan myself (and one who has studied his life and his work), I knew right away this was about his life and I knew the town referenced as A-. Though fiction, I did find a lot of it was in line with his actual life. Enough that I feel he should've been acknowledged.

I don't read books set outside of America a whole bunch but I've wanted to- and this was a great first out-of-country read of the year! So genuine,

I enjoyed the beautiful descriptions of the fields that the artist painted, and the retelling of his mental stress and suffferings. I don't understand though, why the author did not give credit to Van Gogh for using the story of his life for her novel. I found that lack a little puzzling. Most people know the story of the famous French artist, but those who dont' might still enjoy this book as an original!

A quietly emotional book. Although the Artist is never mentioned by name, it becomes very clear as the book progresses that we are following the life of Vincent Van Gogh. I have been a fan of his art for as long as I can remember and seeing his artwork always invokes an emotional response. I adored how Wise gave voice to some of his most famous pieces, I’ll never look at Café Terrace at Night in the same light again.

I knew the whole time where this book would end, Van Gogh’s life is one of infamy and sadness. However, this book does not focus on that. Instead of his troubles, he is painted as a man of talent, with a love for the outdoors and a want to fit in and find his place. Along the same vein as Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell, Wise has created something beautiful here. Instead of being a book about Vincent Van Gogh, this is a book about art and life and friendship. I’m very grateful to have stumbled across this.

In this steady, gently- paced debut novel author Tracy Wise imagines the last year of an artist (Van Gogh) living in a French village. She explains his visionary way of seeing the world but not anything more technical about painting or colour. The relationships shift and change between the village with The Artist's arrival, and this change is what the author finds most interesting to explore. Unfortunately I did not connect with any of the characters, who remained emotionally distant for me. She also tries to describe how mental illness feels to her artist, describing the buzzing that precedes despair. This book would have made a strong short story and I was not convinced that a novel was the right format for this idea. As a reader I hope to feel invested in characters, i hope for immersive period detail, atmosphere and pace. This book did not fully deliver for me on these. But I applaud this new author for the amount of time, research and commitment she has dedicated to writing this book and for her gentle and respectful handling of mental health issues.

Although the main character, "the artist", is never named in this book, it is evident that the author is writing about Vincent van Gogh. I enjoyed this lovely little book. It evoked the ambiance of a small English village of the late 19th century. In fact, the first few pages reminded me of Hardy's novels. This is a sad story that describes the last year or so of van Gogh's life away from Paris, the friendships he forged and his death. The author offers an alternate version of his death that releases van Gogh of any responsibility for his own demise. I don't know enough to know how historically accurate it is, given that all that I've read regarding his death states that the gun shot was self-inflicted. Whatever the cause, the world lost an artistic genius. I highly recommend this book if you like quiet, slow-moving stories that are character-driven.

Sadly I found this book way to easy to put down! I loved the premise of the story, and it started well. I loved Artiste, always ready to start the day to go out and find a story to paint. For me it didn't last long and I just became bored with it, It took me over a week to read 173 pages!!!

Madame Sorel was rude and controlling, especially of Gretchen, who btw, was a very sweet character. This town is a small and a peaceful one, so they say...

Thank you NetGalley and Type Eighteen Books for the opportunity to read the book.

This book is a marvel to read.

Set in France a struggling artist tries to recover his passion and start painting again.

It is a story of deep friendship and how people come together to love and help.

It is beautifully written and I would love to see this as a big screen film. I loved my reading time and thought the author an amazing storyteller.