Edited to add: I had the honor of speaking with Cynthia Newberry Martin for the Storytime in Paris podcast after the below review was written and, if anything, I love the book more now. You can listen to the full interview here: https://bit.ly/3uTHgL4


What a beautiful, beautifully-written story! As a young child, Emily fell in love with the painting Breakfast by Henri Matisse and the love this painting has shaped, guided, and organized the way she views the world ever since. Through Emily's eyes, we learn the magic of art, the influence of color, and the power of connection.

This novel nestled into my heart, wrapped itself around, and stayed there like a gentle swaddle. While Emily struggles to open up to her long-time boyfriend Mark, while she pours herself into being the best mom to her two young girls, while she fights to keep a space for herself, while life unexpectedly unfolds, I was fully invested, reading along like I was her best friend rooting for her to come out on top.

I laughed, I cried. I cried, I cried.

As a note: this may also be the best, truest decpiction of children and of sisters I have ever read. Charlotte and Emily (6 and 3, I believe) read like they are the ages they are meant to be. The way they interact - the big sister/little sister dynamic - rang so true it was a relief to read. A balm to my big sister soul.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. It was truly a pleasure.

The Art of Her Life follows Emily, who has loved Matisse and his work since she was a child, and is now a harried, working single mother of two little girls. Even though she is perpetually exhausted, she lives a nice life, loved by her family and her best friend, who is committed and quite lovely. But he wants more and she is... perpetually exhausted and wanting time on her own like the woman in her favourite painting, Breakfast.

What follows is an emotional journey of Emily's life, gently reflecting on her struggles, life and death, and art. The story comes together as a work of art in itself.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Fomite for access to the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a beautiful story of motherly love, art, and friendship. Every moment was carefully crafted and sincere.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Art of Her Life is a quietly beautiful and slowly heartbreaking exploration of the ways in which art and artists that deeply touch us can follow us through our lives, providing something of a companion, a through-line in our lives, not alive, but enough to keep us breathing, in our roughest times. Our main character, Emily, has been in love with Henri Matisse and his work since she was a young girl, in particular the painting “Breakfast”, which she saw in person for the first and only time at nine years old, leaving with a postcard of this very work, a reproduction almost as priceless to her young self as the real thing. These days, a single mom to two cherished young girls of her own, having lost their father in an accident, a relationship that had passed long before he did, Emily finds herself lost in the painting of her own life, trying desperately to provide enough space on the canvas for herself, her daughters, her job as museum registrar, and her boyfriend, Mark, without it all becoming an overwhelming mess, feeling herself losing against time, unsure of what she wants the inside of the frame of her life to look like; when a museum contest offers her a chance to see “Breakfast” again, this possibility further overwhelms yet excites her, and we experience, through her struggles in figuring out how to live her life, her deep emotional attachment to Matisse, constantly providing her own problems with context in relation to his history and works, finding meaning in her grief in relation to, as the title says, “The Art of Her Life”. For anyone who has experienced this feeling of kinship a particularly personally touching piece of art provides, a fragment of yourself in this creation by an artist that couldn’t have ever known how it would endear itself to you, this book encapsulates that feeling in a myriad of forms, feelings, comforts. “A painter doesn’t see everything that he has put into his painting. It is other people who finds these treasures in it, one by one, and the richer a painting is in surprises of this sort, in treasures, the greater its author.” Like a painting, Emily, in her isolation of self as an act of self preservation, doesn’t realize the treasures in herself that those around her are begging to see, and love her for. Art so often provides itself at the right time, at the right place, somehow knowing exactly when we need it, need its unique familiarity even if we’ve never known of it before, even though we deeply wish it always had a role in our lives, we still recognize its power, it’s incomparable pricelessness. Emily, her daughters Caroline and Elizabeth, and her boyfriend Mark, are like Henri Matisse and his painting “Breakfast”, works of art, each their own, honest and laid bare, faced with reality and it’s quiet tragedies, persevering like these treasured paintings that were once hung out to dry, unaware of the ways in which they will each provide meaning, companionship, and comfort to others. The endless colors of our lives combine into their own individual paintings, and similar to the rare works that we cherish, inevitably escape our physical grasp but forever leave their marks on our souls, providing a combination of colors and strokes that show what lead us to where we are now and help to reflect where we are going. In art and in life, we must often surrender blindly in order to fully understand.

If you're a big art fan, you'll adore this book. Emily, the main character, constantly draws parallels between her life and her favorite artworks, making for a rich tapestry of art references. As an art enthusiast myself, I found enjoyment in this aspect; it took me back to my high school days of delving into art and deciphering its deeper meanings.

This book moved me to tears! Unlike many others that rely on negative or toxic relationships for impact, 'Art of Her Life' portrays mature and beautiful relationships that still pack an emotional punch. The conversations between mother and daughter, lovers, and friends felt incredibly relatable and were filled with quotable moments. The gradual build-up to the ending completely shattered me emotionally, and I loved every moment of it.

The Art of Her Life left me crying at the breakfast table. The fragility of life, love, friendship and the mother-daughter relationship is explored in a heartbreakingly beautiful way. There were many quotes that took my breath away.

Intrigued by the way Cynthia Newberry Martin weaves art (Matisse) in the narrative, and what that art work does to the existing story. "Do you really want Frank to be your love stick" stuck with me. A quiet, contemplative, domestic fiction/art book. Thanks for the ARC!

This book is about a woman balancing her career, single parenthood, and a loving but occasionally overbearing partner. Her love of Matisse and his painting Breakfast keeps her going through tragedy and loss.

I had some difficulty relating to the narrator, which made the book somewhat tedious to me at times, and but the ending was very moving and makes it worth reading to the end.

Emily is somewhat afraid of life. She lives it by viewing life through colours of Matisse’s work Breakfast, a piece she fell in love with at the age of nine, captivated by the colours, the languid pose of the woman in the portrait.
Her reality is a busy working life as a single mother to two young daughters, an immersive position as Registrar of the local art gallery, were she desires to eventually become the Curator, and a partner, archaeologist Mark; a man who has been in her life since high school days.
There never seems to be enough time to do everything she desperately wants to do. When Mark is offered a position to head up an archeologic dig in Turkey, he proposes they marry, but Emily does not want to change her life at all, she is comfortable in her existence. She sees her world and threads around her in the colours of Matisse.
A health scare, appears to be of little consequence, Mark moves out of her life and that of the children’s, leaving a huge hole in what was Emily’s well-ordered existence. But, in a world gone grey, she is holding onto the very real hope that she will once again see the painting of Breakfast, as she is one of the short listed winners of a Competition held at the Art Gallery.
Brief notes from Mark are treasured by the children; Emily finds them confronting and when her Doctor advises her that the health scare appears to be far more than they first thought, Emily has to begin to face some of the very real truths of life, living and loving.
The Art of Her Life is stunning, very real, easily relatable story of a young woman who has been damaged by life, creating a world that almost but not quite works, the risk of emotional distress kept to a minimum. Emily could be anyone; the way she has been created by Cynthia Newberry Martin makes her a person who could very easily be a family member or friend.
Although the story took some time to evolve it has allowed the colours of life to develop gradually to form a beautiful, heartbreaking and unforgettable tale which reflects on people, the influence art in colour can have on emotion and how, at the end of the day, the things that matter the most are vastly different to the mundane nature of the life most often lived.
The Art of Her Life is an unforgettable work of art which captures the many hued colours of what we all consider as life!

I unfortunately could not finish this book. I’ve been trying to read it for 2+ months and can’t seem to advance. The writing felt a little juvenile unfortunately and the story just didn’t capture me, nor did any of the characters.

One of the best books I read this year, is something I’ll recommend. The title is self-explanatory in itself. It's a beautiful story about motherhood, insecure relationships, isolating oneself, and regret that follows later. Beautiful story. After reading this book I bought Cavier so I know what it tastes like. I always wanted it but for some reason never felt like paying for it. But I did it this time because I didn't want to die thinking about what it tasted like. Life is not certain, do whatever you want, spoil yourself, and don't die without getting answers to your what-ifs.

This was a beautiful book on so many levels. The writing was wonderful. The imagery was inventive. I’ve never read this author before, but look forward to many more by her.

I did not expect for this book to be as emotional as it was for me. The story is a reflection of love, family, and life. And it integrates art into all of these themes perfectly. I really enjoyed this book and I know I will continue to think about Emily and the other characters in this book for a long time.

As someone who loves art history and especially the era of Matisse, I found this endlessly interesting. I read over the course of two days and could not put it down.

"That night in the kitchen, working with reason alone, I told myself to feel nothing, and I let him go. So now I'll make my own happiness. I'll be like the woman in my painting— having a nice breakfast in her hotel room and then reading. Having a perfectly fine time by herself"
—The Art of Her Life

"The Art of Her Life" is an exquisite embodiment of poetic brilliance, deftly capturing an extraordinary penchant for life despite it's peculiar composition. The author meticulously summons the presence of Henry Matisse to illustrate this beautiful tragedy. In its core, it's a holy manifestation of the salvation of art. Throughout the entire novel, life is painted with spasms of catastrophe, juxtaposing the beauty of existence with the inherent cynicism of decay. "The Art of Her Life" vehemently accommodates Matisse's melancholic blue to capture the nuances of ordinary life. Not only that, the narration blatantly borrows colours of his palette to metaphorize the emotional complexities of the human experience. Within the tapestry of this novel, there's an overwhelming presence of comforting monotony but the harsh realities of life's vices are not completely glossed over. There are echoes of gnawing loneliness and grief. The narrative pulses with a poignant honesty, inviting readers to confront the spectrum of human emotions that define our existence. "The Art of Her Life" is undeniably a humbling experience for its readers, immersing them in a world of exquisite tragedy. While the promise of a conventional happy ending remains absent, this novel didn't fail to show the opulent beauty of mundane life.

My thanks to NetGalley and to Fomite publisher for giving me the opportunity to read "The Art of Her Life" by Cynthia Newberry Martin.

This is a breathtaking book on Art, specifically, Matisse, longing, and a mother's life. I am a Cynthia Newberry Martin fan since her book, "Love Like This" which I highly recommend. "The Art of Her Life" is full of quiet reflections, that like the brush strokes in a painting, culminate in the larger masterpiece of one women's life. Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

The Art of Her Life by Cynthia Newberry Martin was not quite what I expected. While it was a beautiful meditation on life, love, what we cherish, and how present we must be throughout our lives, it was also a reflection on how to die. On balance, I wished there was a bit less of that than how the character, Emily, developed as she grew into her life. I was not expecting the turn as it was written and I wish more of the book focused on art and Emily's life. But because the book was so well written with important things to think about, I gave it four stars.

There are two important things going on in this book. One is how Emily lives before and after she finds out she has late stage ovarian cancer and also about the transformative power of art.

When we are first introduced to Emily, she is a young widow (without much grief for her husband), mother of two very young daughters, has a lover who wants to marry her, and works at an art museum. She is all about the artist, Matisse— in both his paintings and his philosophy of life. She first saw his painting, Breakfast, when she was nine years old and it has been a guide post for her. The museum she works at his is holding an essay contest. The winners will have the opportunity to see the painting they've written about. The thought of seeing the original Breakfast again thrills her. This absorbs her as other threads of her life unravel.

Rudderless, Emily can't figure out what is important to her and her daughters, until the worst thing happens. The second half of the book is beautifully done but it is long and achingly sad, I wished that part had been shortened.

It was a beautiful read. Although, I know the principle message was how art can transform an ordinary life, the relationships Emily cultivated in her brief life were the true masterpieces.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read the ARC.

My thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for the opportunity to read The Art of Her Life by Cynthia Newberry Martin. An amazing, beautiful, heartbreaking book.