The concept of The Art of Vanishing absolutely drew me in — a woman working in a museum falls in love with a man inside a painting? That premise alone had me intrigued. Morgan Pager clearly has a deep love for art and history, and I really appreciated the vivid museum setting and the nods to famous painters like Matisse, Renoir, and Van Gogh.

That said, the execution didn’t quite live up to the magic of the idea for me. The writing style felt a bit uneven, with a lot of telling instead of showing. The chemistry between the leads was hard to connect with, and while the magical realism angle had potential, it often left me confused rather than enchanted. Some plot threads were introduced and then dropped, and the pacing shifted dramatically halfway through — especially with the abrupt COVID-era twist, which I didn’t expect and found jarring.

I think this story will work better for readers who enjoy quiet, introspective romances and don’t mind a slower pace or a looser structure. The themes of loneliness, connection, and the escape art can offer were touching, even if the plot didn’t fully stick the landing.

The premise of this book really hooked me (the main character is able to step inside paintings in an art museum) but ultimately, I think the execution fell flat. It was insta-love and I felt like, at half way through, I still knew almost nothing about the characters. I ended up DNFing this book because it just felt so repetitive.

2.5 stars, rounded up. The dialogue read like YA and the characters were soo flat. So many plot points that went nowhere. It either needed to stop around 70% and develop characters better, or be a much longer book. It was a fun premise, but the execution fell very short.

ARC REVIEW - Thank you Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is a strong and heart wrenching magical realism and literary fiction debut! I really liked our main characters and I like how the story slowly revealed more and more depth to our heroine Claire. Her story will resonate with so many. I also really loved our leading man, Jean, and his heart. I absolutely loved the scenes spent walking around and wandering inside the various paintings.

The aspect of the story I struggled with most was the use of the Covid pandemic as a plot device. It didn’t ultimately stop me from enjoying the book, but I wish there had been another way to get the story where it ended up.

ABOUT

Claire is a young woman on the museum’s janitorial night staff who discovers she can jump into the paintings in the gallery. She can walk around each and every one and interact with the scene and subjects.

She is particularly interested in the handsome Jean, one of the subjects in a family portrait “The Music Lesson” and son of the artist, Henri Matisse. They begin spending as much of her shifts together as she can spare, but Jean can tell there are things about her life he doesn’t know.

This story dives into some tough life topics. If an impossible star-crossed love story a la Night and The Museum sounds like your thing, then this is for you!

This book felt like Mary Poppins meets From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. As a bit of an art history nerd, I enjoyed the premise of a young girl stepping into a stunning painting and falling in love. The actual love story didn't feel developed enough for me, and although I liked learning about our FMC bit by bit, some of what is revealed later in the book felt inconsistent with her character's decisions. I think this will work well for someone seeking a cozy book with a heavy touch of magical realism.

The Art of Vanishing is a debut novel that I read courtesy of NetGalley. As a lover of history, museums, and books, this seemed like the perfect novel for me. I did find that it moved a bit slowly in parts, and I nearly gave up about 1/3 of the way in, but persevered. I thought the story took a long time to build and that the climax did not seem all that climactic. The secrets the characters needed to uncover were not as dramatic as the build up, and while the novel seemed to have great promise, I felt there was a lot left on the table. It was a such an interesting premise and I think it deserved more plot development.

I ended up DNFing this not because the story was a bit out there but because the writing didn’t keep me engaged. I got up to 30% before I skipped to the last chapter before the epilogue. For that first third, it was basically the same thing ad nauseam.
After reading the last chapter and epilogue I decided to go back to the middle of the book to see if it picked up at all and sadly it didn’t. I skimmed one chapter and decided I had already tortured myself enough.
It’s really too bad because this is such an interesting concept and it could have been great had the execution of it been better.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballentine for an advanced copy of this. The Art of Vanishing hit the shelves July 1st.

Let me preface this with the fact that I think the premise of The Art of Vanishing is very cool. A newly hired janitor at an art museum soon realizes that she can climb into the paintings she admires. This is a wildly fun concept and could go in so many fun directions. Unfortunately, for this reader, this book was a miss.

My first issue stemmed from the writing style. It just didn’t flow. There wasn’t enough dialogue. It was very tell-not-show. I know this is a debut novel and it read like one. I think the editors needed to work with their author more before letting this go out into the world.

As for the plot, I wasn’t a huge fan of the love story. It was very insta-love, a concept that drives me bonkers. Listen, it didn’t work out for Romeo or Juliet, and it’s not going to work out for you. The pandemic part of the story, which takes up the middle-third of the book, wasn’t my favorite. I was as bored as the people stuck in the paintings waiting for the museum patrons to return. But the heist? That I was into. It should have been the central plot point. The author was obviously paying homage to the Gardner Heist, which I’m obsessed with. That was the only part of the book that I truly cared about.

And when I say that the heist is the only part that I cared about, I rally mean that. I just didn’t bond with these characters. They lacked depth and didn’t seem like real people to me. But what really frustrated me was the female main character’s secrets. When she revealed them partially (first to the reader and then to Jean), her story made no literal sense. I get wanting to reveal things from a character’s backstory in stages, but this just didn’t work. I was confused by her story and then confused as to why another character would accept her story as sensical.

I’m sad because I really wanted to like this.

This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This started out really cute and lighthearted, I enjoyed the concept and I liked watching Claire and Jean get to know each other as she learned that she has this unique gift of being able to step into works of art. The second half, though, was SO disappointing and really dragged. And the ending was ... silly? Pointless? I'm not sure. I really did not enjoy the second half of the book and had to force myself to finish it.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me at 20%. :-(

I was SO excited about this book, and the concept sounded so unique and compelling. And it was! But the writing really turned me off to this book. And it pains me to say that! But I honestly wish the plot had been handled by another author. The writing was so flat and un-engaging that even though I was interested in the plot, I couldn't keep reading. This has only happened to me with a few books, and I always feel awful. But if the craft isn't polished and engaging, I simply can't get lost in a story. As a writer myself, I pay attention the prose, and it can definitely pull me out of the story if it feels clunky, mis-toned, or unskilled.

I want to give this author and this book another chance, so maybe at another time, I'll return to the story, or watch for another book from Morgan Pager.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. THE ART OF VANISHING is out now!

I loved this book! It was so much fun, I loved the idea of this story.

I really hope there is a special edition, or the book itself has photos of the paintings talked about in the story. I would love for it to be a quick reference instead of trying to google.

It was so fun entering into this world. When she enters into the paintings, you got to experience the art in a different way. I loved their journey, and it was fun following their secret love affair! I found myself reading a page or a chapter every time I passed by my kindle. I really could not put it down.

I go back and forth between 4 and 5 stars. I give it 5 just because I loved it so much. It is one I will read again and tell many people to read it

4 stars because I was so disappointed in the ending! I know I threw my kindle a couple of times 🤣. I just wish it ended differently.

Overall really great book! I need to get my hands on the physical copy now!

Morgan Pager's debut novel, The Art of Vanishing, is an enjoyable and sweet romantic read. Part magical realism, part romance novel the plot features a pair of anachronistic lovers. Claire lives in modern day and is the overnight cleaner in a small art museum. Her Jean Matisse, is literally a subject in one of his famous father's paintings. Along with his siblings and mother, Jean is frozen in the painting every day only able to look out at the gallery and its passing crowds. Only at night are the painting subjects able to come to life and move about within the works of art. Claire and Jean slowly fall in love, even though both know the relationship is not sustainable.

Overall, I found The Art of Vanishing to be an imaginative story however the plot was all over the place. Many times I found myself questioning where everything was going. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballentine Publishing for the opportunity to read this novel.

This was so intriguing at the beginning, but I did not enjoy reading about Covid quarantine. The ending left me with so many questions.

What a lovely premise - new night cleaner at the museum Claire finds herself able to insert herself into art, and a different world where the art is alive.

I liked the dynamic of her and Jean and the backdrop of world changes. The storytelling kept me engaged, the ending was a bit rushed to me - overall I really enjoyed it!

Thank you to Netgalley and to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an ARC.

Loved the descriptions of the art and the ability to live out a fantasy. Who hasn’t dreamed of jumping into another world. The ending felt a little abrupt, but overall I enjoyed it.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year! I loved the setting of the book, museum and art books always get me in. And I loved the magic woven in.

Maybe closer to a 2.5 - I loved the premise of this book, but unfortunately the execution wasn’t there. The relationship felt rushed/very insta-lovey, and I just didn’t feel the chemistry. It also just went in a direction that I wasn’t expecting that felt really forced. The writing style was good, but a little repetitive, both in the words used and actually repeating details and information over again. It was cute and creative, just not a new favorite. I really enjoyed the museum setting and magical realism aspects, though, and I would definitely still try something else from this author in the future.

The Art of Vanishing is a book unlike others. I guess it falls under magical realism, but also a must read for art lovers. It's set at the Barnes Institute in Philadelphia, a museum I love. It starts with a paining that Henri Matisse made of his family, but the people in the painting are real. They have been watching the museum from the walls for a century, when something changes. A janitor, Claire, sees them and is able to enter the world in the museum's art. As the book goes on, we learn more about Claire's backstory, and see her relationship with Jean, Matisse's son, grow. The book has some great surprises that I don't want to ruin, but it's worth it.

I LOVED this book so much. I have followed Morgan on social for years, and also listened to a few interviews with her about this book prior to it coming out. I will say, I enjoyed the book even more than I thought I would. So good.

This book has a whimsical, magical concept that drew me in, and I loved the imaginative world. However, the story felt overcrowded with too many plot threads and not enough time spent developing the characters. Some arcs were left hanging, which made it feel a bit rushed. Overall this was a creative book, but I wanted more depth and resolution.