Review: In the Full Light of the Sun by Clare Clark

ABL Review At-A-Glance

• Title:  In the Full Light of the Sun
• My Rating: 4.5
• Genre:  Fiction, Historical Fiction
• Author:  Clare Clark
• Format:  Paperback ARC*
• Publication Date:  July 9, 2019

Based on a true story, this gorgeous new novel follows the fortunes of three Berliners caught up in an art scandal—involving newly discovered van Goghs—that rocks Germany amidst the Nazis’ rise to power.

Hedonistic and politically turbulent, Berlin in the 1920s is a city of seedy night clubs and sumptuous art galleries. It is home to millionaires and mobs storming bakeries for rationed bread. These disparate Berlins collide when Emmeline, a young art student; Julius, an art expert; and a mysterious dealer named Rachmann all find themselves caught up in the astonishing discovery of thirty-two previously unknown paintings by Vincent van Gogh.

In the Full Light of the Sun explores the trio’s complex relationships and motivations, their hopes, their vanities, and their self-delusions—for the paintings are fakes and they are in their own ways complicit. Theirs is a cautionary tale about of the aspirations of the new Germany and a generation determined to put the humiliations of the past behind them.

With her signature impeccable and evocative historical detail, Clare Clark has written a gripping novel about beauty and justice, and the truth that may be found when our most treasured beliefs are revealed as illusions.

My Thoughts…

My love affair with Van Gogh began in the summer before my freshman year of college.  I was particularly obsessed with Josh Groban’s self-titled debut album.  Once during my who-knows-how-many times listening of the CD, yep, the CD, I finally stopped to listen to the words of a song called Vincent.  It was haunting and beautiful and incredibly sad.  It was possibly the first time in my life that I felt that depth of hopelessness in a song (don’t judge, I was 18 and knew nothing).  So, I replayed the song and booted up my laptop, which I thought was incredibly cool even though it weighed 20 pounds and still needed a wire to connect to the internet.  Then I searched Starry Starry night by Vincent Van Gogh. 

I have never in the 16 years since (don’t do the math, that’s rude) forgotten that moment.  It was spell binding.  Sitting on my mother’s couch, gazing at swirls of paint that felt like they were moving.  I fell into that painting like countless other people have, losing sense of time and space, imagining what it would feel like to be sitting at that café table, under those stars, in that moment.  I swear, it changed me.  I finally understood the transformative power of art, and I would never go back.

My point in telling this story, is for you to understand where I am coming from when I started reading this book.  I read the blurb seeing Van Gogh before anything else.  I saw the stunning cover filled with his familiar brush strokes, and knew I needed to read this piece of historical fiction.  I am so glad that I did.

The tri-character storytelling model was extremely unique because of the way it was executed.  Each narrator exists in subsequent chapters told by other characters, but they are no longer the focus.  Clare Clark filled in gaps of knowledge by learning other perspectives, but never took the story backwards.  She constantly moved the narrative without sacrificing backstory or history.  I can’t say enough how difficult this is to do.

The setting of the book, Germany directly following World War I, felt like watching a sunset.  You are surrounded by light, beauty, and grace, but slowly the shadows begin to creep in.  At first, it’s a comforting softness, dulling the glare of war, but before you realize what is happening, the shadows have deepened.  They have lengthened and blackened until everything is consumed in its darkness.  Even when you notice what is happening, the inevitability of time makes you powerless to stop it. Reading a story during this time period feels much the same.

What I found I enjoyed most about In the Full Light of the Sun was its unpredictability. Every time I thought I knew what this story was truly about or what was going to happen, time would jump forward or the plot would suddenly shift directions.  This was even more palpable when the narrator would change.

On a side note, there were several references in this book to famous people of the times. Most notably, for me anyway, were the references to Josephine Baker. I had honestly never hear of Josephine Baker, until I was asked to review a book about her called, Josephine Baker’s Last Dance. Since then, I have noticed her name multiple times, and have to admit to finding her fascinating.

What’s Missing

If a book falls short of a 5 star rating, I try to figure out why instead of leaving it to the whim of my feelings.  Sometimes, I am successful with this, sometimes I’m not.  The only reason I didn’t give this a full 5 star rating is mostly a feeling.  I didn’t have any to wholly root for, so possibly I wasn’t as nervous or didn’t feel as much stress when things happened to each character.

Conclusion

Tragic and wonderfully written, In the Full Light of the Sun’s pages are filled with an artists joy and a prisoner’s desperation.

*Special thanks to Clare Clark, HF Virtual Book Tours, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for a copy of In the Full Light of the Sun in exchange for an honest review.