The Fountain of St. James Court; or, Portrait of the Artist as an Old Woman Unab audiobook

Sena Jeter Naslund's courageous juxtaposition of two stories, two time periods, two styles urges us to seek parallels between a modern day writer and an eighteenth century painter, the writer having just completed a novel of the painter, Élisabeth Vigée-Le Brun, court painter to Marie Antoinette. With both narratives exploring marriage, husbands, children, and shining above all, their beloved work, one story is delivered leisurely in a single day, much like the contemplative Mrs. Dalloway; the other masterfully encompassing an entire life. Fascinating in structure and rich with detail, this is Naslund at her most delicately nuanced.Enjoy with me these lyrical sentences:-- Like dimly lit windows in the distance, ideas caught the edge of her attention for a moment, then winked out.-- Personifying Paris after the Revolution: The majestic city will glow and shudder around me, forgetting as best she can that blood and fear have swirled about her ankles.-- Regarding the fountain: Light, dressed in water, displayed itself as bright globules, as parallel lines and broken dashes, as continuous streamers, as spurts and gushes and splashes.And there's that gorgeous wedding night love scene! Oh my! And there are sentences full of wisdom:-- Yes, I am forever yoked to my husband, but this is the art of living: to feel what I feel; to be in no way repressed, mentally or emotionally; and to find the means both artistically and personally to let out the light that is within me. [Wow, what a powerful affirmation.]-- My father...used to say about his plays that the path to the universal was most certainly through the particular, but all great works, like a bridge, must place a foot on each shore, one concrete and one abstract.If you have time to linger over sentences, you will find much enjoyment in this novel.

The most amazing thing about this book to me was how it captured the way writers and artists relate to each other across geography and time. While on the surface, it seems as if the two novels woven together so astonishingly in this book are not related, they are deeply linked. Fountain, set in in contemporary times, features a writer, living in a neighborhood that surrounds a beautiful fountain, finishing a new book, still at the prime of her career while also growing older. Portrait follows a eighteenth century artist, who rose from humble origins to a great career as a painter, living through the tumultuous times of the French revolution. The relationship between these two geniuses, though not overt, crosses the boundaries of real time to show how profound are the ties that bloom between writers through their work. I also think Naslund can write sensory experience better than any living writer of our time.

Ahab's Wife was the first book I read by Naslund. While the first chapters of this new book did not engage me as quickly as Ahab's Wife, I pressed on because of the power of Naslund's writing style.As a musician, writer, and novice painter, this book is a powerful read. Naslund has insights not only into the artistic processes of the painter, musician, and writer, she expresses depths of spirit that resonate deeply with my spiritual side. As an older woman, it was more difficult to read the stories of the aged women, and yet, here too she has important insights on the struggles and vulnerabilities one must face as one ages. Excellent read!

For the past decade, Sena Jeta Naslund has been writing novels with distinctly literary themes, drawing on material first treated by such giants as Herman Melville (Ahab's Wife) and A. Conan Doyle (Sherlock in Love). Now she gives a nod to James Joyce and Virginia Woolf in The Fountain at St. James, or The Portrait of An Artist as an Old Woman.There are two female protagonists in Fountain, one imaginary and the other real. Kathryn Callaghan is a 21st century novelist who has just completed the first draft of a biographical novel. The subject of that novel is famed 18th century portraitist Elisabeth Vigee-Le Brun, who painted highly acclaimed works of Marie Antoinette and her courtiers. Kathryn's story takes place within a single day, as she takes stock of her life, now that she's in her sixties and contemplating how best to spend her final years. In doing so, she learns something about how far she will go to protect those she loves. Interspersed with Kathryn's experience is a reading of her new novel, told in the first person by the artist herself.Of the two lives presented here, Vigee-Le Brun's is by far the most momentous. As she dares to become the most pre-eminent female painter of her time, Elisabeth tells about her childhood with a much-loved father, her relationship with the Queen of France, and her flight from the horrors of the French Revolution. Along the way, she will lose the person she most loves, her daughter Julie. But to my mind, Kathryn's story is the more compelling one, as she comes to terms with love, loss, and age, and finds the courage to ward off a very real threat to the life of her own beloved son. While Elisabeth thinks of her life in visual, artistic terms, Kathryn relates hers to literature and its themes. But both spend considerable energy reflecting on the relationships that defined their work, their lives, and the choices that each made. As a novel, Fountain is deeply contemplative rather than action-based, and as a result, lags in many places. Still, the novel-within-a novel structure is interesting, and as always, Ms. Naslund's writing is eloquent and evocative.

By all rights, I should count this as two books. The two titles could easily have been split into two volumes without compromising the integrity of either. Sena Jeter Naslund writes literary fiction with a capital L. After reading one of her novels, you realize how much you don't know. 1-The Fountain of St. James Court made me want to explore the city of Lousiville, Kentucky in a new way though I've visited on more than one occasion. Was Ryn, the protagonist, a thinly disguised facet of the author's life? The person who owned my copy must have thought so. Actual facts from the author's marriages, career, and personal life were sprinkled in the margins. 2-Portrait of the Artist as an Old Woman sent me on a quest to learn about the French Revolution. Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun's work is readily available, and it was fascinating to read about the creation of a work of art and find a copy online. Was this a book I would read again? Probably not, but I am richer for having read it once.

Perhaps it is misleading to give this novel four stars since one half of it was tedious and painfully introspective, but the other part is outstanding in its depiction of the life of a noted French artist, Elisabeth Vigee-Le Brun whose life spanned parts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The author tells each story in alternating chapters, and it is this contrastingstyle which leads this reader to wish that the story of the modern author, who has just finished a book about the artist, had been omitted totally. Her experience, reflections, and divorce-plagued modern life pale in comparison to the rich portrait of the French artist.We meet the French woman portrait artist as a child whose artistic talent is encouraged and developed to the point that she is an acclaimed portrait painter of French royalty, and even Queen Marie Antoinette, at a relatively early age. We follow her through the highs and lows of her life which she lives with grace and observes with a delightful artistic eye. The French Revolution sends her into exile, leading her to start new careers in Italy and Russia all the while raising her daughter from a loveless marriage as a single parent. She surmounts disappointment, financial exploitation the loss of her friend Marie Antoinette and others during the French Revolution, exile, and the painful separation from and death of her beloved daughter . Yet with a life of travail behind her she enters old age in a French country setting, absent the bitterness and regret of the modern author who portrayed her. Unlike her modern counterpart, she welcomes each day with joy and savors its gift.It is the stark contrast in how these two women artists handled life's inevitable problems that leaves one in admiration of the Frenchwoman and almost totally without sympathy for the American author who still mulls over her three failed marriages though she and her grown son maintain the closeness which the Frenchwoman lost when her daughter rebelled and entered a disastrous marriage that became her downfall. Elisabeth finds her solace and fulfillment in the exercise of her great artistic gift which clearly colors the way she lives. Whereas her world is a riot of explored colors, the author has only a Venus-surmounted fountain and changing leaves to bring her beauty along with supportive friends and a beautiful home. The disastrous rain at the end of the day we spend with the author seems symbolic of the darkness which she allows to color her daily life.For me, the four star rating is mainly due to Elisabeth's insightful perception of the world around her, her delight in the gifts of nature down to the shape of a mushroom stem, and the warmth she exudes to her nieces who in some ways become her substitute daughters. Yes, her heartache over a daughter too soon deceased, unable to fulfill her potential and live out all the lessons her mother has shared with her, remains but does not overshadow her delight in the day to day details of her aging life. The author, on the other hand, quietly indulges her fear of falling and ongoing rehashing of her divorces as she teeters on the brink of 70, again symbolic of her pessimistic view of her life.Not all readers, perhaps not most readers, will enjoy this book by a proven writer (Ahab's Wife, etc) but those who open themselves to the perspectives and insights offered by the French artist will emerge from the experienced enriched.

All of Naslund’s books that I have read have two things in common....they are very challenging, and the writing is gorgeous. This book is the same. The structure and plot along with vocabulary can require patience and a dictionary. However, her sentences are so rich and beautiful that I just like to take my time and enjoy them. The many literary and historical references add to the challenge, and, in my mind, enjoyment. Finally, at the end, you get the suspense and action that are probably longed for much earlier.

I loved the book but which the book would have been solely on the Portrait instead of the Fountain. It was fun to read about the landmark in Louisville KY but I would have preferred the author saved that for a separate novel. Also there was too much mention of being 70 years of age and being super careful because of a fear of falling.

Evocative language, and splendid depictions of two women, separated by history, but alike in many ways.

'The Fountain of St. James Court; or Portrait of the Artist as an Old Woman' is a beautiful story of the intertwining lives of a contemporary writer - Kathryn Callaghan - and the historic painter - Elisabeth Vigee-LeBrun. Kathryn has written a novel about the artist and her life during the French Revolution. Kathryn becomes so wrapped up in Elisabeth's life and the time period of eighteenth-century Europe that she's finding it hard to come back to her own life in modern day America.This novel is essentially a story-within-a-story, telling the tales of two separate yet connected main characters. Kathryn Callaghan is a modern writer who has decided to write a novel about the life of Elisabeth Vigee-LeBrun. As Kathryn delves further into Elisabeth's life and the time period in which she lived, she finds herself connected to the painter in ways she never expected. Aside from Kathryn's modern day story, we also get to read about Elisabeth's life - her own story - of how she lived, painted, and her achievements. The two women are actually quite similar despite the fact that they are separated by centuries. Both Kathryn and Elisabeth are driven artists who fight to live the life they dreamed of by practicing their crafts of writing and painting. Both women go through difficult and trying times alongside their joy and achievements, which makes them incredibly realistic and accessible to the reader. The use of a novel-within-a-novel device was an interesting choice by the author and I wondered if it would work out well or turn out to be confusing to the reader. The author manages to write both women's stories with incredible detail and description so they are easily identified from one another without confusion - and yet the reader is able to see how much the two are alike. The writing was very well done with a natural flow and an engaging narrative that drew me in from the first pages. Highly recommended for fans of both contemporary and historical fiction!Disclosure: I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This new novel by Sena Jeter Naslund reads more like poetry than prose. The setting is based on her own home town of Louisville, Kentucky. She has a condo in St. James Court and several of her friends live there also. The story opens with Kathryn Callaghan finishing the first draft of her latest book and taking it to fellow author Ryn to read. The novel is titled Portrait of the Artist as an Old Woman and recounts the life of the artist Elisabeth Vigee-Le Brun, a survivor of the French Revolution who was hated for painting sympathetic portraits of Marie Antoinette. The format is an ingenious novel-within-a-novel interleaved with the chronicle of a day in the life of Kathryn Callaghan. Kathryn and Elisabeth possess similar gifts of pride in their artistic expression and the unchanging love for their children. Much description is given of the St. James Court locale and Elisabeth's France. Kathryn is nearing seventy and reflects on her life with three husbands and her son Humphrey. The reader also follows the wife of the artist and the two stories are magically woven together by the love of color and nature. This is a marvelous book with many insights into the process of aging.

I think that this book was written just for me. Sena Jeter Naslund is one of my all time favorite authors...Ahab's Wife, The Four Spirits, just the best books. Anyway, I am an artist, and I am also reaching a certain age, so I could relate to both main characters in multiple ways. The premise of the book is that a current day author, living in Louisville, has written a novel about painter Elizabeth Vigee-Le Brun who survived the French revolution and painted portraits of Marie Antoinette. There is much discussion about art...painting, music and writing, beautiful descriptions of colors, emotions, and the passion of creating. Both women also had men in their lives who were less than supportive, to say the lest, and both still managed to create beautiful lives and careers for themselves, being joyful and passionate about their craft. I was just swept away by both of these stories. If you Google-images Le Brun's portraits, you can see vibrant energy of her beautiful works.