The Art of Her Life
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley January 16, 2024
Author Cynthia Newberry Martin
Distributor: Amazon
ISBN: 978-1953236975
Publisher: Fomite
Release Date: June 2023
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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!