Glad you’re safe, @PlantMom!
An aside
It’s been a long time since we read Jane Eyre together, but I know it was a favorite. I just posted a new article on the old thread – worth the read if you’re a Bertha Mason sympathizer (all of us, I believe).
I agree. In fact, one of the things that made me happiest was that she got to stop painting flower still lives. They are tour de forces, but man if you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all.
I’d like to think that the two newly discovered paintings will also move viewers.
It’s sort of ironic that while de Vos was known to be a painter of floral still lives the three paintings described in the book aren’t. (I remember there’s a reference to a couple of other de Vos paintings, but I don’t think they describe them do they? IRCC they are just referenced as being in Midwest museums.)
The initial scenes with Sara and Kathrijn were so beautiful and moving – one of the truly lovely parts of the book. Kathrijn’s death was just so, so sad … and I really appreciated the way the author linked Sara’s grief to her work.
I loved the descriptions of the paintings in the book. I actually love, love, love Dutch still lives – I could look at them all day – and also Dutch genre paintings (domestic scenes, like Vermeers). I never had any interest at all in Dutch landscape paintings – would skip right over them – but the descriptions in this book have really gotten me interested in looking at them anew.
PS – My favorite Dutch or Flemish still lives are the food ones – those big paintings of overflowing banquet tables of food. I’ve loved those ever since I was a little kid and I still love them.
The author was skillful at conveying the heartbreak of Kathrijn’s death.
I love Vermeer, and Rembrandt (but actually I like his etchings even more than his paintings.) I like Frans Hals a lot. Actually I like most portraits and genre scenes.
I like both Van Ruisdael’s landscapes - they capture the flatness and the seascapes and that big sky.
I’ve never quite “gotten” still lifes, but I don’t have much of an art background, so I probably can’t properly appreciate them. Reading about still lifes of the Dutch Golden Age led to reading about tulipmania, which contributed to Sara and Barent’s financial woes. From p. 87:
Interesting (maybe not “damn interesting” but close 
): https://www.damninteresting.com/the-dutch-tulip-bubble-of-1637/
and the longer version: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania
@Mary13 I found that link "damn interesting "!
interesting that the wiki article suggests the wide spread tulip mania, may be more myth than fact, and confined to a smaller number of speculative investors,
I’m not a fan of the flower paintings and not really a fan of Leyster though I do like her Self-Portrait and her The Proposition. (Both painting mentioned in the article below.)
I found this article interesting re women artists in the 17th century: https://www.oneonta.edu/faculty/farberas/arth/arth200/artist/cons_fem_art_id.htm
^Interesting article, ignatius. Of the paintings shown in it, I like Leyster’s “The Proposition” too, and I really like “The Serenade.” The dramatic contrast between light and darkness in those paintings appeals to me.
As I read about them, I’m loving them all! Context is so important. The allegorical symbols incorporated into Gentileschi’s painting are fascinating, and I was intrigued enough by Sofonisba Anguissola’s self-portrait to look up more info: http://smarthistory.org/sofonisba-anguissola/
I know we don’t need to discuss every last character in the novel, but before we move on to choosing our next selection, I just want to give a shout-out for Red Hammond, the private investigator. He amused me. I also liked the passage where Marty is at the club having drinks with his squash partners. Something very Mad Men about that scene.
We can start thinking about our Deccember book at any time (that’s assuming civilization as we know it still exists after November 8th).
For our December book, I think we should read East of Eden. It’s been suggested, and a strong contender, so many times. It’s sort of a classic, and those tend to be my favorite types of books.
One new book that looks good to me is The Gloaming by Melanie Finn. On the “one of the best books…” thread, somebody recently posted about having a hard time putting it down.
I turned my thoughts to our December book this afternoon.
News of the World - Paulette Jiles
— Just nominated (shortlist) for the National Book Award. So, shortlisted and short (224 pages) for those who find the month of Nov. a busy one.
— An Amazon Best Book of October 2016: I’ll admit, Paulette Jiles’s News of the World was not at the top of my to-read pile. It’s a post-Civil War western, the good guys are good, the bad guys are bad, and you can be sure the former will ride off into the sunset at the story’s end (Womp, Womp). But, what is wrong with that, you say? As it turns out, not a darn thing. Captain Jefferson Kyle is a war-weary widower, traveling from town to town reading relevant bits of news to paying customers. In one such town he is given a $50 dollar gold piece to ferry a kidnapped girl back to what’s left of her family–her parents and sister having been murdered by members of the Kiowa tribe–who spare the then 6-year-old and raise her as one of their own. Fast-forward four years and tribe life is the only life she knows, so she’s not about to go quietly with a stranger who doesn’t speak her language, whose motives she does not trust, and to a place that is not what she now considers home. Thus begins a seemingly ill-advised but transformative road trip where the mismatched pair eventually form an uneasy truce, then a not-so begrudging alliance, and finally something more wonderful than either Captain or kid could have imagined. Save for the carnage, this could be a great plot for a Disney movie, and there is even a cinematic showdown thrown in for good measure. But in the complex world that we live in, sometimes it’s nice to know who is wearing the white hats, and who is wearing the black hats, and to root for someone who—out of a sense of duty, and later, love–is doing something pure and good. And that’s what News of the World is: Pure and good. --Erin Kodicek, The Amazon Book Review
Bone Gap - Laura Ruby
— Okay, this one is YA but has strong strong reviews (and nominated for a National Book Award 2015). It also has Greek mythology which makes it touch on duo territory but not overwhelmingly so. Someone suggested last time that a good YA book should be considered.
Previously mentioned:
Duo: *The Stranger/The Meursalt Investigation/i
The Water Museum - Luis Alberto Urrea (Notable Book of the Year: Washington Post; Best Books of the Year: Kirkus Reviews, NPR, Men’s Journal
— Short stories but timely short stories. Re the author: born in Tijuana to a Mexican father and American mother, Luis has used the theme of borders, immigration and search for love and belonging throughout his work. A Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2005 (nonfiction), he’s won the Kiriyama Prize (2006), the Lannan Award (2002), an American Book Award (1999) and was named to the Latino Literary Hall of Fame.
Old Filth - Jan Gardam
And throwing out for consideration, since we’ve already mentioned doing so - a duo - The Underground Railroad and Underground Airlines for our Feb. 1 book choice. (We’ve double-picked once previously.)
I liked Red too. I had also forgotten about Marty’s whole business about trying to be less white bread. Driving the foreign car, playing squash instead of racketball. But he’s still the guy with the three story (!) penthouse on the Upper East Side.
All great ideas! Here’s what we have:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
The Gloaming by Melanie Finn
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
*Bone Gap/i by Laura Ruby
*The Water Museum/i by Luis Alberto Urrea
Old Filth by Jan Gardam
Duo: The Stranger by Albert Camus and The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud
Duo: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead and Underground Airlines by Ben Winters
^ Suggestion that longer second duo should be held for February list has been moved but not seconded. 
Questions? Concerns? Additions? Subtractions?
Seconding the suggestion that the Underground duo be held for February.
Moved, seconded, and carried.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
The Gloaming by Melanie Finn
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
*Bone Gap/i by Laura Ruby
*The Water Museum/i by Luis Alberto Urrea
Old Filth by Jan Gardam
Duo: The Stranger by Albert Camus and The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud
No books to add.
I read a sample of News of the World and I have to admit that I don’t like the writing style, though the book looks otherwise interesting. This sounds weird, but the author uses the conjunctions “and” and “but” too much – especially “and.” In addition, she leaves out some of the punctuation I would put in.
Another consideration is that there are no quotation marks, which I know annoys some people.