That time I doubted a book club pick about a painter, then it surprised me

My book club chose a biography of an obscure 17th century Dutch painter, and I figured it would be dry and boring. Turned out the stories about his rivalries and money troubles made it read like a drama, way better than the thrillers we usually pick. Has anyone else had a book you were dead set against end up being your favorite pick of the year?

2 comments

2 Comments

stellafisher2d ago

Read like a drama" - yeah that got me too. I used to think artist biographies were just dust collectors. Picked up a book about Caravaggio last year and it was basically a crime story. Wanted to hate it. Ended up staying up til 3am finishing it. The part about him fighting a guy over a tennis match and then fleeing town felt more like a movie plot than real life. Changed my whole view on those books.

scott.mia1d ago

Fighting a guy over a tennis match and then fleeing town" is actually kind of close but not quite right... Caravaggio killed a guy in a duel over a disputed score in a tennis match, not just fought him. That's what made him have to flee Rome. But honestly, the fact that we're even arguing details about a guy who died 400 years ago shows how wild his life was. His biography reads like a true crime podcast mixed with an art history textbook. I still can't get over how he painted saints while being wanted for murder.