Books like Van Gogh's room at Arles by Stanley Elkin

The Goldfinch chronicles the life of thirteen‑year‑old Theo Decker, who survives a museum attack that kills his mother and carries an art piece that becomes a lifelong obsession, exploring loss, identity, and art in contemporary America.

In 17th‑century Delft, Griet, a quiet servant, enters the Vermeer household and finds herself entwined in its domestic intrigues, gradually becoming the painter’s assistant and a painted model.

Asterios Polyp follows an arrogant, award‑winning architect who never built a real building, as he confronts a personal and spiritual crisis and flees to rebuild his shattered life.

The Artist’s Way offers a practical, twelve‑week guide of creative exercises and reflective practices designed to help writers, musicians, painters and other artists unlock and sustain their creative potential.

On Beauty explores a New England family’s life as they confront love, identity, and cultural divides over three decades, weaving personal struggles with broader conversations about race and belonging.

About the life of the painter Vincent Van Gogh

An intimate tale of two people who cannot be heard—one mute, one deaf—who discover love and responsibility while living in 1960s Pennsylvania.

Two British soldiers become unlikely friends in Cold War espionage and today's world of terrorism.

344 pages ; 22 cmHL660L Lexile

"The hundred-year history of modern art ..."

A captivating novel of sisterhood and forbidden love, Sister of My Heart explores the intricate bond between two sisters from vastly different backgrounds in San Francisco and India.

364 pages ; 22 cmHL730L Lexile

A retired linguistics professor copes with encroaching deafness and marital strain when a young student forces him to confront the challenges of aging, mortality, and identity.

When the Soviet Union invades its tiny neighbor Finland in November 1939, Marko volunteers to help the war effort. Even though his leg was weakened by polio, he can ski well, and he becomes a messenger on the front line, skiing in white camouflage through the forests at night. The dark forest is terrifying, and so are the odds against the Finns: the Russians have 4 times as many soldiers and 30 times as many planes. They have 3000 tanks, while the Finns have 30. But a tank is no help in the snowy forest--a boy on skis is. And the Russians don't know winter the way the Finns do, or what tough guerrilla warriors the Finns are. Marko teams up with another messenger, Karl. Gradually Marko learns that Karl's whole family was killed by the Russians. And Karl has a secret--he's really Kaari, a girl who joined up to get revenge for her family's deaths.From the Hardcover edition.

In this smart survival guide for students and teachers--the only book of its kind--James Elkins examines the "curious endeavor to teach the unteachable" that is generally known as college-level art instruction. This singular project is organized around a series of conflicting claims about art: "Art can be taught, but nobody knows quite how." "Art can be taught, but it seems as if it can't be since so few students become outstanding artists." "Art cannot be taught, but it can be fostered or helped along." "Art cannot be taught or even nourished, but it is possible to teach right up to the beginnings of art so that students are ready to make art the moment they graduate." "Great art cannot be taught, but more run-of-the-mill art can be." Elkins traces the development (or invention) of the modern art school and considers how issues such as the question of core curriculum and the intellectual isolation of art schools affect the teaching and learning of art. He also addresses the phenomenon of art critiques as a microcosm for teaching art as a whole and dissects real-life critiques, highlighting presuppositions and dynamics that make them confusing and suggesting ways to make them more helpful. Elkins's no-nonsense approach clears away the assumptions about art instruction that are not borne out by classroom practice. For example, he notes that despite much talk about instilling visual acuity and teaching technique, in practice neither teachers nor students behave as if those were their principal goals. He addresses the absurdity of pretending that sexual issues are absent from life-drawing classes and questions the practice of holding up great masters and masterpieces as models for students capable of producing only mediocre art. He also discusses types of art--including art that takes time to complete and art that isn't serious--that cannot be learned in studio art classes. Why Art Cannot Be Taught is a response to Elkins's observation that "we know very little about what we do" in the art classroom. His incisive commentary illuminates the experience of learning art for those involved in it, while opening an intriguing window for those outside the discipline. - Publisher.