The Secret Life Of Sunflowers A gripping, inspiring novel based on the true story of Johanna Bonger, Vincent van Gogh’s sister-in-law

"Sunflowers are adaptable. You plant them somewhere and they’ll figure out how to grow. They’ll come up in the rich loam of rivers as easily as in arid, poor dirt. The worse the soil, the bigger they flower. They’re scrappy as hell." An interesting and a fast read that I randomly chose and I'm so glad I picked the right book. It was an easy read for someone who doesn't really know much about art or anything about Vincent Van Gogh. But what makes this book is so good is how the story doesn't want you to focus on the already known artist but more how on the woman behind his popularity struggled to make it happen. Johanna Bonger is a truly woman on her own terms, just like Violet, and just how Emsley is trying to become. How the sunflower has becoming the main theme not only on the Van Gogh's paintings but also how the hope and gratitude that the sunflower's trying to express, incorporates so well throughout the characters of this book. The book has the dual narrative which I think is pretty much common happening these days and the way it's written reminds me a lot of The Seven Husband of Evelyn Hugo. Sometimes it works, sometimes it fell short as it felt so abruptly cut off an interesting part and jump onto the next part. And the romance wasn't that much interesting per se and likely a common trope, so I don't really put my attention into that. The overall story of the past, the Johanna Bonger, and Violet Velar are probably the ones that make me giving this a solid 4/5⭐.