In Jo Piazza’s “The Parisian Heist,” we don’t meet the brilliant artist Vincent Van Gogh, but we learn a lot about him through the fictionalized character of his sister-in-law Jo Van Gogh and the completely fictional character of a friend, Claire Donadieu. Piazza alternates the narrative between Jo Van Gogh’s real battle to get Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings to be seen and admired and — ultimately — valued, and a modern day thriller about three art students who find they’ve been invited to participate in one of the strangest heists in history.
In 1996, Emma had come to Paris to study art at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts on a three-year scholarship. She roomed with two other students who also had been provided with the scholarship. Unfortunately, after two years, the funding was abruptly stopped, and Emma is cleaning houses and trying to stay solvent before her visa expires. Emma has loved art since she was a child, and painting is her whole world.
One of her clients is Stella Swanson, the grand dame of the art world, who was married to Maxwell Swanson, of the billion-dollar Swanson Industries. Museums all over the world have works of art donated by the Swansons or on loan from them. They are the largest art dealers in the world; they represent buyers and sellers of fine art and move in rarified circles. So when Stella says to Emma that, “It is absolutely terrible to be rich,” Emma has a hard time believing that statement. Emma struggles to pay rent and take care of her mother.
Stella lives in the penthouse of a beautiful apartment building, but there is little furniture there, and all the paintings that graced the walls have left empty rectangles where they had once resided. Even her bedroom is empty of decoration except for a sword over her bed. Stella seems afraid that her stepson and his children will try to have her sent to a facility where she will lose her freedom. And when Emma meets Matthew, Stella’s handsome, wealthy grandson, he admits that such is the plan for Stella.
But Stella has plans of her own, and they involve Emma and others. Big plans. Bold plans. Plans that include her getting revenge on the Swanson family for their crimes in the art world, as well as for what they have done to her.
More than a century before Emma and Stella meet, Jo Van Gogh had inherited hundreds of Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings from her husband Theo, Vincent’s brother. The paintings are worthless at that time, but Jo is determined to continue the work of her husband and bring them to the attention of the world. By her side is Claire, a prostitute who was friends with Theo, who also was one of her clients. Claire befriends Jo, and together, they battle to make Van Gogh’s paintings valued and appreciated.
The writing is masterful, and the first person narratives in both timelines are gripping. Interestingly, the setting in this novel differs from the setting in her previous novel, “The Sicilian Inheritance.” In Sicily, the main characters encounter prejudice and misogyny in both timelines, but the focus is women helping each other. In “The Parisian Heist,” while we see the general prejudice against women working in the historical timeline, in the present time, Emma and Stella and the other women are empowered and strong. They do help each other to right wrongs and uncover crimes that have enriched an evil man.
The central focus of this novel is about art, fine art, and what the appreciation of art means for the human condition. One of the issues that both Jo and Emma face, in the past and present, is the truth that Jo explains is a lesson from Theo, “Demand makes an artist, demand and scarcity.” So selling art and making an artist famous is as much about psychology as it is about brilliance in painting. And in the present, Emma realizes that dealers often hold onto pieces knowing that in time, those pieces will appreciate in value and even be considered more valuable because of the fact that they have been held in secret for years. Everyone wants the piece of art that is most exclusive, the piece that no one else has.
The theme of art and money brings to mind Fredrik Backman’s recent novel, “My Friends,” in which he posits that art should be for everyone, not just for the ultra-wealthy, locked away in mansions that few are invited to visit. Piazza writes, “Art is money and money is art.” And in the art world, as she points out in this novel, female artists and male artists are not equal. While male artists who struggle and fight their demons to create passionate, brilliant works of art are lauded, women are not afforded the same respect. Can you imagine a woman who cut off her ear being hailed as a brilliant artist and not just a kook? And as in the past, women painters, no matter how talented, are not given the same respect as their counterparts with different genitalia.
The writing is not only gripping and engrossing, it’s lovely. Emma’s thoughts on seeing the Mona Lisa are that, “She’s well protected from every possible threat — human breath, bacteria, bullets. If only hearts and bodies could be so carefully preserved.” But we human bodies aren’t, and Emma’s background, with a father who abandoned her and her mother, and a mother who struggles with her mental health, make life almost unbearable at times. She’s relying on her association with Stella to change all that. This heist and Stella’s plans could change the course of Emma’s life. If only she can trust Stella.
There are twists and touching turns, and we root for the sorority of women collaborators to come out unscathed and triumphant at the end. Piazza’s writing is superb, and this is a novel that will resonate with women and men — art lovers or not. There’s just so much that is well done, from the Paris and Amsterdam settings to the excerpts of letters by and to Vincent Van Gogh, from the history of dealing art to the current undercover movement of art by crime bosses as a method of laundering money. Book clubs will be discussing this novel and its implications for hours.
This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.