Sarah Emily Miano must be obsessed with scrapbooks. Like her first novel, [b:Encyclopaedia Of Snow|73953|Encyclopaedia of Snow|Sarah Emily Miano|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1356456607s/73953.jpg|71550], Miano uses the notion of fragments - to better effect - in her second novel, "Van Rijn".

A young publisher meets the ageing Rembrandt Van Rijn, and attempts to penetrate his inner circle. The novel wanders between timeframes, gradually uncovering the inner workings of our middle-class narrator, the varied people of his milieu, and, ultimately, the enigmatic artist himself. Parts of the novel are in relatively straightforward narrative; others are scattered diary entries from Rembrandt's unique mind; still others are excerpts from poems or thoughts of those on the fringes of the story.

Miano has expertly breathed life into her characters, to the point where the parables they tell and phrases they use struck me as straight from the history books, even as I began to realise that they were - for the most part - made up entirely. All of the characters are fascinating, but it is Rembrandt himself - tortured by age and loss, yet clinging on to his lustful, jovial youth, and always inspired by further aesthetic ambitions - who is most fully realised. As we view him from within and without, the icon becomes a man, yet remains suitably ambiguous nonetheless.

"Van Rijn" is an odd novel, stylistically unusual, and often academic in its discussion of the creation of art. Yet it works, because Miano conjures up an entire era, immersing us into the world of Rembrandt's Amsterdam, with the often tortured, yet always beautiful thoughts of the protagonists. Enchanting. ( )

This book didn't work for me, I found it it endlessly rambling, unfocused and confusing. ( )

Rembrandt, zijn privéleven en de wereld om hem heen in het Amsterdam van de zeventiende eeuw, gezien door de ogen van Pieter Blaeu, zoon van de kaartenmaker. ( )

This is a most creative interpretation of the life and work of Rembrandt, the Van Rijn of the title. The author is only in her early thirties but the scope of her research, her imaginative use of the information, is breathtaking. Slow read, but worth the effort. ( )

The price tag is usually indicative of the market appeal that any given book will command: generally, the more highly priced, the smaller and more specialised the reader base. Adequately written and interesting though Van Rijn may be, given the above criteria, I suspect it has priced itself below its target market. Even for non art lovers or historians, this novel is an enticing journey into the past, well observed and researched, and providing a tour of the alternative artistic life of the 17th century. ( )