A Piece of the World: A Novel

A New York Times bestseller.

"Exquisite. A must-read.” --Kristin Hannah

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the smash bestseller Orphan Train, a stunning and atmospheric novel of friendship, passion, and art, inspired by Andrew Wyeth’s mysterious and iconic painting Christina’s World.

"Later he told me that he’d been afraid to show me the painting. He thought I wouldn’t like the way he portrayed me: dragging myself across the field, fingers clutching dirt, my legs twisted behind. The arid moonscape of wheatgrass and timothy. That dilapidated house in the distance, looming up like a secret that won’t stay hidden."

To Christina Olson, the entire world is her family farm in the small coastal town of Cushing, Maine. The only daughter in a family of sons, Christina is tied to her home by health and circumstance, and seems destined for a small life. Instead, she becomes Andrew Wyeth’s first great inspiration, and the subject of one of the best-known paintings of the twentieth century, Christina’s World.

As she did in her beloved bestseller Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline interweaves fact and fiction to vividly reimagine a real moment in history. A Piece of the World is a powerful story of the flesh-and-blood woman behind the portrait, her complicated relationship to her family and inheritance, and how artist and muse can come together to forge a new and timeless legacy.

This paperback edition includes a color reproduction of Andrew Wyeth’s painting Christina’s World, along with a Q&A with the author, and a bonus short story, “Stranded in Ice.”

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Published Jan 30, 2018

352 pages

Average rating: 7.5

76 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

DaphneGT (Zibby's Book Club)
Apr 25, 2022
8/10 stars
A beautiful story of Wyeth's world.
Anonymous
Oct 25, 2024
8/10 stars
Loved this book and the storyline.
Anonymous
Sep 01, 2024
10/10 stars
Simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming.
DaileyBean
Aug 14, 2024
8/10 stars
Such a talented historical fiction writer!
margardenlady
Dec 27, 2023
8/10 stars
Very insightful story imagined about the subject of Andrew Wyeth's most famous painting. I loved the careful characterizations for our primary, Christina. Even the supporting characters were lovingly developed. The realities of living with an infirmity (a degenerative polyneurophathy) are sensitively described and we all witness the bravery that exacts from all her family and friends. The nuanced work of an artist is also fleshed out in a manner approachable even by someone with with no art experience.

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