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The Strawberry Girl

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The Strawberry Girl

By: Lisa Stromme
Narrated by: Jo Woodcock
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Brought to you by Penguin.

Summer 1893, and the Norwegian fishing village of Åsgårdstrand is preparing for the arrival of well-to-do guests and bohemian artists from the city. Local girl Johanne Lien dutifully gathers berries for tourists and poses barefoot for painters as ‘The Strawberry Girl’.

Johanne becomes a maid for the wealthy Ihlen family, whose wayward daughter Tullik recruits her as a go-between in her pursuit of the controversial painter Edvard Munch. Before long, Johanne is drawn into the raw emotion of Munch’s art and his secret liaison with Tullik. But when she is asked to hide more than just secrets, Johanne must decide whether to take the risk…

Lisa Stromme brings alive the tumultuous love affair that inspired one of the most famous paintings of all time, in a vivid and bewitching story of innocence, creativity and desire.

© Lisa Stromme 2016 (P) Penguin Audio 2016

 Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Science Fiction Romance
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Critic reviews

A tale of lost innocence, the power of art and the pain of love
Bewitching debut novel… It’s a vivid, intoxicating blend of fact and fiction, desire and creativity. If you’re passionate about art, you’ll love it – and if you didn’t think you were remotely interested in it, you will be by the end of it
An altogether painterly book, full of vividly evocative scenes (Anthony Gardner)
A lovely, poignant, evocative novel. Delicious
The raw power of colour is emphasised again and again (Cath Sell)
Lusciously atmospheric, nuanced and wonderfully readable (Jini Ready)
This is a creative mix of fact, and fiction and readers should find themselves swept up in this intriguing story. Art lovers will adore it and those that know nothing about art will wish they knew more. (Jennifer McShane)
All stars
Most relevant

Where does The Strawberry Girl rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

"The Strawberry Girl is quite possibly one of the best audio books I've listened to so far this year; I found myself unable to put the book down.

What did you like best about this story?

Firstly, I liked the way each chapter opened with a quote from Gerta's theeory of colour; it was rather like watching a verbal painting unfold, and it also meant that Johanne's character was given additional depths. The story itself was well crafted with an ending that wasn't too neat.

Have you listened to any of Jo Woodcock’s other performances? How does this one compare?

This is the first time I've listened to a performance by Jo Woodcock. Initially, I found her narration slightly dull, so it didn't necessarily do justice to Stromme's writing, although I was able to finish the book.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I found the book extremely moving. At times, I found myself getting slightly frustrated with Johanne (the narrator), as she was unable to stop herself from being embroiled in her mistress's wreckless schemes.

Any additional comments?

This was a brilliant debut novel; I'll definitely be reading more novels by Lisa Stromme in the future.

The Strawberry Girl — an art lover's dream

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