The Last Painting of Sara de Vos

By: Dominic Smith

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

This is what we long for: the profound pleasure of being swept into vivid new worlds, worlds peopled by characters so intriguing and real that we can't shake them, even long after the story's told.

In this extraordinary audiobook, The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, Australian writer Dominic Smith brilliantly bridges the historical and the contemporary, tracking a collision course between a rare landscape by a female Dutch painter of the Golden Age, an inheritor of the work in 1950s Manhattan, and a celebrated Australian art historian who painted a forgery of it in her youth.

In 1631, Sara de Vos is admitted to the Guild of St. Luke in Holland as a master painter, the first woman to be so honoured. 300 years later, only one work attributed to de Vos is known to remain - a haunting winter scene, At the Edge of a Wood, which hangs over the Manhattan bed of a wealthy descendant of the original owner.

An Australian grad student, Ellie Shipley, struggling to stay afloat in New York, agrees to paint a forgery of the landscape, a decision that will haunt her. Because now, half a century later, she's curating an exhibition of female Dutch painters, and both versions threaten to arrive.

As the three threads intersect with increasing and exquisite suspense, The Last Painting of Sara de Vos mesmerises while it grapples with the demands of the artistic life, showing how the deceits of the past can forge the present.

©2016 Dominic Smith (P)2016 Macmillan Audio USA

Ok, but terrible Australian accents

The story is very convoluted and hard to follow. Some aspects were fascinating, I could have had a lot more of Sara De Vos and her life. Others were simply bizarre. I was not convinced by the motivation for the forgery and I found Martin’s behaviour both inexplicable and horrible.

The narrator was interesting. His general narration was spot on. Pacing, pronunciation, accent, all good. EXCEPT his Australian accents were appalling. As an Australian I can honestly say I’ve never heard an Australian accent that sounds like that. I don’t know what it was but it wasn’t Aussie. In fact, the description in the book where the detective couldn’t identify the accent and said it could be Australian or South African or Boston seemed to be the inspiration for the accent. Not pleasant to listen to.

Watch out for the South African Aussie accent

Great story moving back and forward through time. Great art descriptions as part of the narrative. But as an Australian the Australian characters accents were terrible. I had to keep making them South Africans in Australia.

Great book

A beautiful book, but the narrator really should not have attempted an Australian accent. As an Australian myself I guessed the character was South African, and was halfway in to the book before the frequent allusions to Sydney sunk in. Once I realised the accent was *supposed* to be Australian it grated for the rest of the book, ruining the sense of place for the parts set in Australia. I would have preferred that the narrator didn't even attempt the accent. If you're Australian, maybe read this one on paper/ebook and skip the audio.

Streuth Bluey, does that Aussie come from Jo'burg?

Interesting story that I have had recommended to me - they read the book, did not listen to it.

I am only half way through it and am enjoying the story very much but there is a huge issue. The Australian characters sound like South Africans who have an Irish mother! This is terrible narration, or at least, a terrible choice of narrator for this story. It's all kind of weird and distracting and every time I hear one of the Australians talk I get bounced out of the story.

Did the (Australian) author have any say in this? I always presumed the authors would be consulted but I just cant see how this might be the case in this instance.

Distracting appauling "Australian" accent.

What did you like best about The Last Painting of Sara de Vos? What did you like least?

I am so annoyed with the extremely poor "Australian Accent" that Eduardo Ballerini puts on that I have stopped listening in order to put in my first review. I wish he had not done any accents and had just read it with his American one. This is distracting enough for a non-American as it is, but to have an incompetent accent foisted on one while listening is extremely annoying. He seems to think Australians and South Africans/ New Zealanders have a similar accent. I am South African so I know that accent , and I live in AU so I know that one! Please do not let him do any accents again. in fact, it would be nice to have all books read by an English speaking person, rather than an American speaking person.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

His total inability to do Australian accents. He did a horrid and bad concoction of South African and New Zealand instead. OH DEAR!!! Give us no accents if not properly done!and give us English actors please.

Great Story

Would you consider the audio edition of The Last Painting of Sara de Vos to be better than the print version?

I really enjoyed the Audible version, but I think it's really a book to read - there is so much rich description.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Marty, because he was so decent.

Did Edoardo Ballerini do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes, largely through accents and tone. The Australian accents were a bit dodgy sometimes, and found Ellie's diffidence in early New York scenes a bit wearying ... but particularly liked his Marty - and narration really good.

Who was the most memorable character of The Last Painting of Sara de Vos and why?

Sara and Ellie's final scenes - so poignant

Better late than never

I've come to this book late and I'm so glad I did. It is beautifully written with masterful story-telling. The narration was really listenable until Edoardo Ballerini came up against the American narrator's wall of nightmares: the Australian accent.
Just don't do it! Don't attempt. It was only the strength of the narrative that kept me hanging in past the South African-as-Australian abomination. Try to imagine the torture of an Australian trying to attempt a Brooklyn twang or a New Orleans patois - only the most skilled will get away with it.
Note to all US narrators - don't even bother with an Australian accent. Cockney doesn't cut it and South African is an insult. Just use your normal voice, we'll understand.