Join a book club that is reading The Secret Life Of Sunflowers: A gripping, inspiring novel based on the true story of Johanna Bonger, Vincent van Gogh's sister-in-law (Light & Life Series)!

Book Bangers

We are an older girls reading group. We all read the same book once a month and we all put books in for consideration. We are an online and write our reviews and post and then comment on each review.

Learn More

The Secret Life Of Sunflowers: A gripping, inspiring novel based on the true story of Johanna Bonger, Vincent van Gogh's sister-in-law (Light & Life Series)

By Dana Marton and Marta Molnar

ADD TO MY SHELVES

Recommend book

When Hollywood auctioneer Emsley Wilson finds her famous grandmother's diary while cleaning out her New York brownstone, the pages are full of surprises. The first surprise is, the diary isn't her grandmother's. It belongs to Johanna Bonger, Vincent van Gogh's sister-in-law.

Johanna inherited Vincent van Gogh's paintings. They were all she had, and they weren't worth anything. She was a 28 year old widow with a baby in the 1800s, without any means of supporting herself, living in Paris where she barely spoke the language. Yet she managed to introduce Vincent's legacy to the world.

The inspiration couldn't come at a better time for Emsley. With her business failing, an unexpected love turning up in her life, and family secrets unraveling, can she find answers in the past?

ADD TO MY SHELVES

Recommend book

BUY THE BOOK

404 pages

Average rating: 7.05

126 RATINGS

7 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

Write a review...

DawnMcDermott

Apr 24, 2024

This book found it's way to my hands at a time that I needed it so much! These strong and courageous women didn't give up, they didn't let fear win, and they kept moving forward even when it was hard! The information I learned about van Gogh was an added bonus! Great read!

GymnasticsFan

Feb 19, 2024

8/10 stars

Whether you love historical fiction, impressionist painters, strong women, or a combination, this book is for you. Loved it.

Salem rainbow

Oct 11, 2023

7/10 stars

Interesting premise, but I think it could have been written better. I wouldn’t call it gripping.

minnie052457

Jun 24, 2023

5/10 stars

Started off well, but it got kind of boring about half way through. I liked the character Jo a lot, but not so much Emsley. Basically, I thought there wasn't much subtlety there. When the characters were sad, they were WAY over the top crying. Just too much.

VeraF

May 10, 2023

3/10 stars

“Emsley” portions read like a teen romance novel. Historical content was interesting but a bit schmaltzy and incomplete. I learned more on Google. And why does the author use so many pseudonyms?