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Katherine Reay

A Portrait of Emily Price Audio CD – CD, 28 February 2017

by Katherine Reay (Author), Kate Rudd (Reader), Brilliance Audio (Producer)

89 ratings

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Emily Price, art restorer and would-be artist, finds herself in Atlanta, restoring objects recovered from a house fire. As she strives to make all the pieces of her life fit, she finds herself enthralled by chef Benito Hillam, who is in town from Italy visiting his brother Joseph, Emily’s boss. Ben spends his time working to restore his aunt and uncle’s restaurant and wooing Emily. When she surprises herself and accepts his marriage proposal, Emily follows Ben home to Italy. Emily is transported into a new world, but instead of allowing Italy to change her, she tries to change Italy, alienating Ben’s tight-knit Italian family in the process – everyone, that is, except Ben’s father, Henry. The elderly man takes Emily under his wing, and she begins to transform, growing wings as Italy’s beauty begins to take hold of her spirit, and her art and life begin to blossom. But when long-hidden family secrets are unearthed and past hurts become fresh again, Emily is left to wonder whether she really fits into Ben’s world. Will the lessons of Italy become just a memory to Emily, or will she embrace the freedom and beauty that her life with Ben has shown her is possible?

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Product details

Publisher : Bolinda/Brilliance audio; Unabridged edition (28 February 2017)
Language : English
ISBN-10 : 1536631574
ISBN-13 : 978-1536631579
Dimensions : 14.6 x 2.8 x 13.4 cm

Customer Reviews:
89 ratings

Product description

Book Description

Katherine Reay's newest novel, A Portrait of Emily Price, transports readers to Italy where one woman will learn what it means to be truly free.

About the Author

Kate Rudd was born and raised in coastal West Michigan. Her lifelong love of storytelling led to a career in acting and vocal performance. Winner of the 2013 Audie and Odyssey Awards for her narration of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, Rudd is a multiple Audie Award finalist and recipient of several Audiofile Magazine Earphones awards. Kate has narrated over 250 titles across a variety of genres, including young adult, romance and fantasy.

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Heart-warming, tender, and poignant

Reviewed in Australia on 27 November 2016

This is the kind of novel for which you clear the calendar. Seriously. Even if you don’t aspire to sit down and read the book from start to finish in one sitting, take care of any potential distractions before you open its pages so that you can give yourself over totally to basking in the imagery, the ambiance, and the emotions of the story for however long you are able to indulge at one time. Yes. This book is THAT good!

If, like me, you aren’t a fan of insta-love, don’t let that deter you from picking up this novel. This is not a story of insta-love – or even insta-lust for that matter. From the moment they whisper the same Italian word – ‘Aiuto’ (help) – it is as though Ben's and Emily’s souls recognize one another and connect. More than that, their hearts instinctively understand each other, and far from being cheesy or sappy or unrealistic, watching them totally melted my heart. I’m telling you, if you don’t believe in love at first sight, you will at least accept that there are exceptions to the rule by the time you finish this novel! But it's also realistic about the challenges they face as they begin their life together, and the way they handle those challenges is part of the beauty of this story.

The story is narrated in the first person by Emily Price, a twenty-eight year old conservator who has always felt like a paler, less vibrant version of her younger sister, Amy – until she meets Benito Vassallo. And I just have to say, I’m more than a little in love with Ben myself! He is a true romantic, but not in the over-the-top way that is the Italian stereotype. He is gentler, more sincere, and yet still brimming with the vitality for which the Italian people are known. And his accent! Bellissimo! It sang from the page!

Like all good books (and paintings, as Emily points out!) this is a richly layered novel, full of symbolism, beautiful subtext, and an exploration of the emotional significance behind Emily’s professional and personal drive to fix things that are broken. Emily sums it up well when she narrates:

“As I lay in the dark, a line from a book read long ago ran on repeat through my mind: An ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure . . . The author had been striving to understand vice, sin, and addiction. I lay there grasping for peace and yearning for something more.”

For Emily, peace has always come through fixing things:

“Objects carried weight, and in fixing those, I found one could mend so much more.”

But how do you find peace when things are beyond your ability to fix?

Katherine Reay's writing captures the soul of Emily’s journey with the skill of a master artist. It is heart-warming, tender, and poignant. Open its pages, and allow yourself to feast.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not influenced the content of my review.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Excellent

Reviewed in Australia on 23 December 2016

A Portrait of Emily Price is Katherine Reay’s fourth novel, and all have similarities. They’re all contemporary, yet with a strong nod to literary masterpieces of yesteryear. They all feature strong characters, especially the flawed heroines from messy backgrounds trying to find their way in the world. If Katherine Reay’s were young adult novels, they’d probably be called coming of age, but they’re definitely not YA—the themes are definitely grown-up.

They’re character-driven novels. The plots often meander, especially in the beginning, and it’s only when I finish the novels that I realise how all the threads have been pulled together. Yes, the writing is outstanding.

But that leaves me with a dilemma every time I come to start a new Katherine Reay novel: will it measure up to my memories of the previous story?

Well, I’m pleased to report that A Portrait of Emily Price measures up, and more. The beginning was a strange mix of slow and fast. Fast, in that Emily and Ben meet and fall in love so quickly, but slow in that we’d almost reached the halfway point before Emily arrived in Italy … which you might think is a spoiler, except that it's in the book description. Don’t you just love it when the book description is a plot summary rather than a teaser? No, nor do I.

As suggested in the book description, the story really hits its stride in the second half, when Emily arrives in Italy. It’s as though the first half is all the back story and set up necessary for us to understand Emily’s actions and reactions in Monterello, because it was here we got to see Emily change—and it was great to see.

A Portrait of Emily Price isn’t specifically Christian fiction. There is no conversion, and while the Vassallo family are obviously all Roman Catholic, there is little to hint that their faith is separate from their small town Italian culture. Yet there are hints, especially in Emily’s conversations with the town priest, and in the underlying themes of acceptance and forgiveness.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

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Jules

No Jane Austen

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 November 2017

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I really didn't like this book at all and I'm amazed at the reference to Jane Austen. I certainly won't be reading anything else by this author

Alice

Creativity, true love, and pasta.

Reviewed in the United States on 6 January 2017

Verified Purchase

When an art restorer and an Italian chef get together on a renovation project, the results are lots of creativity and support, true love, and pasta.
Katherine Reay creates settings that are realistically flawed- even broken- and tackles the challenge of guiding her characters through them on a journey to find purpose and belonging past their work, lifestyles, and shortcomings, ultimately back home to their families in a beautiful and touching way.
As I did with "Dear Mr. Knightley", the best way to give an overall review of a work like "A Portrait of Emily Price" is with words; words like inspirational. Cultural. Bookish. Artistic. Flowing. Tasteful. Authentic. Vibrant. White on white. Cappuccino. Loyalty. Murals. Vespa. Architecture. Classic. Pizza. Traditions. Sisters. Family. Feuds. Forgiveness. Acceptance.
Restoration.

9 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

“Francesca sported a perfect American accent--one that stretched flawlessly from Chicago to Seattle

Reviewed in the United States on 19 February 2017

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“Francesca sported a perfect American accent--one that stretched flawlessly from Chicago to Seattle, dipping down through Colorado rather than passing up near the Canadian border.”

This…this is why I loved Katherine Reay’s Book, A Portrait of Emily Price. These characters are friends to me, now. Emily simultaneously broke my heart and warmed it with her instinct to fix everything, whether it be a pan with a loose handle or a teenager whose home Emily was restoring from a fire, whether it was her sister or her mother-in-law. I don’t do spoilers, but this instinct to fix things comes from Emily's childhood, and it is the very thing that brings her family to a boil. And solves their problems, in a way, ultimately through faith and family. I loved watching the art come out of Emily the way pizza came out of Ben, pasta out of Donata, and bread from Lucio.

And that’s the thing. Often in a Hallmark movie, a character has a job…something artsy or community-service oriented in some way. But the writers/actors fail to make that a real part of who the character is in their core. It’s kind of a token designation that a character is a florist or a poverty lawyer or whatever.

Reay has no such failure! The artsy, fix-it side of Emily, the food-and-family side of Ben made them who they are, and it made the story what it is. I want to be frowned at by Donata, fed by Ben, help Emily fix something, given a book by Lucio, watch Joseph paint. These are people I feel like I know. This is a family whose Sunday Dinners I want to join.

I was surprised not to find myself in Atlanta or Italy when I had to look up from the book…Oh, the field of sunflowers! I wanted to go sit there until they turned my direction. I want to go truffle hunting with their dog.

But the story of Emily and this family stopped my heart in places, as it frequently stopped Emily’s heart, left her not knowing what to do, panicked. As warm as these people are, as close as they are…the secrets buried in this family are heart-breaking. And heart-warming.

It’s that kind of book.

So what did I not like about A Portrait of Emily Price? The end. I literally flipped the page on my Kindle, desperate to read more, not conscious I had reached the end. But it was over. Reay does not tell us what happens with Joseph (oops, almost committed a spoiler there). She leaves us hanging, having to think it through for ourselves. Heart-warming. And heart-breaking.

Yep. It’s that kind of book.

11 people found this helpful

Rissi

'A Portrait of Emily Price': A Classy Masterpiece

Reviewed in the United States on 5 October 2020

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*STORY: Fixing things, whether broken or not, is Emily Price’s van Gogh. As an art restorer she’s passionate about righting anything that is “wrong” and anyone that hurts. From swooping in save her sister from her flighty behavior patterns therefore saving her from herself, to perfecting her work as a restorer, she likes projects. Her latest job takes her to Atlanta where two things happen. First, her life changes for the better… and coinciding with this euphoria is when everything falls apart. It’s Atlanta where she meets, Ben, an Italian chef who sweeps Emily off her feet. Their whirlwind romance leads them to Italy where Emily discovers long buried secrets in Ben’s family that changes everything.

*REVIEW: Believe me when I sincerely say the following: the skill with which Katherine tells each of her stories impresses me like none other. The writing, the storytelling, and the characters surpass every checklist you want a fictional story to checkmate. Her skills embody precisely what stellar fiction should. This story, Katherine’s latest is one I read as a read along with blogging friends, and the experience is richer for it.

Aside from the writing and skill that goes into every one of Katherine’s novels, the unique markers of them are the literary nods each one carries. This one is no different. Jane Austen’s Emma is easily recognizable in A Portrait of Emily Price. What I adore so much about these books is their balance of the two entities. Reay knows how to uphold the integrity of the classics without sullying them, blending, without altering, into them her own story. All of which she does with the greatest ease. For the reader, this comes off as if its an effortless marriage of these two presenting subjects. What’s so special about this novel in particular is its titular character, Emily Price.

Her flaws aren’t suppressed or hidden, and the first-person voice exposes these in such a beautiful way. The turmoil, heartbreak, romanticism and joy of this story are indescribable entities to put to paper. Emily’s “need” to “fix” something that’s broken is a compulsion that she underestimates and ironically, is taught to correct by people who don’t really know her. Emily’s journey is one that inspires, and compels the reader to take a look at our idiosyncrasies and wonder if this is how we view life. All this said and I’ve not even touched on the amazing character of Ben. There’s so much to say about him, and yet putting it down on paper seems so impossible. In a single paragraph (in the first five pages), he walks into Emily’s (and our) life, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll be a goner. With that, I feel enough has been said.

Reay’s novels are impossible to talk about in the manner they deserve. They’re the kind of stories that beg to be re-read seconds after the final page because there’s simply no way one reading allows its reader to truly absorb all of its nuances. Classy. Smart. Endearing. Beautiful. All of these adjectives and more are inadequate to describe the worth this story has, but they come closest. Solid storytelling, brilliant relationship and character building (complete with starry eyed romance), and memorable joy in the smallness of life come together like the greatest masterpiece on a gallery’s wall to form A Portrait of Emily Price.

Sincere thanks to the publisher for providing a complimentary copy of this book.

Disconnected and Disappointing

Reviewed in the United States on 14 April 2019

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I absolutely loved Reay's book Dear Mr. Knightley and have read it twice. I enjoyed The Austen Escape and The Brontë Plot, even though I noted a distinct lack of Christian faith and practice although the books are labeled Christian fiction. But truly for me, Reay's book, A Portrait of Emily Price was a dismal disappointment and I rated it only a 2.9. Katherine Reay has shown herself to be a creative and interesting writer, but this book just seemed very disconnected and disjointed.

Emily marries Italian chief Ben after knowing him for just two-weeks. She has no premarital counseling; she doesn't know anything about his faith or his family. In fact, we do not know if this couple has a personal relationship with the Lord or are just twice-a-year church attenders. Throughout the remainder of the book religion is identified with an activity that of going to church or being in church.

This book has many interesting story-lines that could have been developed and used to strengthen a real sincere and living faith, but it was not. Could this be the intent of the publisher? From now on, I will have to consider whether I should classify Reay's books under Christian Fiction, when they seem to fit much better under contemporary fiction.

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