The Secret Life of Sunflowers (2025)

Written in a dual timeline, The Secret Life of Sunflowers follows Emsley Wilson in current day and Johanna van Gogh-Bonger in the late nineteenth century.

Emsley Wilson is mourning the loss of her famous painter grandmother Violet Velar. At the same time, Emsley is at a watershed moment in her personal life. Will Emsley find answers while sifting through her beloved grandmother’s possessions?

In the nineteenth century timeline, Johanna van Gogh- Bonger is a widow attempting to honor her late husband while trying to eek out a living in a cruel world. Will she be able to accomplish what her husband could not?

Although I am an enormous fan of Vincent van Gogh and utterly adore Starry Night, this book is mediocre at best and could have used a bit of stardust.

Starting with the prose—it is overly simplistic and underwhelming, reading mostly in the style of the mystery/thriller genre than historical fiction. Sadly, this method of writing wasn’t effective.

My goodness gracious! The problems were far too easy. For example, a decades-long mystery was laughably resolved after a few minutes on Google. If your rent is overdue, just walk around with your brother who will happen to be carrying around enough cash to instantly pay all arrears in full. Unfortunately, this is sloppy writing.

In a similar vein, the foreshadowing was extremely heavy handed to the point that the reader knows exactly how the book will unfold.

Furthermore, these characters were underdeveloped and flat. Where were their glorious backstories? They didn’t feel like real, complex human beings, just weak caricatures of tired, banal cliches. For example, in the very first chapter, we are told that Trey cheated on Emsley…..but why should the reader care? We don’t see the relationship develop, and we don’t have any flashbacks to their glory days.

Did this story move my soul and is written on the very fiber of my heart? No. But it does check a few boxes. The Secret Life of Sunflowers has some strong female characters and features an artist who I love, but it wasn’t enough to redeem the storytelling.

How much I spent:
Softcover text – Free from the Baldwin Public Library
Audiobook – 1 Audible Credit (Audible Premium Plus Annual – 24 Credits Membership Plan $229.50 or roughly $9.56 per credit)

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I read this book in one sitting and actually said OUT LOUD “THAT WAS FANTASTIC” when I got to the end. What a fascinating story meshing the lives of two women who lived a century apart. The book shifts between the stories of two very different women, Johanna who lived in the late 1800’s in Holland and Emsley trying to get her new business off the ground in L.A. today. Being a different genre then I usually read, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was emotionally invested in both of their lives practically from page one and I couldn’t stop turning the pages until these compelling stories eventually were woven together perfectly toward the end. Brava Marta Molnar and congratulations to all who decide to pick up this book and give it a read – you will be so happy you did! I strongly recommend this book for book clubs. It’s so relevant for today and after I finished this book I just wanted to talk about it with everyone around me. The strong women, the challenges for women in the past vs. the challenges we still face today and so much more. The history, the romance and the pure fun too. Excellent read!
Marta Molnar is a new pen name for author Dana Marton. After you fall in love with this book, do yourself a huge favor and read her other books. You will have discovered a new favorite author.

The" author's note" reveals historical fiction is not her forte. "I don't write stories based on true events." . . . . . "I write genre fiction: fantasy, romance, suspense." Molnar should probably stick with "genre fiction." I was disappointed in this novel--based on the true story of Van Gogh's sister-in-law, Johanna Bonger--champion for her brother-in-law, Vincent, as well as for her husband, Theo. I learned more about this interesting and groundbreaking woman in a New York Times article than I did in her entire book.

Molnar alternates Jo's story with that of a totally fictional character, Emsley, in contemporary NYC.
Through a series of coincidences, she ends up with Jo's diaries. We're supposed to see the parallels between these two women and their struggles (mainly perceived low expectations of women) and resilience, a la" I am woman; hear me roar." She would have been better off focusing on Johanna's true story. Emsley's story takes on the tone of Molnar's usual genre: An unlikely mystery/romance novel. Emsley's story only interrupts and distracts from Jo's more compelling and important story.
Typical prose: "His sad smile could have made angels weep an entire spring's worth of rain." Yikes

I have to say this is a bit of a detour from my normal reading genres but then again, I am not sure what genre this would be called. It is a bit of history, a bit of historical, some contemporary romance, a touch of historical romance and it all combines a riveting story of love, tragedy, devotion along with a touch of comedy inserted in just the right times. The combining the true story of Johanna Bonger, combined with the contemporary story of Emsley Wilson is done exceptionally well and while their stories are not the same the struggle against immense odds is the core of this novel and the endings are near perfect. You will want to laugh, cry and at times just scream for the injustice of their lives but it makes success that much sweeter. 5 Stars for a story I was not sure I would even like that turned out to be a book I could hardly put down.

The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Marta Molnar was a captivating historical fiction novel about two very strong and determined women. It was written in a duel time line with chapters that alternated between these two women who lived almost a hundred years apart from the other. Marta Molnar focused her extensive research on the life of Johanna Bonger, the sister-in-law of Vincent Van Gogh. Johanna Bonger had married Vincent Van Gogh’s brother, Theo. Her story took place in a small village in Holland in the late 1800’s and then in Paris after her marriage. Emsley lived in present times. She lived on the west coast but was in New York City visiting her elderly grandmother. Emsley’s grandmother was in a nursing facility when she suffered a fatal stroke. Her grandmother had initiated the sale of her Greenwich Village property before her death. Emsley had offered to pack up her grandmother’s possessions and get the house ready for the sale. While Emsley mourned the death of her grandmother and was going through some of her grandmother’s things she discovered a journal among her grandmother’s possessions. The journal appeared to be written by someone named Johanna. Curiosity drove Emsley to read the journal. What was her grandmother’s connection to Johanna and Vincent Van Gogh? Emsley wished she could question her grandmother about what she was reading in the journal. Had her grandmother hoped that Emsley would find the journal and read it?

The Secret Life of Sunflowers was Marta Molnar’s first attempt at historical fiction. I hope she continues to write other historical fiction books. Her research was impressive and I enjoyed how she was able to weave the stories of Johanna and Emsley together seamlessly by the conclusion of the book. The Secret Life of Sunflowers focused on the challenges both women faced in their personal lives and with their attempts to achieve their goals in the workplace during the late 1800’s and in present times. Marta Molnar was able to draw similarities between Johanna and Emsley. Both women set difficult goals for themselves. They had both lost loved ones. Johanna had suffered the loss of both her brother-in-law, Vincent Van Gogh and then her husband, Theo. Emsley had suffered the loss of her beloved grandmother. Both wanted to accomplish what seemed like an impossible task and were not willing to accept defeat. Both persevered until they were met with favorable results. Unfortunately, women still face many of the same challenges Johanna and Emsley faced. It is time for women to be recognized on their own merits. They should be seen as equals to the men they are competing with. Author, Marta Molnar, also did an exemplary job portraying the mental health issues that both Vincent Van Gogh and his brother, Theo, suffered from.

I had never heard of Johanna Bonger before I listened to the audiobook of The Secret Life of Sunflowers. There were so many aspects about her that I admired which included the life she chose to lead. It was refreshing to learn that Johanna’s marriage to Theo was based on love, respect and a strong belief in one another. Johanna Bonger and Emsley were women that I strongly felt a connection with and rooted for them to succeed. I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook of The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Marta Molnar and highly recommend it.

The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Marta Molnar. Dual time line. One from 1800’s Vincent Van Goghs life. Another recent. They felt like separate stories. Emsley’s grandmother Violet dies and she is left to her estate and a diary. I found Van Gogh’s story easier to get into until his death. I just didn’t feel invested in the story. I did learn a lot about Van Gogh. I knew about his ear. But I did not know more about the artists life story aside from being a great artist

I surprised myself at the interest I had in this story. I do not have a fascination for art. But for some reason, the fact that this story is based on a true story, grabbed my attention. At first, the chapter changes from past to present to past to present was difficult for me to catch on. Probably because I started reading late at night. But once the characters grabbed a hold of me, I found it difficult to decide when to stop reading. In the present or in the past? Either way, the story was most captivating.
I am most in awe when I read a story that you know the author has done much research, not just depending on their own creativity to craft a story. This is quite evident throughout the story, only to have it confirmed in the Author's Note.
I have read books by this author under another Pen Name. I applaud her for stepping away from her comfort zone to write a different genre and with so much heart. This work deserves more than the maximum five stars allowed.

A fabulous book with VERY STRONG female characters.

Johanna Bonger is wooed by Theo Van Gogh and eventually marries him. Theo is the younger brother of Vincent Van Gogh and idolizes his older brother. After the deaths of the Van Gogh brothers, Johanna dedicates herself to making Vincent's paintings known and appreciated by others. Because... when Vincent died, noone thought his paintings were worth the canvas they were painted on!!! We know how that changed and primarily because of the persistence of Johanna Bonger

Emsley Wilson is a present day character. Her grandmother is Violet Velar, is a fiesty lady, and a famous painter. Violet has never revealed who the father of Emsley's mother, Anna, is. The mystery of Emsley’s family history figures prominently in the novel. Emsley owns an auction house with her former boyfriend, Trey, and his new girlfriend, Diya (who used to be Emsley's best friend). Oh what tangled webs we weave.

The themes of this book are as follows:

The Impact of Mental Illness
Much of the conflict surrounding Johanna stems from her brother-in-law’s and her husband’s mental illness.
Gender Norms and Expectations for Women
Both Emsley and Johanna face conflicts because of the societal limitations placed on women and the limiting notions of women’s abilities.
Perseverance Through Adversity
Much of the novel’s conflict is driven by characters’ plights to overcome obstacles that stand in the way of their goals.

And a quote worth sharing

“‘Do you think I shall ever accomplish anything?’ [Johanna] asked her [mother]. ‘Will history remember my name?’

‘What nonsense. The purpose of a woman’s life is to ensure that her husband is happy.’ Her tone tipped, gently lecturing as she picked up the embroidery again. ‘Women are like the canals, steady and calm, the supporters of life. Men are like barges traveling to the seaports, having adventures and collecting their treasures. Wives are to husbands what canals are to barges. Important. Life in Amsterdam wouldn’t be possible without the canals.’”
(Chapter 2, Page 21)
Johanna longs to make a difference in the world and contribute something meaningful. Her mother, however, adheres to tradition and tries to deter Johanna from violating the gender norms. Johanna will ultimately make a meaningful contribution by ensuring that her brother-in-law’s art is known to the world.

Strongly, strongly recommend. There is much fodder here for Book Club Discussion tonight.

5 stars

Overhyped. Ordinary not very interesting stories. Don't know how this managed to get do much praise.

As an artist, I was very anxious to read this book. I did enjoy the part of the book focusing on Johanna Bonger, wife of Van Gogh’s brother, Theo. She was an amazing woman, ahead of her times. She was educated, multi lingual and relentless in protecting and promoting the work of her brother in law, Vincent. The book did a good job of telling Johanna’s story within the context of historical fiction.
Then there was the other half of the book with a fictitious contemporary main character. That half was boring, unbelievable and predictable causing my two star rating. The girl, Emsley, somehow had to handle her grandmother’s death and sale of the house, even though Emsley’s own mother was very much alive. She left her job and cheating boyfriend, kept a chicken (really) in a Greenwich Village home and continued with other ridiculous scenarios, while she tried to find out if her grandmother was a Van Gogh descendent .

Possibly the worst book I’ve read to date. It is not nonfiction. And the writing is unreadable. I had to read it for a book club. The reviews that have been posted online and on Amazon are all identical (down to the word) which makes one think that something is amiss.

No rating. This is writing in a flip and snark voice that I just cannot imagine spending any more time upon. Absolutely not my cup of tea the level of dialogue from the very beginning. Ugh! Got to page 4 and made this a DNF. Neither NYC or LA is my reality. Let alone this exact type of narrator voice.

Very disappointing read, after doing some research it does make complete sense that this author primarily writes romance. Not knocking romance novels, but that style of writing made this subject matter appear weak, uninteresting, and unbelievable.

My biggest issue lied with the present part of the novel, with Emsley. I found her to be rather obnoxious, whiny, judgmental, and hypocritical. Her apparent “bestie” shacks up with her boyfriend (and she continues to live with them?!?), and when she dumps him at the end they reconcile as if nothing happened. I call BS. For a novel that was so pro woman and female empowerment, it seems rather stupid to have a woman who backstabbed you come back and all is forgiven. Somehow it was the man’s fault and the friend just made a mistake…it takes 2 to tango.

Which leads me to another complaint…she goes to New York to get away from everyone and focus on dead grandma and her business. But the first thing she does is get horny for the lawyer!! Then without even knowing him casts judgement on him as a pig who is an adulterer because he has a ring on. And then when all is cleared up she is back to being immediately horny for the guy.

She was very unlikable and a terrible protagonist. The chicken was beyond idiotic and her whole premise was a waste. Don’t even get me started on the senator who was the rapist, and how Emsley discovered it was him from an INTERNET SEARCH OF PICTURES FROM THE 50s!!!! I mean come on, so stupid and improbable.

Joanna was the only slight redeeming part of the book, I just wish the writing had been better so that I might have enjoyed it more. Doing some research there was some things left out of Jos story, that I think the author was ill-equipped to write about.

I read this for a book club…which I will be chastising them for picking this mess, at our next meeting!

Molnar had a great idea to use the real-life Johanna van Gogh-Bonger for a historical fiction story. Mrs. van Gogh-Bonger made famous her late brother-in-law Vincent's paintings by translating his letters to his brother Theo. Molnar also added an alternating story of modern-day Emsley and of her drive to save her idea of an auction house business that also would be able to raise funds for charitable work.

The ideas are great--the execution I felt was lacking. At several intervals I left the book to hop on to Wikipedia or to the Van Gogh Museum's websites to furnish factual information so that I could understand the fictional tale. I looked up some biographies on Johanna and Theo that I may want to read to fill out my curiosity about their lives.

Emsley drove me crazy a little bit. She was facing complex issues for example, the buyer for her grandmother's brownstone backed out, thus forcing the estate to go in probate before a new sale could occur and the working out of the problems just fell into place so quickly and so conveniently. Molnar obviously wants to drive home the ideals of women's empowerment, strength, independence, etc. in her character Emsley but to be that way Emsley has seemingly everything handed to her or she's "rescued" by Bram

I hope Ms. Molnar keeps writing and would love to see her develop as an author with her future books.

4.5. I found this book about Vincent Van Gogh’s sister-in-law absolutely fascinating. And right after this review I’m going to go down the rabbit hole researching the sister-in-law to see about facts vs fiction. This is a historical fiction book but for me the sign of a great historical fiction book is one when I’m done I want to read more about the event or the people the book was about. This is one of those books.

I loved the strong female characters and the way they fought for their independence and beliefs.

You do not have to be a lover of Van Gogh or really even art to love this book.

Story would have benefited by omitting that chicken!!!!

Dual timelines can work well when both time lines are compelling. Neither are in this book! Not much happens in Johanna's and Em's is a sub-par love story with little--to-no character development. I didnt even learn that much about Van Gough.

I have read several other books by this Author under a different pen name and I must say this is her best book to date. She intertwined the storyline of 1890 Johanna and modern day Emsley beautifully as both women struggle with starting over after losing a loved one. This book will make you laugh and cry. I loved Emsley's grandmother Violet. I want to be like her.

I love Vincent Van Gogh's paintings and this was a fascinating tale of what happened after he died. There's also a current day narrative, which was interesting, but I found myself wanting to know more about Johanna Bonger. It's historical fiction, but very close to true events.

I was excited to read this book because of the story of Joanna Van Gogh and her fight to get Vincent Van Gogh’s art recognized. However, I was so disappointed. In the author’s notes, she writes that publisher after publisher rejected this book. I understand why. The writing is horrible. Cringey and painful to read. After reading for a bit, I had to look up the author. I should have known she’s an author of romance novels. I give it two stars because of Joanna’s story. I wish a writer of literary non-fiction like Erik Larson had written this. It’s a story worth knowing and I’d love to really learn more about Joanna and her efforts. Luckily, the estate has now released her diaries. I would suggest reading those rather than this.

Great premise but the writing couldn’t support it.

A book club selection; I wanted to love this book as the premise was interesting. I made it to chapter 4 and had to leave this one. To be fair, while I’m a huge fan of historical fiction, romance is not my genre but it is the normal genre of the author. Additionally as a lifelong artist, I’ve read more than my share of artist biographies & art history.

I rated it so low because it seemed the author was trying to make this book into something that her type of storytelling is not suited for. It was too fluffy yet painfully stiff, the jokes fell flat, and there just isn’t enough history.

One of the main characters is a contemporary auctioneer and while I appreciate the angle, there seemed too much focus on this character, and her storylines were sometimes a sidetrack, creating a loss of focus on Vincent’s sister-in-law, which I thought discrediting to Johanna’s story.

If you are looking for a light fluffy non-diverse read this might suit you but don’t expect to learn a lot. If you are a serious consumer of the arts this will likely be a disappointment. I think I’ll look for the NYT’s article that another reviewer mentioned that has more historical info about Johanna than this book does.

3.25 ⭐️s

Ugh, the dreaded diary narrative device! Why, oh, why do protagonists drag out reading these?

If an ailing relative gives me a diary that solves a mystery, I’m going to prioritize reading it, not just fit in an entry here or there over weeks!

The true story behind this dual timeline novel is its most compelling aspect. I had no idea that Vincent van Gogh's sister-in-law, Johanna, played a crucial role in ensuring the world saw his work.

Bringing Johanna’s story to light is what makes this book worth reading. I just wish the good writing in the author’s note was present throughout the book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Prior to reading this piece of historical fiction, I had not heard of Johanna Bonger. She was married to Theo Van Gogh, who was Vincent Van Gogh’s brother. As most people know, Vincent Van Gogh suffered with mental health issues, and died from a self-inflicted gun shot wound in 1890. This book is based more on the life of Johanna, and her short-lived marriage to Theodore Van Gogh, who, according to the book also suffered from mental health difficulties and died while under psychiatric care in a psychiatric hospital. Interestingly, a Wikipedia article on this aforementioned brother states “his medical notes confirmed he presented all the symptoms of dementia paralytica, a disease of the brain caused by syphilis.” It is also well known that Van Gogh was quite the struggling artist. His work did not gain renown until several years after his death, in large part because of Johanna’s efforts.

The novel is presented on a dual timeline with the chapters alternating between Johanna’s diary and a totally contemporary fictional character, Emsley. She is in New York because her beloved grandmother is there, in a facility due to her health issues. Grandma dies early on in the story and Emsley finds Johanna’s diary amongst her grandmother’s possessions. Emsley owns her own “niche auction house” but unfortunately she is partnered with her ex boyfriend and her ex’s current girlfriend who used to be Emsley’s good friend. So in alternating chapters we learn about Johanna’s difficulties and subsequent efforts on Vincent’s behalf and Emsley’s settling her grandma’s estate and finding a way to buy out her business partners. If you suspect there’s a new boyfriend in her future you might be right!

ATY Goodreads Challenge - 2023
Prompt #19- A book related to the arts

Having visited the Vincent van Gogh Museum last August, I was aware of who Johanna Bonger was and her role in bringing van Gogh's paintings to light. I however, did not realize the obstacles she faced and her "never quit" attitude.
This book intrigued me from the beginning and I found it difficult to put it down. I found the storyline for Emsley to be lighthearted and yet relevant. Both Johanna and Emsley (as well as her grandmother, Violet) faced "it's a man's world" and achieved success in their own way.

Highly Recommend

What a difference a century makes!

Two storylines a century(ish) apart reimagine Vincent Van Gogh's life using available facts - and the retelling engaged me thoroughly. As a fan of Vincent, and his beautiful sunflowers, I didn't have to work to stay in the story of Emsley Wilson who is an auctioneer. She is one of the lucky ones - a grandmother has left her property, and a diary is found.

Therein lies the second timeline - that of Johanna van Gogh, Vincent's sister-in-law, and the real reason any of us know as much as we do about this man. The diary, of course, is Johanna's.

A trip into the past, into Vincent's world view, his pains, and worries as only the wife of his beloved brother would know. The things we know about family members, even ones we don't know well, are seen within the family veil, the unspoken but very real bonds that ties us together - and Johanna holds fast to all that is Vincent, fighting for him, for his work, for his art.

Her loyalty and fierce determination are caught in amber in this retelling. Including Emsley as a contrast showing life now, possessing far more freedom, agency and power to evoke change in even the simplest tasks to the many limitations, social, economical and logistical, of Johanna's life was a good reminder to today's readers. (For one, that they are readers!) They have so much more than Johanna, Theo and Vincent did. . .yet with the determination of that one lone woman, Johanna van Gogh, Vincent's brilliance yet abides. With.Us.Now.

4 Sunflowers! [read: stars]

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres - that Molnar is typically a romance author didn't affect my opinion of her or her writing, especially as I enjoy reading romance every now and again.

Molnar's writing was engaging, her story unique, and her characters interesting; however, she could have used some editing help in regards to some grammatical errors, as well as maintaining a cohesive and relevant storyline. There were many scenes that I wished had had more depth to them - for example, when Trey asks Emsly to take him back, the interaction takes all of about three paragraphs before shifting directly to Emsly being needed by Strena as a model for her art show. Another example being Emsly's confrontation of Violet's sexual assaulter; the scene was roughly one page and didn't seem to add to the storyline or Emsly's character development. It felt like Molnar included some scenes and interactions that could have involved more introspection by her characters rather than acting as plot filler.

Also, while the romance between Emsly and Bram was fun, it felt a little stiff; Bram, while a lawyer, had somewhat formal and unbelievable lines.

Overall, I thought this book was interesting (I was surprised by how quick I read it!) and I enjoyed learning about Johanna Bonger, but The Secret Life of Sunflowers could have used a little more work.

This was another If-it-wasn't-for-book-club-I-would've-DNFed. This book has very high praise but I'm not sure why. I found every character flat and boring. The modern day plot was cliche left and right and overall poorly written. I've also read this exact same book under the title The Lost Apothecary. I liked hardly anything about this book, the only aspect I liked were the little glimpses of Van Gough's life but those were far and few between; what an absolute snooze.

In the author’s note, she indicates that this was rejected 19 times. Reader, I know why – the writing is not quite up to snuff and the story was filled with ridiculous coincidences, but the dual timeline story of Van Gough’s sister-in-law was interesting enough to pull you through

I recently read The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh and wanted to follow up with a book about Jo, who was Vincent's sister-in-law. This novel is only half about Jo... it is a dual timeline novel so chapters alternated between Jo and Emsley, a thoroughly modern young woman who was cleaning out her grandmother's home in NYC and reading a diary that appears to have been written years earlier by Jo.

Jo is of great interest to me because she's the one who inherited almost all of Vincent Van Gogh's paintings. When he passed away he was an emerging artist who had barely started getting recognition in the Paris art community. His brother, Theo, supported him and was given all of Vincent's art in exchange, which he then tried (mostly unsuccessfully) to sell. But then Theo passed away only about a year after Vincent did, leaving all the art in Jo's hands.

I liked the chapters about Jo in this novel. I did not appreciate the chapters about Emsley nearly as much. If you're looking for a lightweight romance of a young woman in NYC you might like it. But I found that there were some elements that were too risqué and worldly for my liking.

Her romance with a handsome lawyer proceeded far too quickly //in my opinion// and I couldn't understand the inclusion of one pet chicken. Was that for comic relief? And the celebrated artist who created performance art by coating naked women with sugar was a bit over-the-top for me. I really only wanted to learn about Jo, so all these other elements seemed unnecessary to me. Your mileage may vary.

Cleanliness factor: 85% ... there is no foul language or violence. Sex scenes were not explicit but did there really need to be sex scenes and naked women covered with sugar? I think I'd have liked a more level-headed Emsley. Despite being a good auctioneer and business woman, she apparently had little good sense when it came to relationships with men.