Critical Praise

“I loved I AM YOU in a way that’s different from other books I have loved. Victoria Redel masterfully evokes the rich period of Golden Age Amsterdam and the centrality of its artists. Against this vivid and brilliantly detailed backdrop, the story of a female painter and her assistant comes to life, captivating us with its insights on time, art, sexual politics, class, women’s rights, and how we tell and retell our histories. It is spellbinding, wonderfully atmospheric, and impossible to forget.”

—Sarah Jessica Parker, SJP Lit

“I AM YOU is that rarest of novels, a story of ferocious insights into the human psyche and the drive to create art, coupled with twists and turns that grab you from the beginning and don’t let go until the end. It’s a stunning accomplishment.”

—Michael Cunningham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of DAY and THE HOURS

“A lush, sexy, absorbing novel that brings to life two artists who are inextricably linked in passion and competition. Redel is a master storyteller whose exquisite prose held me rapt. A profound achievement.”

—Melissa Febos, author of THE DRY SEASON and GIRLHOOD, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award

“A propulsive, sensuous feast.”

—People

“[A] transporting epic of making art and love.”

—Booklist

“Sensuous... Readers will relish this memorable portrait of two fiercely independent women.”

—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A novel that combines a seventeenth-century atmosphere with a twenty-first-century sensibility.... [Redel’s] characters’ nuanced, complex relationship is terrific [as] they intertwine on multiple levels of secrecy and closeted identity.”

—Kirkus

“With clean lines and bright colors, Victoria Redel has put the life into still life, giving us a portrait of Holland at the height of its glory --- and an unforgettable picture of the erotic, entangled, tragic nature of art itself.”

—Benjamin Moser, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of THE UPSIDE-DOWN WORLD: Meetings with the Dutch Masters

 “Victoria Redel draws on what little is known of Maria van Oosterwijck’s life to craft a beautiful tale of extraordinary women making their own way in ordinary times.”

—Book Riot

“An epic tale of love, self-discovery, and artistic identity inspired by the life of painter Maria van Oosterwijck.”

—Library Journal

“Sensual, thought-provoking, and unforgettable... Redel excels at sensory and imagistic writing, particularly in the thrilling qualities of color, inks, paints, and pigments, and revelatory art.”

—Shelf Awareness