As in any fiction, the quality of a novel depends largely upon its characters seen in the round and presented in the process of growth, development, and change under stress. Van Gogh is one of these characters. Stone skillfully reveals Van Gogh's frustrations, desires and ill health, as well as the limited successes in his own life time. The artist's character is elaborately worked out on one level where the reader understands his problems and realizes that in addition to epilepsy, Van Gogh suffered torment, frustration, and subsequent nervous breakdowns which included his cutting off an ear and shooting himself. The reader further discerns the artist's relationship to his work as Van Gogh visits and paints universal man in his own surroundings, including the coal mines, the fields, and towns. Because Stone brings reality to his pages, the reader envisions Van Gogh's genius, his ability to bring reality...