A fable, a nightmare, a vision, a mystery - superbly rich imaginative fiction at its best
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...this deeply engaging book defies all labels. -- Guardian, September 2003
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
New York, 1893, and society portrait painter Piero Piambo feels his artistic ambition waning, even while he immortalizes the city's nouveaux riches in oil paints. But then he receives a bizarre and lucrative commission to paint the mysterious Mrs Charbuque. The catch is that he is not allowed to see her, and so Piambo sits before a screen as his sitter tells him of her life, dreams, and fears -- clues from which he must divine her visage. As he works, a series of murders plagues the city -- deaths that at first seem accidental. And, as Piambo's masterpiece takes shape, his relationship with Mrs Charbuque grows ever more tangled while her deranged husband becomes hell-bent on some inexplicable vengeance.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
MUCH TO my unease, Mrs. Reed positioned herself, all evening, beneath or immediately to either side of her new portrait. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
MUCH TO my unease, Mrs. Reed positioned herself, all evening, beneath or immediately to either side of her new portrait. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When this grabbed me, I then polished it off in a day. It's a tale half a step away from the real world, just beside the territory of Bram Stoker and Poe (similarly mannered style) where sympathetic magic might work, or might not. I also kept expecting Jack the Ripper to step out of an alley way. It was evocative of that world. The book is full of distorted iconography and wonderful knowing humour: "Put me down for the nose," he said. "A truly ingenious economy of paint." (just one of many examples), the macabre, and the erotic (and the scatological). I'll be reading more of his stuff.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By David Martin
Format:Paperback
This is an outstanding piece of fiction. I really wish there were more writers like Ford in the business. Wonderful prose, delicate lyrical style. And very thoughtful, too. Kept your mind working - a rarity for many books these days, isn't it? Will be buying some more of this man's books.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This novel sparked my imagination from its first pages. As the painter, Mr Piambo, laboured to capture the likeness of his invisible -and possibly mad - patron, Mrs Charbuque, I found myself urgently making my own mental portraits of her, as if to beat Piambo to the goal. Ford writes cleverly without being pretentious, and maintains real suspense throughout the book. I couldn't put it down - and will never be able to smell nutmeg without fond memories.
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4.4 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing more than average
I am honestly quite surprised at all the 5 star reviews this book got. I've read all of the Physiognomy trilogy by Jeffrey Ford which are excellent, which is why I decided to get... Read more
Published on 23 May 2011 by Geff Daley
5.0 out of 5 stars
gothic mystery
Piambo is an artist commissioned to paint a woman he is not allowed to see. If he pulls this off, he will earn so much money he will forever be able to pursue his artistic muse... Read more
Published on 4 May 2009 by Rubbah
5.0 out of 5 stars
A mysterious comission
In New York of 1893, painter Piambo is suffocating. He's forced to paint society portraits of the nouveaux riches in order to make a living. Read more
Published on 8 Oct 2007 by Mikko Saari
5.0 out of 5 stars
A mysterious and suspenseful read!
I purchased this book mainly because I only really read historical fiction, and was captured by the opening sentences as I perused it in the shop. Read more
Published on 18 July 2006 by FAMOUS NAME
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