| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"this is a more personal and philosophical work than his [Perez-Reverte's] other books" (HERALD )
"moral debate forms the substance of this atmospheric novel" (DAILY TELEGRAPH )
"The debate between artist and subject lies at the heart of this very continental contest of wits" (INDEPENDENT )
"moral debate forms the substance of this atmospheric novel" (DAILY TELEGRAPH )
"The debate between artist and subject lies at the heart of this very continental contest of wits" (INDEPENDENT )
Irish Examiner
"it rewards perseverance and there are a lot of hidden nuggets"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
"He was referring to a previous life, and that did not please Faulques at all" - 3.5 stars
3 Feb 2008
Format:Hardcover
Let me preface this review by sharing that I am a huge Perez-Reverte fan and have read almost all his books, most of them in the original language. If I had to define what I like about this author, I would say that his main strength lies in writing entertaining novels while using elegant prose and delivering a well-thought-out message. Therefore, he caters to many people. Those that are looking for literary fiction are usually satisfied, as are those seeking a captivating plot. Sadly, with this novel, the author falls short of the mark established by his previous works. At times I felt like I was reading the "normal" Perez-Reverte and enjoyed it immensely, but in other portions I think that the author lost his way and went into long passages that bored me.
Maybe the fact that the novel carries a loud and clear message against war, explains why Perez-Reverte got a little more serious in this work and forgot a little about keeping the reader entertained. I felt almost as if this novel was a cathartic exercise, since the writer has similarities with the main character, the ex-war-photographer turned painter, Andres Faulques. Perez-Reverte worked for years as a journalist, and in that time covered many armed conflicts between 1975 and 1994, and then he decided to start writing books. It is not hard to see the parallelism. If you want to read a great work about his experiences as a war journalist and you can read in Spanish, I wholeheartedly recommend you to seek "Territorio Comanche".
Going back to the novel at hand, when we find Ivo Markovic show up at Faulques' house and informs him that he is going to kill him, we get the sense that this is going to be a fast-paced thriller. Nothing could be further from the truth, since the work turns constantly to long reflections by Faulques about his experience in the war and how the environment can affect human behavior and led people to act in terrible fashion. There is also a mea culpa by the painter in the sense of not having done much to stop the madness, and once again, this makes us wonder if this is a reflection of Perez-Reverte's feelings.
Even though this work was disappointing, one cannot disregard the fact that this author's writing style is among the best and that the message and overall plot presented in the novel are worth reading about. It is a shame that parts of it are so boring.
Maybe the fact that the novel carries a loud and clear message against war, explains why Perez-Reverte got a little more serious in this work and forgot a little about keeping the reader entertained. I felt almost as if this novel was a cathartic exercise, since the writer has similarities with the main character, the ex-war-photographer turned painter, Andres Faulques. Perez-Reverte worked for years as a journalist, and in that time covered many armed conflicts between 1975 and 1994, and then he decided to start writing books. It is not hard to see the parallelism. If you want to read a great work about his experiences as a war journalist and you can read in Spanish, I wholeheartedly recommend you to seek "Territorio Comanche".
Going back to the novel at hand, when we find Ivo Markovic show up at Faulques' house and informs him that he is going to kill him, we get the sense that this is going to be a fast-paced thriller. Nothing could be further from the truth, since the work turns constantly to long reflections by Faulques about his experience in the war and how the environment can affect human behavior and led people to act in terrible fashion. There is also a mea culpa by the painter in the sense of not having done much to stop the madness, and once again, this makes us wonder if this is a reflection of Perez-Reverte's feelings.
Even though this work was disappointing, one cannot disregard the fact that this author's writing style is among the best and that the message and overall plot presented in the novel are worth reading about. It is a shame that parts of it are so boring.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Those, like me, who are familiar with Perez-Reverte's "literary thrillers" or swashbuckling adventure stories will find a beast of a different color in this latest book. Simply put, it is not an entertainment (in the Graham Greene sense), nor is it intended as such. Rather, the book is a rambling dialogue on the nature of war and mankind. Part of this dialogue is between Falques, a 50-something photojournalist turned painter and a former Croatian soldier who has come to kill him. Another part of the dialogue occurs in flashbacks between Falques and his then model-girlfriend, as they skulk through war zones taking photos. And a third part of this dialogue takes place within Falques himself.
The problem is that the vast majority of this dialogue is tedious in the extreme. Just to give a taste, I'll flip to a random page...OK...how about this from page 130: "Nothing will truly be what it is until the unfeeling Universe wakes like a sleeping animal, stretches its legs, stirring the skeleton of the Earth, yawns, and takes a few random slashes. Do you realize that? Yes, of course you do. Now I understand. It's a question of geological amorality. Of photographing the useful certainty of our fragility." Now, if you like that, great -- because there are passages like that on almost every page. Personally, I find this kind of writing a grind to get through and had to force myself not to skim.
This is not to say the book is entirely one note. Perez-Reverte used to work as a war correspondent, and his descriptions of the photographer at work in various war zones is outstanding both in terms of mood and detail. It's hard not to read the book as a very personal meditation on Perez-Reverte's part, almost as a form of therapy in an attempt to grapple with the horrors he must have seen and then dispassionately reported on. This leads down some rather familiar roads, most notably the question of whether or not the observer of violence (or let's just say evil) is complicit in the act simply by witnessing it. Some may be drawn into this discussion, but I found it far too tedious (and at times pretentious) to connect with. For those who are art lovers, there is also ton of discussion of very famous painters, their war-related works, and their techniques -- none of which resonated with me.
Personally, I like a bit of plot in my fiction -- and there isn't any here. There's some tension in terms of whether or not the Croatian is actually going to kill Falques, but it kind of feels like more of a red herring, a lure to ensure the reader continues on with the book. And the excellent portions about the war zones are simply not worth wading through all of Falques' meditations on his girlfriend and their time together, nor the art of war, nor his own role in any of it. I'm sure others will take more from the book, but it simply isn't my cup of tea.
The problem is that the vast majority of this dialogue is tedious in the extreme. Just to give a taste, I'll flip to a random page...OK...how about this from page 130: "Nothing will truly be what it is until the unfeeling Universe wakes like a sleeping animal, stretches its legs, stirring the skeleton of the Earth, yawns, and takes a few random slashes. Do you realize that? Yes, of course you do. Now I understand. It's a question of geological amorality. Of photographing the useful certainty of our fragility." Now, if you like that, great -- because there are passages like that on almost every page. Personally, I find this kind of writing a grind to get through and had to force myself not to skim.
This is not to say the book is entirely one note. Perez-Reverte used to work as a war correspondent, and his descriptions of the photographer at work in various war zones is outstanding both in terms of mood and detail. It's hard not to read the book as a very personal meditation on Perez-Reverte's part, almost as a form of therapy in an attempt to grapple with the horrors he must have seen and then dispassionately reported on. This leads down some rather familiar roads, most notably the question of whether or not the observer of violence (or let's just say evil) is complicit in the act simply by witnessing it. Some may be drawn into this discussion, but I found it far too tedious (and at times pretentious) to connect with. For those who are art lovers, there is also ton of discussion of very famous painters, their war-related works, and their techniques -- none of which resonated with me.
Personally, I like a bit of plot in my fiction -- and there isn't any here. There's some tension in terms of whether or not the Croatian is actually going to kill Falques, but it kind of feels like more of a red herring, a lure to ensure the reader continues on with the book. And the excellent portions about the war zones are simply not worth wading through all of Falques' meditations on his girlfriend and their time together, nor the art of war, nor his own role in any of it. I'm sure others will take more from the book, but it simply isn't my cup of tea.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A little different from most of his other work (that I have read). A fairly intense character study of an ex-war photographer and the moral questions that one would expect to arise from a review of his working life forced by a confrontation with a victim/soldier he once photographed. Some fairly graphic descriptions of the atrocities of war. Not one for light reading on the beach but intense and written in Perez-Reverte's own style of swirling memories that usually conjure the images he conveys. I can clearly see the lonely tower, the immense painting and the Painter's unshaven, chainsmoking visitor...
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
"The Painter of Battles"
One of the most unusual stories I've read in ages. I hated to put it down when I had other things I needed to do. The Chicago Tribune called Perez-Reverte "... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Twisto
Close, but no cigar
I'm a fan of Perez Reverte - Seville Communion, Fencing Master, Queen of the South: top reads - but he's trying just that bit too hard with The Painter of Battles. Read more
Published on 6 Oct 2009 by R. D. Schofield
Literature, to be Sure
The painter of battles the book is about is one Andres Faulques, once a famous photographer who took photos of wars. Read more
Published on 4 Mar 2009 by Maggie Mae
cliched contrived pretentious and flat
I very rarely give up on books -- unless they are very bad. I gave up on this one
Published on 27 Jan 2009 by Barton Keyes
A masterpiece
This is probably Arturo Pérez-Reverte's best and most autobiographical novel and one of the best novels published in Spain in recent times, a beautiful, well-crafted,... Read more
Published on 22 Oct 2008 by A. Grohmann
Not one of his best...
I'm a big fan of Perez-Reverte, but this book is a poor effort. The main female character in the book comes out with such utterly pretentious drivel that you will be gritting your... Read more
Published on 11 Jun 2008 by ToneFloat
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
