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The Portrait |  | Author: Iain Pears
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Category: Book
List Price: $13.00
Buy Used: $0.42
as of 9/3/2010 08:37 PDT details
You Save: $12.58 (97%)
Seller: snowlionbooks
Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 216444
Media: Paperback
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5 x 0.6
ISBN: 159448175X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781594481758
ASIN: 159448175X
Publication Date: April 4, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9781594481758 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
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Product Description
An art critic journeys to a remote island off Brittany to sit for a portrait painted by an old friend, a gifted but tormented artist living in self-imposed exile. The painter recalls their years of friendship, the gift of the critic's patronage, and his callous betrayals. As he struggles to capture the character of the man, as well as his image, on canvas, it becomes clear that there is much more than a portrait at stake...
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
Good dramatic monologue. June 26, 2010
Old Latin teacher (USA)
I recently read Pears' most recent work, STONE'S FALL, and thoroughly enjoyed it. His AN INSTANCE OF THE FINGERPOST captivated me some years ago and his art history mysteries are a fun, light read. But I had never read THE PORTRAIT until now. It is unlike his other works, as it is a short (211 small pages) dramatic monologue, with everything you read narrated by and from the viewpoint of painter Henry MacAlpine, who directs his words to art critic William Nasmyth, as the latter sits for a portrait. Theirs is a long relationship, revealed through the painter's words, and the book's ending is not to be missed. This type of dramatic monologue has intrigued me since my high school reading of Robert Browning's poem MY LAST DUCHESS. The same feeling of mystery and menace is here in Pears' prose. It's a short, worthwhile read.
 Wonderful. But don't read it. February 9, 2010
Bic (Illinois, USA)
Iain Pears deserves all of the praise he gets. An Instance of the Fingerpost--what a book. The Portrait is well worth reading, also. But may I suggest NOT reading it? Listen to it instead.
Not all books lend themselves to dramatic readings. Some are ruined by it. But Simon Vance's reading of the The Portrait is perfect. Yes, that's the word I meant to use. Perfect.
It's hard too judge whether I would have enjoyed the book on the page as much as I enjoyed it read aloud. But my guess is, as good as the book is on its own merits, Vance breathed extra life into it--and from the very first line: "Well, well, well."
A view to an announced murder September 14, 2009
Maria Teresa Cibabene (Gavi, Italie)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've found this novel very interesting and deep. And very unique, I must add: there is only one acting character, the murderer. From the very beginning you know this man, a former famous painter now a sort of a hermit, will kill his model, a powerful art critic. There is no described action, only the monologue of the painter talking to his model while painting his portrait. Through his words we get knowledge of his personal story, from his hopeless childhood in Scotlands to his arrival to London, then to Paris, and then back to London. We meet other characters, always through the painter's narrative, and apprehend how the critic toyed with their hopes and lives, leading a couple of them to a miserable death. When the portrait is finished, the painter kills this hideous man. You'll never know whether he manages to get away with it, or has to pay for his crime. Nevertheless, it's not an amoral novel: it's aim is to look below the surface and expose the cruelty of apparent do-gooders.
The language is accurate, with deep remarks about the condition of women at the end of the XIX century, the development of friendship and hate, guilt and innocence, the structure of colours, the significance of light and sea to human life.
An awesome book!
Good book July 21, 2009
Sixx chick (MA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is the first book I have read by this author, and I am happy to say I really enjoyed it. Yes, it is strange-the whole book is one character's view. There is no dialogue. Even so, I really found myself wanting it to go on. There is history of art thoughout the book, which I found very interesting. Overall, I recommend this book!
I agree: Pears IS fabulous! December 26, 2008
Marianne
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I just finished "The Portrait" and am now reading "An Instance of the Fingerpost." Pears was recommended to me by a retired Stanford professor who knew I was trying to write historical fiction. "The Portrait" was the first book of his that I read, and I found it a fascinating exercise in voice-driven narrative. The ending was completely un-anticipated (in a good way). Now, having started "An Instance of the Fingerpost," I admire Pears all the more because the two books could not be more different.
I adore a writer who takes risks. He is brilliant.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
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