| Gabriel Viejo is writing the approved biography of Erik von Holunder, one of the greatest painters of the twentieth century, albeit currently less in vogue. When he travels from London to New York to interview Christie McGraw, the artist’s muse and mistress, he finds her living in a trailer park and unable to afford the cancer treatment she urgently requires. |  |
Nevertheless, Christie remains alluring and Gabriel soon falls under her spell. When she asks for his help in selling a lost masterpiece, he finds it difficult to refuse. Although technically the painting belongs to von Holunder’s wife, Christie convinces him that morally it is hers. Plus there’s a potential buyer ready and waiting if they can get to him quickly enough, and Gabriel’s commission will release him from a financial fix.
It should be straightforward. Naturally, it isn’t.
This is a cleverly crafted novel in terms of both prose and plot, guiding the reader through the murkier depths of the art world and the classier hotels. It contrasts the commercial and artistic value of creativity and challenges the objectification of the male gaze.
It’s a book that deserves to be a bestseller but, published by small press Lightning Books – like my own publisher, Inspired Quill, a minnow in the marketplace – is unlikely to become one. I imagine that the parallels between the economics of visual art and the book trade are not lost on this author.
It should be straightforward. Naturally, it isn’t.
This is a cleverly crafted novel in terms of both prose and plot, guiding the reader through the murkier depths of the art world and the classier hotels. It contrasts the commercial and artistic value of creativity and challenges the objectification of the male gaze.
It’s a book that deserves to be a bestseller but, published by small press Lightning Books – like my own publisher, Inspired Quill, a minnow in the marketplace – is unlikely to become one. I imagine that the parallels between the economics of visual art and the book trade are not lost on this author.
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