Five Photos of My Wife - Brossura

Desarthe, Agnès

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0007100914 ISBN 13: 9780007100910

Casa editrice: Flamingo, 2001

Riassunto

The English debut of a bestselling novelist, kin to Penelope Fitzgerald and Louis Begley in style and subtlety.

At 80, Max Opass is still reeling from the death of his wife a year earlier. His two grown-up children live abroad with their own families, his son in Bolivia, his daughter in Japan: he writes awkwardly to his daughter with the news of his humdrum activities and tells her that he’s decided to have his wife’s portrait committed to paper or canvas, permanently and posthumously. So, he looks up ‘Artists’ in the Yellow Pages, picks a few for arbitrary reasons, and calls them up. He asks each if they will paint a portrait of his wife, using his five favourite photographs of her for their sole visual reference. One artist – successful and modish – intimidates him; another – an amateur raising kids by herself – prompts him to pity; a pair of art students baffle him; and a bridge-playing acquaintance turns out to have elderly hots for him. Each encounter, each portrait, is both comic and moving, like Max. As these accumulate, the reader comes to realize that Max’s grasp on who his wife really was is not so sure after all. Nor indeed is he a star of self-knowledge. Through a sequence of droll confrontations, his and our understanding expand, and by the end of the book he finds his priorities and intentions have altered utterly. And the reader is brought, quietly and slyly, to an appreciation of loss, memory, love and the uselessness of false images. The book oscillates calmly between being amusing and being reflective, and delivers a powerful slow punch at its close.

Agnès Desarthe began her writing life as a children’s writer, and it shows here: as in Gretta Mulrooney’s Araby, not a word is wasted and the pace is even and sure. In its sympathetic but unsentimental portrayal of a deluded old man, the book is reminiscent of Louis Begley’s work. And in her dry wit, exquisite ear for conversation and reverberating sense of more being meant than at first seems apparent, there are echoes of Penelope Fitzgerald or Hilary Mantel.

Su questo libro

L'autore:

agnes desarthe is a prize-winning author of children’s books, and has published three books for adults, of which Five Photos of My Wife is the latest.

Dalla quarta di copertina:

Max Opass is still reeling from the death of his wife Telma. His two grown-up children live abroad with their own families, his son in Bolivia, his daughter in Japan: he writes awkwardly to his daughter with news of his humdrum activities and tells her that he's decided to have Telma's likeness committed to canvas, permanently and posthumously.

To start with he looks up 'Artists' in the Yellow Pages, picks a few at random, and calls them up. He proceeds to ask each if they will produce a portrait of his wife, working from five snapshot photographs of her for reference. One artist – successful and modish – intimidates Max; another an amateur raising kids by herself – prompts him to pity; a pair of art students baffle him; and a bridge-playing acquaintance turns out to have the elderly hots for him. Each encounter is moving and comic all at once – like Max.

The reader comes to realise that his grasp on who his wife really was perhaps is not so sure. Nor indeed is he a star of self-examination; the memories that poke up out of the snows of his past are often too sharp and painful to hold his gaze. Through a sequence of droll confrontations, his and our understanding expand, and by the end of the story Max finds that his priorities and intentions have altered utterly. And the reader is bought, quietly and slyly, to a new appreciation of loss, memory, love and the uselessness of false images.

"Full of charm and imagination."
ELLE

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Flamingo
• Data di pubblicazione: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0007100914
• ISBN 13: 9780007100910
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 176