Long after finishing this book I thought back to Heller's protagonist and various vivid settings.
I was hooked by The Painter's main protagonist Jim and his point of view. He has a painful history he's trying to accept and get past, but sometimes darkness seeps into his thoughts and threatens to crush him. When he moves from the art scene of Santa Fe to rural Colorado to fly fish and paint, he hopes to regain some peace of mind too. There's introspection and the calm of creating works of art, but also a brush with more brutality that spurs Jim to action--and leads to unwelcome adventure.
I didn't fully connect with some of the extended discussion of the processes of creating paintings, but long after finishing this book I thought back to Heller's various vivid settings.
The story also feels like it could make a powerful movie.
Any Bossy thoughts about this book?
I'd put this one at 3.75 stars.
Heller also wrote The Dog Stars, a dystopian story I was head over heels for and gave five stars, as well as The River, an adventure and friendship tale that I found captivating.
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