Review: The Man in the Picture, by Susan Hill

The Man in the Picture is a small book. As in, it’s only 142 pages, and its trim size, according to Amazon.com, is 6.9 x. 4.5’’. It’s more of a short story than a novella. Therefore, it only took me about an hour to finish.

The story revolves around an 18th century painting, of a scene at Carnevale in Venice, and the deep, dark secrets hidden within. The Man in the Picture has four narrators. One is Oliver, a medieval scholar. The second is his old professor at Cambridge, Dr. Parmitter. The third is the Countess, and the fourth is Oliver’s fiancé, Anne. This is a tale of revenge and obsession, and it works to a certain extent. However, the story is so short that there’s very little room for character development. The story and the method of telling the story aren’t very original—Hill has used it several times in her ghost stories (The Woman in Black comes to mind). And you could see the ending coming from a mile away. Still, I enjoyed the premise of this little ghost story, and I definitely recommend reading it on a cold autumn day.

Also reviewed by: A Life in Books, A High and Hidden Place, Tripping Towards Lucidity

Comments

Michelle said…

I have found that most short stories have a hard time developing characters.

November 20, 2008 at 11:21 AM

Andi said…

I have this one out from the library right now, and I was considering taking it back unread. Based on your review and the shortness, I'll probably whip through it right quick. :)

November 23, 2008 at 1:35 PM

Another giveaway

This time, the publicist at WW Norton sent me two copies of The Glass of Time , by Michael Cox--so I'm giving away the second copy. Cox is the author of The Meaning of Night, and this book is the follow-up to that. Leave a comment here to enter to win it! The deadline is next Sunday, 10/5/08.

A giveaway winner, and another giveaway

The winner of the Girl in a Blue Dress contest is... Anna, of Diary of An Eccentric ! My new contest is for a copy of The Shape of Mercy , by Susan Meissner. According to Publisher's Weekly : Meissner's newest novel is potentially life-changing, the kind of inspirational fiction that prompts readers to call up old friends, lost loves or fallen-away family members to tell them that all is forgiven and that life is too short for holding grudges. Achingly romantic, the novel features the legacy of Mercy Hayworth—a young woman convicted during the Salem witch trials—whose words reach out from the past to forever transform the lives of two present-day women. These book lovers—Abigail Boyles, elderly, bitter and frail, and Lauren Lars Durough, wealthy, earnest and young—become unlikely friends, drawn together over the untimely death of Mercy, whose precious diary is all that remains of her too short life. And what a diary! Mercy's words not only beguile but help Abigail and Lars...

Review: The Piano Teacher, by Janice Y.K. Lee

The Piano Teacher is a complicated novel. On the surface, it’s about a love affair between two British ex-patriots in Hong Kong in 1952-3. Claire Pendleton comes to Hong Kong with her husband Martin at a time when the world is still recovering from WWII; Claire takes up work as a piano teacher for the daughter of a wealthy Chinese family, where she meets Will Truesdale, the Chens’ enigmatic chauffeur. The book jumps back in time between the 1950s and the beginning of WWII, when Will is interned in Stanley, a Hong Kong camp for enemies of Japan. On “the outside” is Tudy Liang, Will’s beautiful Eurasian lover. There’s no doubt that Lee’s writing is beautiful. But there’s something lacking in this short, terse novel that I can’t quite put my finger on. First, I think it’s the tenses she uses when taking about each story: that which is set in the 1950s is in the past tense, while the war scenes are talked about in the present tense (confusing, no?) The interpersonal relationships of the m...

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