by Tom Rachman
This is the second book I have read by this author. Right now I can't recall the first one, the Imperfectionists, I still have it so I may reread it.
This books is about the relationship with a young man, nicknamed "Pinch" and his famous artist father Bear Bavinsky. When the book opens Pinch is a young boy and his father is living with him and his mother, in Rome, having left behind a wife and kids in the U.S.
Bear is self-absorbed and a serial adulterer. While he is living with Pinch and his mother, Bear s having an affair with at least one other woman. He eventually divorces Pinch's mother and moves onto to another woman and to starting another family. By the end of his life Bear as 7 or so wives and has fathered 17 children.
Bear loves to cuddle with Pinch when he is in the mood but most of the time he locks himself away in his studio and refuses to let anyone see his work. Bear is a perfectionist. He labours over his paintings and frequently burns those he is not happy with. Bear thinks he is the genius of the age, disparages the new modern artists. He refuses to sell his art to private collectors. He wants all his art to go to museums (so he will be honoured in posterity) and not hidden away.
He promises to do things with Pinch but never lives up to his promises. One of Pinch's step sisters arrives from the U.S. for a visit. Bear treats her in the same way as Pinch, hardly spending any time with her. Pinch's mother is an aspiring Potter but she sacrifices her art to serve Bear. When he leaves her and Pinch they struggle in poverty and she can't do much of her craft. Before Bear leaves he on one occasion takes Pinch into his studio and gives him some instruction about painting.
One day Bear reluctantly takes Pinch to an art launch in London. He tells people at the event that his son is an artist to watch. Pinch is so excited by this praise. Midway through the evening his father takes him back to the hotel and dumps him there so he can go back to the art launch and schmooze. Pinch never forgets this attention and aspires to be a painter after his father leaves.
When Pinch goes to visit his father in the U.S. with his next family he takes along a piece of art he has done and asks for his father's opinion. Bear stalls looking at it but just before Pinch leaves he does have a look at it.... his response is hot positive and Pinch is devastated, vowing never to paint again.
Pinch's mother is very fragile emotionally but Pinch decides to go to the U.S. to study, leaving his mother behind in England. He doesn't call her as often as he should. Eventually she commits suicide. Pinch makes friends with a male student and gets in a relationship with a girl. They talk about getting married but when she gets accepted to a presigious New York University and he doesn't they part company. Pinch is devastated by this. Around the same time he separates himself from his male friend, who has been kicked out of university.
Pinch continues to have a relationship with his father. Often going to help him at his cabin in France when he is summoned. He is very hurt when his father tells him one day "you work for me!" but he doesn't sever contact.
Pinch gets a PhD but cannot find a job as an Art Prof so he becomes an Italian teacher at a London language school. He marries, but divorces not long after.
One time when Pinch and his father are at the cabin in France they have a big fight and Pinch drives away. Pinch goes into the studio where is father has been storing a number of pieces of art. Pinch returns to the cabin and studio and in a fit of anger at his father punches one of the paintings and puts a hole in it. He is horrified by what he has done and tries to patch the painting. He lives in fear that his father will come discover what he has done.
One of his step sisters contacts him, telling him that she is in an abusive marriage but can't afford to leave. Pinch decides to make a copy of the painting he damaged. He then goes to an agent and offers the painting, as a Bear original, but insists it must go to a private buyer. The painting sells and he gives the money to his step sister. Pinch now has two things to worry about being "outed". He thinks everything will be okay but then he is contacted one day and asked the value of the painting as the man who bought it and his wife are divorcing and the painting may go up for auction. It works out okay for him as the husband rebuys the painting in the divorce settlement. Pinch thinks that things are okay until one day the owner of the painting tries to meet his father at an art exhibit. Pinch successfully gets his father away from the man before the lie can come out.
Pinch and his univeristy friend, with whom he has renewed his friendship, are visiting his Father in France. At one point his father does tell him that he thought he, Pinch, did have some talent. Pinch is furious that his father lied to him initially. He feels that his father is responsible for him giving up on art and his very unimpressive life and career. They have another fight and Pinch drives away. His father has a heart attack and dies, leaving Pinch all his estate. The siblings are furious that Pinch is getting all the art. After being threatened with lawsuits he decides to share the art with them. But what he does is make copies of all the art stored in the studio and give these copies to his siblings. He keeps the originals stored in the attic of the studio. He is of course torn up with worry about this being discovered.
Bear had been saying for years that he was working on new pieces but it turns out he had nothing new. Pinch finds some pictures of his various siblings at the cabin and starts painting them. He then decides to give these paintings to the siblings as original Bear art. The siblings, who like Pinch felt ignored by their father, feel great that their father thought enough about them to paint them. Eventually there is an exhibition of this "faces" series and there is talk of them being sold. Again Pinch is terrified as these are frauds.
Pinch has not aged well, he looks much older than his 50 years. He and his father both smoked pipes. Pinch has always been quite frail physically but he is devastated when he learns he has cancer and has a short time to live He has to have part of his tongue cut out because of cancer so he can no longer speak (symbolism). He leaves his fathers cabin to a fellow language teacher he has been living with. When she and Marsden (Pinch's friend) go to the Cabin and studio in France the discover copies of some of Bear's famous art. At first they think that he must have made two copies of his art, but knowing that he burned many of his pictures they realize this is not the likely explanation. They suspect that Pinch is the one who made the copies. They realize there will be legal chaos if the truth comes out that the paintings in the market are copies.
Pinch's lover decides to destroy the originals. At first Marsden is horrified at the thought of destroying the original work of a great master. But he then helps her burn them. They feel good that Pinch's artistic efforts will be enjoyed into the future.
This was a fascinating story. The author did a great job of portraying the cruel father, the doting son.
You really felt the pain the father had inflicted on all his families and sad for Pinch who, like all his siblings, desparately wanted his father's praise and attention, only to be ignored or even emotionally wounded by the father. A very powerful story.
Sunday, 25 March 2018
Sunday, 18 March 2018
Dangerous Crossing
by Rachel Rhys
The book is about a ship that is sailing from England to Australia on the Eve of WWII. The main character is a young woman, Lily Shepherd, who is going to Australia to serve as a domestic worker. If she stays for two years in Australia her passage to and from England will be paid for.
Lily is excited for this new adventure but also sad to leave behind her parents and brother. She shares a stateroom in the lower levels of the ship with two other girls travelling for the same reason. One she likes, one she doesn't.
They are assigned tables for their meals. Lily is assigned a table which includes a brother and sister and a very outspoken young man who is sure will break out, and hates Jews. He is being sent to New Zealand to help his uncle on his farm. His family is probably sending him away to get him away from the war.
Lily develops a friendship/attraction to the young man who is travelling with his sister but his attention seems to run hot and cold. She is very puzzled at his behaviour. A young American couple, who are travelling first class, come down to the lower area and encourage Lily and the young man to join them for cards and other outings as the voyage continues. Lily is warned that there is something scandalous about the Americans. She ignores the warnings partly because the couple are so insistent on associating with her and the young man. The young couple seem to be having some maritial difficulties.
As time goes on both the angry young man and the American show and interest in Lily. She rebuffs the angry young man and he is furious that she likes the young man better than him. Lily knows that there is a class difference between her and the young man but she hopes it could be overlooked by his family.
Lily also makes friends with a young Jewish woman whose parents stayed behind in Europe. She is very worried about them. One night when they are sleeping outside on the deck because it is so hot in the ship, the Jewish girl says she was molested. The Captain and crew make a short investigation but discount her claim. Lily is outraged that they don't believe her.
As the voyage continues the young Jewish woman is getting ill and eventually disappears. All they find is her glasses. We find out that the American couple lost a child because the child consumed some of the husband's cocaine. The wife had an affair in Britain with a married man and the man's wife killed herself. That is why they have left Britain.
We evenutally find out that the angry young man had indeed molested the Jewish girl and accidentally killed her. As the book ends the young man comes out dressed in drag, revealing his true secret and ends up accidentally murdering the American man.
This book was actually roughly based on a real life experience of an Australian author (who emigrated from Britain). This woman, like Lily had come over to do domestic service but aspired to be a writer. She stayed in Australia, married, had a family and did become a successful author.
I found it an interesting story. The details about the voyage, the dress, etc. were very well done. The character portrayals and interactions between the characters were also well done
The book is about a ship that is sailing from England to Australia on the Eve of WWII. The main character is a young woman, Lily Shepherd, who is going to Australia to serve as a domestic worker. If she stays for two years in Australia her passage to and from England will be paid for.
Lily is excited for this new adventure but also sad to leave behind her parents and brother. She shares a stateroom in the lower levels of the ship with two other girls travelling for the same reason. One she likes, one she doesn't.
They are assigned tables for their meals. Lily is assigned a table which includes a brother and sister and a very outspoken young man who is sure will break out, and hates Jews. He is being sent to New Zealand to help his uncle on his farm. His family is probably sending him away to get him away from the war.
Lily develops a friendship/attraction to the young man who is travelling with his sister but his attention seems to run hot and cold. She is very puzzled at his behaviour. A young American couple, who are travelling first class, come down to the lower area and encourage Lily and the young man to join them for cards and other outings as the voyage continues. Lily is warned that there is something scandalous about the Americans. She ignores the warnings partly because the couple are so insistent on associating with her and the young man. The young couple seem to be having some maritial difficulties.
As time goes on both the angry young man and the American show and interest in Lily. She rebuffs the angry young man and he is furious that she likes the young man better than him. Lily knows that there is a class difference between her and the young man but she hopes it could be overlooked by his family.
Lily also makes friends with a young Jewish woman whose parents stayed behind in Europe. She is very worried about them. One night when they are sleeping outside on the deck because it is so hot in the ship, the Jewish girl says she was molested. The Captain and crew make a short investigation but discount her claim. Lily is outraged that they don't believe her.
As the voyage continues the young Jewish woman is getting ill and eventually disappears. All they find is her glasses. We find out that the American couple lost a child because the child consumed some of the husband's cocaine. The wife had an affair in Britain with a married man and the man's wife killed herself. That is why they have left Britain.
We evenutally find out that the angry young man had indeed molested the Jewish girl and accidentally killed her. As the book ends the young man comes out dressed in drag, revealing his true secret and ends up accidentally murdering the American man.
This book was actually roughly based on a real life experience of an Australian author (who emigrated from Britain). This woman, like Lily had come over to do domestic service but aspired to be a writer. She stayed in Australia, married, had a family and did become a successful author.
I found it an interesting story. The details about the voyage, the dress, etc. were very well done. The character portrayals and interactions between the characters were also well done
Monday, 12 March 2018
Lands if Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk Road
by Kate Harris
This book is by a Canadian, who lives in Atlin BC. She is a Rhodes Scholar and has other academic awards as well.
The book is primarily the tail of her two bicycle trips on the silk road in Asia. As a child the author became enamoured with stories of adventurers like Marco Polo, Darwin, Shackleton, etc. She has a serious adventure streak in her, one of her adventures is being part of a camp to simulate life on Mars. She attends a University that pays for her do to junkets into far flung places of the world. She takes a degree in the history of science at Oxford and then goes to MIT to work on her PhD. However she becomes disillusioned when her faculty advisor steers her into boring lab work rather than field work so she quits.
The starts with her and a friend riding west from China on the silk road, sometimes sneaking across borders because they feared getting stopped. The riding is very tough and dangerous. Then a decade or so later the two women decide to complete their ride starting in Istanbul and working east. She features some of the kindness shown to them by strangers, feeding and housing them at times. They did not have much money so the help of strangers really was a blessing. Their main diet was boiled ramen noodles and instant coffee. She does not really share the really bad things that happened to them. People in these largely muslim countries wonder why women are cycling alone. They wear fake wedding rings and tell people their spouses are in trucks accompanying them. At times they run into very bad weather, freezing cold or suffocatingly hot but they keep going.
The author does talk a bit about the history of science, the arbitrariness of borders, she does find the desserts starkly beautiful and enjoys being away from civilization. They do meet with some officials along the way to discuss conservancy issues but you really feel they were just doing this for themselves. You have to admire their tenacity, I certainly wouldn't have the stamina to do it. But I somehow expected something a bit more insightful from the book not just a log of their hardships. Perhaps people who are really into extreme sports would appreciate this book more than I did. I have read several books about the Camino and found them a lot more engaging and memorable.
This book is by a Canadian, who lives in Atlin BC. She is a Rhodes Scholar and has other academic awards as well.
The book is primarily the tail of her two bicycle trips on the silk road in Asia. As a child the author became enamoured with stories of adventurers like Marco Polo, Darwin, Shackleton, etc. She has a serious adventure streak in her, one of her adventures is being part of a camp to simulate life on Mars. She attends a University that pays for her do to junkets into far flung places of the world. She takes a degree in the history of science at Oxford and then goes to MIT to work on her PhD. However she becomes disillusioned when her faculty advisor steers her into boring lab work rather than field work so she quits.
The starts with her and a friend riding west from China on the silk road, sometimes sneaking across borders because they feared getting stopped. The riding is very tough and dangerous. Then a decade or so later the two women decide to complete their ride starting in Istanbul and working east. She features some of the kindness shown to them by strangers, feeding and housing them at times. They did not have much money so the help of strangers really was a blessing. Their main diet was boiled ramen noodles and instant coffee. She does not really share the really bad things that happened to them. People in these largely muslim countries wonder why women are cycling alone. They wear fake wedding rings and tell people their spouses are in trucks accompanying them. At times they run into very bad weather, freezing cold or suffocatingly hot but they keep going.
The author does talk a bit about the history of science, the arbitrariness of borders, she does find the desserts starkly beautiful and enjoys being away from civilization. They do meet with some officials along the way to discuss conservancy issues but you really feel they were just doing this for themselves. You have to admire their tenacity, I certainly wouldn't have the stamina to do it. But I somehow expected something a bit more insightful from the book not just a log of their hardships. Perhaps people who are really into extreme sports would appreciate this book more than I did. I have read several books about the Camino and found them a lot more engaging and memorable.
Sunday, 4 March 2018
Boat People
by Sharon Bala
This the story about a boat of Sri Lankan refugees that arrives on the Canadian coast with people seeking refugee status. Normally Canada has been considered very considerate to refugees but this time the government seems to be taking a tougher stand, concerned that Tamil terrorists might be trying to get into Canada.
The main character in the story is a Sri Lankan man Mahindan who is on the boat with his six year old son. When they arrive in Canada M's son is taken away from him as Canadian's want to settle the men away from the women and children. He and his son are distraught by the separation.
Other characters include a young articling lawyer, Priya who really wants to get into corporate law but because she is of Sri Lankan descent she is brought in to help another lawyer defend some of the refugees. Her boss assumed that she would be able to speak Tamil or Sinalese. She really resents that she is taken away from her corporate assignment.
Another character in the story is Grace, a woman of Japanese descent whose parents and grandparents were interned in Slocan during WWII. Grace's mother has early stage dementia has become obsessed with reclaiming the family home that was taken away from them. She also is active with other internees in trying to get a government apology. Grace has been given a political appointement by an MP to serve as a Refugee judge. While her mother is going over all the family suffered Grace is being fed suspicion and negative feelings towards the Sri Lankans by her patron. The officials are especially suspicious because they find identity papers left on the boat for people who are not part of the refugees.
Priya's family escaped to Canada during one of the difficult times in Sri Lanka. Her family has not wanted to talk about it and they have discouraged her from associating with other Sri Lankans saying they will only be trouble. Her uncle is living with Priya and her father and brother. There is tension between the two men, Priya isn't sure why.
The story weaves between life in Sri Lanka for various of the characters and the lives of the refugees in Canada and the Canadian characters. We find that the hearings are being dragged on much longer than usual because of the goverment and citizen paranoia. We learn that Mahindan's wife died in childbirth and about the terror of living in Sri Lanka and how they fled for their lives as the army advanced on the Tamil area. Mahindan was a mechanic who was forced to repair Tamil Tiger vehicles but he only did it so they would not force him to join the Tiger army. There may have been occasions when he attached a bomb to cars so they could be used for explosions. As he is trying to get away he starts to pick up identify papers from dead people and also money he finds on the body. To make some money for his passage to Canada M sells some of the identify documents to fellow aspiring refugees.
The refugees are going through their hearings but many are being delayed for months. Some people manage to get passed the initial survey and released from detention to await their refugee hearing. Grace is especially harsh on the people brought before her, justifying it to herself that she is protecting Canada. She turns back M several times. At one point M's room mate in detention goes for a hearing and the Border Services people say that they have identified him as a major Tamil Tiger. The man denies it but it sentenced to deportation. The man is so despondent he kills himself.
M is devastated that the man killed himself, he feels guilty because this man was one of the people he sold identity papers to. The man's story is written up in the paper and public sympathy seems to swing in favour of the refugees. M is further upset because his son has been removed from the detention centre and put in the care of a foster family.
As the book proceeds we find Grace's Mom continuing to rant about the injustices done to the Japanese and urges Grace not to repeat history. Grace resists her urgings. Her mother keeps stressing that the family went along with the treatment without complaint and then just got on with living once they got out. They were afraid to complain and didn't think it would do any good. At one point Grace and her mother go back to the family home as it is on the market. The mother is dismayed that the place has been renovated so much she can't even recognize it. She seems to realize you can't recapture the past.
Priya is getting emotionally invested in her work, she often take's M's son to visit him. She visits some of the refugees who were allowed to enter Canada. She is surprised to find that her father and uncle are volunteering to help the Tamil refugees by donating household goods and clothes and helping to teach them English. Eventually Priya's uncle tells her that he became a Tamil Fighter but was a coward when it came to seeing a fellow soldier killed by Indian soldiers brought in by the SR govermnment to help fight the Tamils. He tells her he felt he had no choice but to fight and that he was fighting for their rights. But after the incident with his friend he got out of the country.
As the book ends Grace might be softening her stance a bit, Priya is offered a job in the Corporate section of her law firm but asks to stay with the refugee work. M is going in for a hearing yet again.
His lawyers are telling him to be optimistic.... will he be successful? Given how the country has treated him and his son... not sure...
This was a very difficult book to read but it was brilliantly written, giving us so many people's lives and experiences. It wrenched your gut on many occasions, as we learned how people suffered, shared memories of the past and had to live with the decisions they made, including those that unintentionally harmed other people.
This the story about a boat of Sri Lankan refugees that arrives on the Canadian coast with people seeking refugee status. Normally Canada has been considered very considerate to refugees but this time the government seems to be taking a tougher stand, concerned that Tamil terrorists might be trying to get into Canada.
The main character in the story is a Sri Lankan man Mahindan who is on the boat with his six year old son. When they arrive in Canada M's son is taken away from him as Canadian's want to settle the men away from the women and children. He and his son are distraught by the separation.
Other characters include a young articling lawyer, Priya who really wants to get into corporate law but because she is of Sri Lankan descent she is brought in to help another lawyer defend some of the refugees. Her boss assumed that she would be able to speak Tamil or Sinalese. She really resents that she is taken away from her corporate assignment.
Another character in the story is Grace, a woman of Japanese descent whose parents and grandparents were interned in Slocan during WWII. Grace's mother has early stage dementia has become obsessed with reclaiming the family home that was taken away from them. She also is active with other internees in trying to get a government apology. Grace has been given a political appointement by an MP to serve as a Refugee judge. While her mother is going over all the family suffered Grace is being fed suspicion and negative feelings towards the Sri Lankans by her patron. The officials are especially suspicious because they find identity papers left on the boat for people who are not part of the refugees.
Priya's family escaped to Canada during one of the difficult times in Sri Lanka. Her family has not wanted to talk about it and they have discouraged her from associating with other Sri Lankans saying they will only be trouble. Her uncle is living with Priya and her father and brother. There is tension between the two men, Priya isn't sure why.
The story weaves between life in Sri Lanka for various of the characters and the lives of the refugees in Canada and the Canadian characters. We find that the hearings are being dragged on much longer than usual because of the goverment and citizen paranoia. We learn that Mahindan's wife died in childbirth and about the terror of living in Sri Lanka and how they fled for their lives as the army advanced on the Tamil area. Mahindan was a mechanic who was forced to repair Tamil Tiger vehicles but he only did it so they would not force him to join the Tiger army. There may have been occasions when he attached a bomb to cars so they could be used for explosions. As he is trying to get away he starts to pick up identify papers from dead people and also money he finds on the body. To make some money for his passage to Canada M sells some of the identify documents to fellow aspiring refugees.
The refugees are going through their hearings but many are being delayed for months. Some people manage to get passed the initial survey and released from detention to await their refugee hearing. Grace is especially harsh on the people brought before her, justifying it to herself that she is protecting Canada. She turns back M several times. At one point M's room mate in detention goes for a hearing and the Border Services people say that they have identified him as a major Tamil Tiger. The man denies it but it sentenced to deportation. The man is so despondent he kills himself.
M is devastated that the man killed himself, he feels guilty because this man was one of the people he sold identity papers to. The man's story is written up in the paper and public sympathy seems to swing in favour of the refugees. M is further upset because his son has been removed from the detention centre and put in the care of a foster family.
As the book proceeds we find Grace's Mom continuing to rant about the injustices done to the Japanese and urges Grace not to repeat history. Grace resists her urgings. Her mother keeps stressing that the family went along with the treatment without complaint and then just got on with living once they got out. They were afraid to complain and didn't think it would do any good. At one point Grace and her mother go back to the family home as it is on the market. The mother is dismayed that the place has been renovated so much she can't even recognize it. She seems to realize you can't recapture the past.
Priya is getting emotionally invested in her work, she often take's M's son to visit him. She visits some of the refugees who were allowed to enter Canada. She is surprised to find that her father and uncle are volunteering to help the Tamil refugees by donating household goods and clothes and helping to teach them English. Eventually Priya's uncle tells her that he became a Tamil Fighter but was a coward when it came to seeing a fellow soldier killed by Indian soldiers brought in by the SR govermnment to help fight the Tamils. He tells her he felt he had no choice but to fight and that he was fighting for their rights. But after the incident with his friend he got out of the country.
As the book ends Grace might be softening her stance a bit, Priya is offered a job in the Corporate section of her law firm but asks to stay with the refugee work. M is going in for a hearing yet again.
His lawyers are telling him to be optimistic.... will he be successful? Given how the country has treated him and his son... not sure...
This was a very difficult book to read but it was brilliantly written, giving us so many people's lives and experiences. It wrenched your gut on many occasions, as we learned how people suffered, shared memories of the past and had to live with the decisions they made, including those that unintentionally harmed other people.
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