"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Set on the bleak and windy island of Houat near the coast of Brittany, The Portrait describes the retreat into isolation of the painter Henry MacAlpine, who has performed a Gauguin-like cutting off of his previous life, leaving a successful career in London (not to mention rich patrons and enthusiastic gallery owners) behind him for a more spartan existence in this unvisited spot. Several years pass, and the reclusive MacAlpine is called upon by the first person he has seen from his old life in four years. This is the art critic William Nasmyth, whose approbation (or otherwise) can make or destroy an artist's career. He has come, he says, to sit for a portrait. What follows is a remarkable battle of wills between two very driven individuals; a psychological duel that has echoes of the mordant writing in the early plays of Harold Pinter. The other analogy that springs to mind for Pears’ compelling and disturbing novel is the Ingmar Bergman film Persona, similarly set on a remote island, which also treats of a personality shift between two strong-willed individuals. During the course of the sitting, the real subject of the novel becomes clear through the conversation of the two men: this is a scarifying narrative of thwarted desire, cruelty, suicide and even murder. This spare and economical novel exerts a grip from the first paragraph, and its two main protagonists are drawn with assiduously observed detail. --Barry Forshaw
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
£ 2.12
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 3468334-n
Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-159448175X-new
Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition. Seller Inventory # bk159448175Xxvz189zvxnew
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. In shrink wrap. Seller Inventory # 90-15507
Book Description Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. The Portrait 0.36. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9781594481758
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. A national bestseller from acclaimed author Iain Pears, The Portrait is a novel of suspense and a tour de force.An art critic journeys to a remote island off Brittany to sit for a portrait painted by an old friend, a gifted but tormented artist living in self-imposed exile. The painter recalls their years of friendship, the gift of the critic's patronage, and his callous betrayals. As he struggles to capture the character of the man, as well as his image, on canvas, it becomes clear that there is much more than a portrait at stake.Iain Pears's An Instance of the Fingerpost and The Dream of Scipio are also available from Riverhead Books. "Justly praised for his complex historical thrillers ("An Instance of the Fingerpost; The Dream of Scipio"), Pears scales down to a simple tale of vengeance told by a narrator obsessed with destroying the man he once called his friend and mentor."--"Publishers Weekly." Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781594481758
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # I-9781594481758
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_159448175X
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard159448175X
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think159448175X