Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
"Don't expect this to appeal to the wide audience that made Fingerpost a best-seller, but for those who prefer the subtlety of a small canvas...Pears' 'portrait' is an exquisite little gem." Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"Though Pears's epigrams are not in the same league with Oscar Wilde's, his grasp of melodrama...is sharp as ever, as he finally indicates in disclosing Henry's motive and master plan. A short story's worth of incident floated on a prickly cushion of aphorism." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Pears accomplishes the near-impossible; he turns unstoppable monolog, potentially a one-note bore, into a true tour de force....Pears steps away from [the mystery] genre altogether to produce an extraordinary work. Highly recommended." Library Journal
Review
"As he has done in his other novels, Pears cleverly deploys the murder-mystery genre to explore the labyrinthine possibilities of narrative....He sustains a delicately nuanced tone that ranges from chatty bonhomie and happy reminiscence to anger, accusation and menace." Los Angeles Times
Review
"An elegantly urbane, subtly crafted work that's filled with surprises, shocks and stunning revelations....Once you come to the chilling conclusion of the novel, you recognize how crafty Pears has been in designing his yarn. Things fall devastatingly into place." Providence Journal
Review
"[A] stripped-down exercise in creeping dread....There's still a great deal of enjoyment to be gained from Pears's wit and able writing, but mystery fans will miss the pleasure of being outsmarted by a master." The Christian Science Monitor
Review
"[W]onderful....[A] gripping tale that keeps the reader turning the page." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Review
"This novel, full of such emotional sabotage and honesty, seems dutifully straightforward, especially compared to the baroque intrigue of An Instance of the Fingerpost. It is nonetheless just as splendid an accomplishment." Howard Norman, The Washington Post
Synopsis
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...
Synopsis
Set against the dramatic, untamed landscape of Brittany during one of the most explosive periods in art history, The Portrait is rich with atmosphere and suggestion, psychological complexity, and marvelous detail.
Synopsis
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...
About the Author
Iain Pears was born in 1955. Educated at Wadham College, Oxford, he has worked as a journalist, an art historian, and a television consultant in England, France, Italy, and the United States. He is the author of seven highly praised detective novels, a book of art history, and countless articles on artistic, financial, and historical subjects, as well as the international bestseller An Instance of the Fingerpost. He lives in Oxford, England.