THE PAINTER By Peter Heller

the painter
Peter Heller’s new novel, The Painter, mixes murder and Art. The narrator is an artist who is best known for shooting a man in a bar. The painter is haunted by the murder of his daughter. When the painter confronts a man beating a horse, another dark plotline is set into motion. The Painter offers a twisty plot and a complex narrator to tell an unusual story. If you’re in the mood for something different, I suggest you read The Painter when it’s released on May 6th. GRADE: B

8 thoughts on “THE PAINTER By Peter Heller

  1. Deb

    I was thinking the same thing, Patti–a B from George (at least on his blog, not sure about the classroom) isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement. I did read Heller’s The Dog Stars, a post-apocalyptic novel about the aftermath of a flu-like virus that kills 90% of the population and I’d hazard a guess that The Painter contains a lot of “telling” instead of “showing”–The Dog Stars (which I liked, with reservations) certainly did.

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    1. george Post author

      Deb, you’re right about Heller’s “telling” instead of “showing” style. I liked THE PAINTER right up to the end. And then I was disappointed.

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  2. Richard

    You -and reading the book – lost me at “beating a horse”. Why on earth would I want to read about that, or about a character who does that?

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