A Painter of Our Time

Rating:
Summary: A Feast for the Mind
Review: "A Painter of Our Time" is one of the most thought-provoking novels I have read. It contains many insightful reflections on art, philosophy, and politics. In addition, the international setting and the unexplained disappearance of the principal character at the beginning of the story combine to generate the kind of suspense that is characteristic of a classic mystery by Graham Greene. The ambiguities do not end there. A dialectical tension between art and politics, between representational art and abstract art, and between Marxist politics and bourgeois politics is sustained throughout the novel. If the principal character has, in fact, returned to his homeland to join the political struggle there, it is not at all clear which side of the struggle he has joined. The philosophical underpinnings of the book might be better appreciated by a reader who is already familiar with "Ways of Seeing" or other nonfiction books by the same author. But it is not necessary to have a background in philosophy or art theory to enjoy the story. The visual qualities of the book alone would make it an excellent candidate for an award-winning film if it were not for the anti-intellectual prejudice of the American film audience. Although such a film would undoubtedly be a commercial success in Europe, the absence of conspicuous consumption, gratuitous sex, and spectacular violence would doom it to obscurity in this country. So, don't hold your breath waiting for the film to arrive. Read the book.

Rating:
Summary: The Only Good Novel About Artists
Review: As a fine artist, I find few things more laughable than the manner in which people in my profession are depicted by writers. How romantic it all sounds! To live in pain for the love of art, expressing one's exotic soul, only to eventually to disintegrate and die in obscurity.

The reality to living as an artist is rather more prosaic than what the writers tell us. The issues an artist faces to produce artwork are far less emotional than what the layman would believe.

Here, for the first -- and as far as I know -- the only time, is a novel which accurately reflects the lifestyle and technical considerations of the typical working artist: a highly skilled professional without a "name". This book says it all.

And it says it with great finesse. Beyond its veracity to the profession, Painter of Our Time is both a well written story and compelling character study of an aging man in a less than perfect marriage.

The one exotic aspect to the story's main character, is that he is a politically committed hungarian refugee living in post-war London. Written in the form of a journal, the artist is haunted by the memory of a dead friend, as he struggles with low income and an indifferent wife.

Some readers may have a problem with the book's heavy emphasis on old school communist doctrine (as I did), but if you can get past this, you will find this a thoroughly absorbing, thoroughly accurate work about what it means to be an artist.

Rating:
Summary: Art, painting, echoes of the past that won't go away.
Review: Berger is a new writer for me, and so far (this book and one other), a treat. I have only a general knowledge of the well-known painters, but found the interpretive sections interesting and generally accessible for an interested layman - sufficiently so that I believe I will tackle some of Berger's art essays next.

Besides the observations on painting, A Painter of Our Time interests as a character study, in its examination of the relationship of each of us to his past, and the question of how well we know each other. A small, quiet gem, it rings true throughout - especially as a first novel. I wouldn't say I couldn't put it down, but I didn't want to.