Rating: 
Summary: Ignore Any Bad Reviews -- This is Ford's Best Novel Yet
Review:
I was up until almost 2 o'clock this morning with this book. Started it last night just before I went to bed, and couldn't put it down until I'd finished it. A completely engrossing read, with fascinating and well developed characters, lots of unexpected twists and turns, and (best of all!) wheels within wheels within wheels. Every time a question is answered another layer of the puzzle is exposed, and you find yourself reading "just one more page"... until you finish the entire book in the wee hours of the morning.No spoilers from me on this one. I don't want to ruin it for anyone else. If you like Tim Powers, Gene Wolfe, and Paul Witcover, then this is a book you *must* have in your collection. This one smells like the next World Fantasy Award for Best Novel to me.
Rating:
Summary: A Macabre Mystery
Review: A bizarre mystery full of intriguing characters! I was mesmerized by this book and had trouble putting it down, just as Piambo was intrigued by the enigmatic Mrs. Charbuque. Even though the ending was not quite as potent as the rest of the novel, Mr. Ford deserves five stars for a brilliantly conceived fantasy novel.
Rating:
Summary: A Novel Of The Ninteenth Century
Review: A PORTRAIT OF MRS. CHARBUQUE isn't an historical novel
set in late 19th century Manhattan, so much as it's a
late 19th century novel, produced in the early 21st century. Finney's TIME AND AGAIN, Carr's THE ALIENIST, by comparison,
are tourist guides. They are about the place and period.
But not of them.
MRS. C. occurs in a certain Manhattan. We see no more
of it than an inhabitant would. There is no trace of our
century in the viewpoint. The central character, the
painter Piambo, is very definitely a nineteenth century American. The bubbling world of American painting, caught
somewhere between John Singer Sargent and Charles
Pinkham Rider is presented with no distracting
foreshadowing The central theme of artistic integrity
is presented without a speck of irony on it. Ford can not set his foot wrong when he's walking in the
19th century.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful story, even better prose...
Review: Ford's genre-defying work continues in this novel, a wonderful read that I'd recommend to practically anyone with an interest in reading something non-formulaic. It's part mystery, part speculative fiction, part period piece, and it's all written with classical style and elegance. If I hadn't read Ford's earlier works, I don't know if I'd have bought this book - in fact, I doubt it. My reading tastes really aren't that diverse. But being such a huge fan of the prior books, I had to give it a shot. Ford paints scenes as vivid as any working writer today with very spare words - a rare gift. Not a sentence seems wasted in reading Ford's work, and the same holds true here. Not even a chapter disappoints. No matter which genre attracts you, try this book - you will enjoy it immensely. It'd make for a excellent film, too, in the right hands.
Rating: 
Summary: A Nice Little Mystery and a Trip Back in Time
Review: I bought "The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque" not knowing quite what to expect, but was quickly captivated by both its premise and its style. I'm not frequently a reader of mystery novels, nor do I read historical fiction very often. I've delved into Dan Brown, Caleb Carr, and Mark Frost--and in all cases I've ultimately come away disappointed. When reading these books I'd felt either that the author thought I was stupid or that he thought his characters were stupid. Here Ford treats both his readers and his creations with respect. His plot does not rely on amazing coincidence or amazing ineptitude to propel it along; nor does he treat his novel as an opportunity to impress the reader with his research on 19th century New York City or the art of portraiture. Instead, both provide a rich, but not overwrought, backdrop for a satisfying nugget of mystery. If you're looking for the next great American novel, this is not it. However, if you are looking for a little guilt-free escapist fun that is more substantive than most of what populates the best-seller list, then "The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque" is well worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: A Nice Little Mystery and a Trip Back in Time
Review: I bought "The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque" not knowing quite what to expect, but was quickly captivated by both its premise and its style. I'm not frequently a reader of mystery novels, nor do I read historical fiction very often. I've delved into Dan Brown, Caleb Carr, and Mark Frost--and in all cases I've ultimately come away disappointed. When reading these books I'd felt either that the author thought I was stupid or that he thought his characters were stupid. Here Ford treats both his readers and his creations with respect. His plot does not rely on amazing coincidence or amazing ineptitude to propel it along; nor does he treat his novel as an opportunity to impress the reader with his research on 19th century New York City or the art of portraiture. Instead, both provide a rich, but not overwrought, backdrop for a satisfying nugget of mystery. If you're looking for the next great American novel, this is not it. However, if you are looking for a little guilt-free escapist fun that is more substantive than most of what populates the best-seller list, then "The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque" is well worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: A Nice Little Mystery and a Trip Back in Time
Review: I bought "The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque" not knowing quite what to expect, but was quickly captivated by both its premise and its style. I'm not frequently a reader of mystery novels, nor do I read historical fiction very often. I've delved into Dan Brown, Caleb Carr, and Mark Frost--and in all cases I've ultimately come away disappointed. When reading these books I'd felt either that the author thought I was stupid or that he thought his characters were stupid. Here Ford treats both his readers and his creations with respect. His plot does not rely on amazing coincidence or amazing ineptitude to propel it along; nor does he treat his novel as an opportunity to impress the reader with his research on 19th century New York City or the art of portraiture. Instead, both provide a rich, but not overwrought, backdrop for a satisfying nugget of mystery. If you're looking for the next great American novel, this is not it. However, if you are looking for a little guilt-free escapist fun that is more substantive than most of what populates the best-seller list, then "The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque" is well worth your time.
Rating: 
Summary: Wait for paperback
Review: I love this author, but I felt this was one of his weaker efforts. The feeling isn't so much one of fantastical events but one of contrivance. I felt no emotional connection but irritation with all but one of the characters (the girlfriend). The internal logic is solid enough but the motivation is often mystifying and the amount of coincidence is excessive. I don't want to give away plot points like the professional review above, so I can't be specific. If you've never read a Ford book this is a treat, but comparing the author against himself this work leaves you wanting. (It would be refreshing if he moved on from quirky pseudo-science as a plot hinge.) Lastly, I'm beginning to think he has a monkey fixation!
Rating: 
Summary: F l a w e d
Review: I started this book in pleasant anticipation, influenced by numerous positive reviews. I was, alas, disappointed. In the section devoted to acknowledgements, Mr Ford concedes that he has taken factual and historical liberties in order to create fiction that excites and thrills. Which is, within limits, acceptable. But Mr Ford takes it too far and ends up sounding inauthentic. The book is praised as a blend between Henry James and Raymond Chandler (by the publisher) and I am certain that both gentlemen in question would have had rather vehement objections to the comparison. The only parallel to Henry James that comes to mind is the coincidence of the time OF which Mr Ford writes and the time IN which Mr James wrote. Mr James is the master of the formal, stylized sentence, Mr Ford tends to the vernacular. When, at times, he tries to emulate the speech of the turn-of-the-century, he simply sounds affectated and pretentious. Chandler's protagonist Marlowe and his prototypes in that author's early short stories are conscientous, moral men- Piambo, in his treatment of his erstwhile mentor, M. Sabott, is not. I also missed the wisecracks that make Mr Chandler's work so delightful to read. Mrs Charbuque's proclamations on the role of woman in society befit more the feminist sentiments of the second half of the 20th century than the ideas of the early suffragette movement. The book, in its descriptions of characters (with the exception of the hero and Mrs. Charbuque), is the equivalent of the paintings of Albert Pinkham Ryder so much admired by Piambo: broad brushstrokes (or, more accurately, sweeps of the palette knife- a favourite technique of Mr Ryder's) rather than attention to details. The intention in both cases is to capture the essence of the subject, but here Mr Ford (unlike Mr Ryder) fails. If this book were a movie, the casting would have been left to StereoType, Incorporated- We Specialize in Clichés! The book's most interesting character (to me, at least), Piambo's fellow painter Shenz, is, to say the least, heavily inspired by the figure of Lord Henry in Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' (to which work Mr Ford refers- I suppose he considers it cute). Mr Ford seems to have written the book after seeing the Hughes Brothers' film, 'From Hell' with Johnny Depp. Shenz, with his habit of opium, bears resemblances to the inspector portrayed by Mr Depp. This sense of cliché also applies to Samantha Ryder, Piambo's love interest and Father Loomis (the benevolent and liberal priest). At times it is almost too much. But, all in all, if one succeeds in suspending one's disbelief, it is an entertaining book. My advice is to wait for the paperback edition and to buy it at the airport or train station bookstore before flying or riding home for the Christmas holidays.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing
Review: I thought it was an intriguing premise from the start. I, too, was trying to draw in my mind what Mrs. Charbuque would look like. It is very entertaining and worth the read.
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