Strange Colors on the Canvas

Rating:
Summary: What a Fantastic Surprise!
Review: I bought this book thinking it would be a story about a painter..his life complete with struggles and challenges. You know, the ususal biography. Boy, was I surprised! Yes, the book is about a painter but instead of HIS struggles, the reader is taken on a journey into the life of the painter's family...particularly his son. I couldn't put the book down! The author's writing style (son) has a way of drawing you in and really "painting a picture" of how life was growing up in a household where his father and he could just not connect. AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ! I experienced many similarities with my own father and reading this book really helped comfort me knowing "I wasn't the only one."

Rating:
Summary: What a Fantastic Surprise!
Review: I bought this book thinking it would be a story about a painter..his life complete with struggles and challenges. You know, the ususal biography. Boy, was I surprised! Yes, the book is about a painter but instead of HIS struggles, the reader is taken on a journey into the life of the painter's family...particularly his son. I couldn't put the book down! The author's writing style (son) has a way of drawing you in and really "painting a picture" of how life was growing up in a household where his father and he could just not connect. AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ! I experienced many similarities with my own father and reading this book really helped comfort me knowing "I wasn't the only one."

Rating:
Summary: Interesting and colorful reading style - great story!
Review: The gist of this book is about a son's relationship with his artist father, who is dealing with a progessive mental illness. I picked this book up because my father has alzheimers. What is unusual about this book is the writing style - it's coloful, dynamic and reflects the emotional states of both father and son, while enveloping the reader within the time period and maturity of the relationship. I couldn't put the book down, and I normally don't like books based on relationships. I again want to say that the writing style of the author is distinct and something that I quite enjoyed. It's analytical and expressive, but not flowery. I would highly recommend this book!

Rating:
Summary: Judging a Book by Its Cover
Review: The title alludes to oil painting, but the picture on the cover hints at the artist himself. Having taken many psychology classes in college 30 years ago, this book would have been welcomed reading. The dynamics between a father and son in dealing with mental illness is both captivating and educational. As the book progresses from a child to a man to a father, the writing style follows. Excellent reading!

Rating:
Summary: Often hilarious, sometimes sad, occasionally upsetting
Review: This author has a unique ability to create in your mind's eye a colorful vision of what was an often hilarious and, most certainly, an odd and unusual father/son relationship that becomes even more bizarre with the unset of mental illness.
The level of detail remembered and conveyed to the reader allows you to live the experience as he grows to find his relationship with his father is not normal and continues deteriorating until it becomes almost unbearable. The writing style and structure of the book makes for a most enjoyable reading experience. Great writing, you won't be disappointed.