Full name: The Art Lover: A Novel

Author: Carole Maso Year: 1990 Rank: Rating: Original Rating: Pop Rating: Genres/categories: Fiction, Art Purchase/reserch links: LibraryThing Goodreads Amazon ISBNs: 9780811216296 0811216292

What is the power of art in the face of death? In The Art Lover Carole Maso has created an elegant and moving narrative about a woman experiencing (and reliving) the most painful transitions of her life. Caroline, the novel's protagonist, returns to New York after the death of her father ostensibly to wrap things up and take care of necessary "business" where her memory and imagination conspire to lay before her all her griefs and joys in a rebellious progression. In different voices, employing a collage-like fragmentation, Maso gently unfolds The Art Lover in much the same way the fragile and prehistoric fiddlehead fern unfolds throughout the novel, bringing with subtle grace the ever-entangled feelings of grief and love into full and tender view. Various illustrations throughout. Similar books: Of the Farm by John Updike Little Casino by Gilbert Sorrentino Whores for Gloria by William T. Vollmann Barbary Shore by Norman Mailer Running Dog by Don DeLillo A Rage to Live by John O'Hara Bech Is Back by John Updike Testing the Current by William McPherson An American Dream by Norman Mailer Wait Until Spring, Bandini by John Fante The Ultimate Good Luck by Richard Ford The Web and the Rock by Thomas Wolfe Set This House on Fire by William Styron Full of Life by John Fante Lie Down in Darkness by William Styron The Collective by Don Lee Aureole by Carole Maso Mother and Child by Carole Maso Double Negative by Ivan Vladislavic The Illogic of Kassel by Enrique Vila-Matas