Discipline

by Debra Spark

How does art mirror and shape our lives? Can it transcend the boundaries of time, wealth, and circumstance? Debra Spark—whose previous work the Washington Post described as "richly imaginative" and "real world magic"—explores these themes in her new novel Discipline. With a trio of important paintings missing, the book weaves together three narratives that span almost a century. From an inhumane boarding school in Maine in the late 1970s to a contemporary Boston art appraiser struggling with raising a teen to the long-lost love letters between a painter and his wife, Discipline is a propulsive literary mystery about family strife and devotion, ambition and authorship, and the abiding and mysterious power of art.



Inspired by the life and family of Walt Kuhn (the painter responsible for the 1913 Armory Show that introduced Americans to modernism) and the scandal-ridden Elan boarding school that was forced to shut down in 2011, this richly drawn, suspenseful novel shows Spark at her most masterful.

 

318 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 15, 2024

About the author

Debra Spark is the author of The Pretty Girl, a collection of stories about art and deception that will be published in April 2012 by Four Way Books. She is the author of the novels Coconuts for the Saint, The Ghost of Bridgetown and Good for the Jews. Spark edited the best-selling anthology Twenty Under Thirty: Best Stories by America's New Young Writers and her popular lectures on writing are collected in Curious Attractions: Essays on Fiction Writing. Spark has also written for Esquire, Ploughshares, The New York Times, Food and Wine, Yankee, Down East, The Washington Post, Maine Home + Design and The San Francisco Chronicle, among other places. She has been the recipient of several awards including a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, a Bunting Institute fellowship from Radcliffe College, and the John Zacharis/Ploughshares award for best first book. She is a professor at Colby College and teaches in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College and lives with her husband and son in North Yarmouth, Maine.

Reviews

[Suzanne Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, I keep saying to myself (and out loud). I’ve never quite read a book like this. The storyline is crazy, convoluted and wonderful. The characters are riveting. I often wondered how this book would develop and how it would end. I refuse to give spoilers -just read it.
Having never read any of Debra Spark’s books before, I am curious to follow her career and wish I could be a student at Colby sitting in the first row of her class!

[Suzanne Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a real page-turner! At the center of the story is the theft of a set of paintings called the Triplets, painted in the 1930s by J. Robinson to mourn his wife's miscarriages. We meet J. Robinson and his devoted wife, then move through time to encounter his daughter, an eccentric woman living on the coast of Maine and dedicated to preserving her father's legacy. Other strands of the plot involve a controversial school for 'troubled youth' and some of its students, and an art appraiser and her difficult relationship with her teenage son. A lot is happening on all fronts, with plenty of twists and surprises, a few of which do strain credulity. It's not really a roman-a-clef, but there are many echoes of actual places and events. In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. Loved how the story came from all different directions and then all tied in together.

[G.P. Gottlieb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Discipline is a novel about a mid-20th century artist, an abusive boarding school for teens, the 21st century theft of three of the artist’s most famous pieces, the island off the coast of Maine where the artist lived, and the sad story of the artist’s daughter. It is also about family, ambition, and suffering. In 2018, Gracie makes her way to the Maine island where the artist’s collection is kept, to appraise the “Morrison Triplets,” three paintings that were a ghostly version of the children J. Morrison and his wife Victoria dreamed of having. There’s a snowstorm, everything is closed and dark, and nobody comes to pick up Gracie, who thinks she’s going to die of hypothermia. She’s saved, but the Triplets are nowhere to be found in this twisting novel about art and its value, dysfunctional families, lonely women, and teenagers struggling to survive psychological trauma. https://newbooksnetwork.com/discipline

[Carolyn Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was this book edited? There were so many blaring errors that it took away from the story, at least for me. Alfred Einstein? John Hopkins? A couple others I can’t recall, less blatant. Interesting Novel with so many real life people. Is it ok to name people and places that do actually exist? I don’t know. Joe Soley? Everyone knows (knew) him. Barridoff Gallery? Know them too. Perhaps it is historical fiction?
Another issue, again for me, was creating a new character late in the story to save the day. I would like to have seen one of the original characters come back to make everything right.

OK, that’s enough criticisms from a local reader, who has never written, let alone published a book.
I’m old enough to remember the Elan School, Joe Ricci, etc. I love anything art, so I read it carefully and enjoyed the story overall. But I am curious, do mistakes like those mentioned above happen after the editing, in the publishing? How do they get through?

[Lisa Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Discipline is the latest novel from the talented Debra Spark. I loved this novel so much. Even though there is some sleuthing in the plot, I wouldn't call it a mystery, because it is far better than your typical genre novel. It's a heart-wrenching, humorous, honest novel about lost and found teenagers, mothers, devoted and lonely women, where lives of privilege are contrasted with the trappings of poverty and tragedy. There are characters in the novel that I felt so deeply for I actually gasped at key moments, loud enough that my husband asked what was wrong from the other room. A book that will stay with you, a book I wish took me longer to read so I could stay in that world. But it was so engaging, I couldn't have read it slowly if I'd tried.

[Genanne Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fast paced plot and finely attuned characterizations make this novel compelling and deep. Discipline delivers disparate characters — an art appraiser, a troubled young man sent to a draconian correctional school, and a storied artist and his under-appreciated wife — all connected by a trio of mysterious paintings. The stakes are high and the twists keep you guessing — this is a smart, engrossing read.

[JB Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Discipline is such a great read. It has the mystery element but deals with such varying characters as a painter and his family, a foster child and his delinquent friends, an art appraiser and her teenage son. I kept thinking how is she going to weave this together in a satisfying way, but she did. I found it both a fun read and an intellectual read. It has stayed with me and I think it will stay with you too.

[David Hilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This page-turning drama mashes up a modern art heist and a fraught post-divorce mother-son relationship with the ripple effect of a horrific "behavior modification" school based on the real Élan school that was open in Maine until 2011. Deeply researched and written by the wonderful Debra Spark, an author you should probably pay attention to.

[Macie · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting read

Great story about an art thief in Maine. Lots of characters narrating chapters, and a really sad but important sub-plot. A little bit of Boston, and a surly teenager both rang true.

[Lisa Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

A page-turner that skillfully interweaves an art theft, the trauma wrought by an abusive boarding school, and the struggles of a mother/son relationship. I love art, Maine, and the complexities of the human spirit, and this book has it all. A terrific read.

[Betsy Garside · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who wonders about the purpose of art — or who loves art-theft stories, real or imagined — add this book to your pile.

[Maria F Brandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much here about art and equity and belonging. About systemic failures. About second chances.