The Illustrator: A Novel

by Philip Davison

Lawrence Butler, a commercial illustrator in London, is desperately seeking his wife, who has walked out on him, leaving behind a reminder to water the plants. Disconsolate, Lawrence designs British postage stamps with Sheila's face on them. He rashly accuses her pudgy boss of having an affair with her. He checks his father-in-law's house. Increasingly frantic, he gets hit by a car. He convalesces, contemplates the ``pagan'' look of talcum powder, fantasizes having sex with Nurse Cummings, then does. Still no Sheila. Readers seeking psychological causes for the split will be let down, even though Dublin-based novelist Davison strews a few clues of marital discord. What this slender, bittersweet tale does best is convey the sharp taste of overwhelming grief and loss, in a deceptively glib tone of wry, cool detachment.

116 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1989

About the author

Philip Davison is an Irish novelist, screenwriter and playwright. He was born in 1957 in Dublin, Ireland. He is perhaps best known for his series of spy novels which follow Harry Fielding's activities as an understrapper for the MI5.