Painting Beyond Walls: A Novel

by David Rhodes

It is 2027. August Helm is thirty years old. A biochemist working in a lab at the University of Chicago, he is swept off his feet by the beautiful and entirely self-assured Amanda Clark. Animated by August’s consuming desire, their relationship quickly becomes intimate. But when he stumbles across a liaison between the director of his lab and a much younger student, his position is eliminated and his world upended.

August sets out to visit his parents in Words, an unincorporated village in the heart of Wisconsin’s Driftless Area. Here, he reconnects with several characters from his past: Ivan Bookchester, who now advocates for “new ways of living” in an age of decline; Hanh, formerly known as Jewelweed, who tends her orchard and wild ginseng, keenly attuned to new patterns of migration resulting from climate change and habitat destruction; and Lester Mortal, the aging veteran and fierce pacifist who long ago rescued her from Vietnam. Together, the old friends fall back into a familiar closeness.

But much as things initially seem unchanged in the Driftless, when August is hired to look after Tom and April Lux’s home in Forest Gate, he finds himself in the midst of an entirely different social set, made up of wealthy homeowners who are mostly resented by the poorer surrounding communities, and distanced in turn by their fear of the locals. August soon falls head over heels for April, and different versions of his self collide: one in which the past is still present in tensions and dreams, another in which he understands his desire as genetically determined and chemically induced, and then a vaguely hoped-for future with April. When Lester is diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, Ivan comes clean on a ghastly past episode, and April makes a shocking revelation, a series of events ensues that will change all involved forever.

As approachable as it is profound in exploring the human condition and our shared need for community, this is a story for our times.
{from publisher}

Genres: Fiction, Adult

416 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 13, 2022

About the author

As a young man, David Rhodes worked in fields, hospitals, and factories across Iowa. After receiving an MFA in Writing from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1971, he published three acclaimed novels: The Last Fair Deal Going Down (1972), The Easter House (1974), and Rock Island Line (1975). In 1976, a motorcycle accident left him partially paralyzed. In 2008, Rhodes returned to the literary scene with Driftless, a novel that was hailed as "the best work of fiction to come out of the Midwest in many years" (Alan Cheuse). Following the publication of Driftless, Rhodes was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2010, to support the writing of Jewelweed, his newest novel. He lives with his wife, Edna, in Wisconsin.

“Rhodes proves that there is still vigorous life in the dark Gothic roots of great American novels.”

—Peter W. Jordan, The Tennessean

Reviews

[Winton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was the least well written of the books I’ve read by DR. So much of it wasn’t very believable and major character plots emerged with little nuance. It was nice to revisit some familiar characters from previous books:).

[Josephine Briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I learned so much about biology, psychology and more about the natural world, parts I didn't know, others I learned in school, but have forgotten. I looked up the Gaia effect. This is a good teaching tool in a way, in another way it is not. Mr. Rhodes was a brilliant man, he worked a long time on this book. He is not on earth any more, his last book. I like the way Mr. Rhodes portray his characters.

I enjoyed his previous two books, "Driftless," and "Jewelweed," but different. This is why I read this one. He was such a good writer.

The book begins when August, a biochemist, is thirty, living in Chicago, rarely returns home to Words, the little village in the Driftless area. He meets a beautiful young woman, Amanda, from a very wealthy family. He wants to get to know her family, her position in life is higher than his. She breaks off with him, he loses his job in the lab, he must go home and get to know his family, parents, best friend, Ivan, Hanh, a young lady from Viet Nam, her guardian, Lester Moral, a nature lover. August is very bookish, needs people in his life, Ivan, more into reality, hands on jobs, doesn't like wealthy people, thinks of them as parasites of life. Doesn't need people the same way August does. Hanh is the same, standoffish, grows plants keeps bees, a solitary person who lives off nature. She loves Lester Moral, he was the one who brought he from a terrible, war torn country. He was the only father, grandfather she ever knew.

Not far from Words is Forest Gate. beautiful homes, very wealthy people, these people have everything they want, are catered to. Forest Gate was built after August moved to Chicago. Winnie, August's mother, keeps a beautiful garden, is hired by April, a beautiful young woman, to take care of her garden. Winnie recommends August to house sit her lovely house. April takes many vacations, helps and represents groups, is good at doing this, but the group must be worth while and good for all.

She is a good woman, has an Afghan dog named Hannah. August meets April, likes her very well. I was afraid he would have the same thing happen to him as with Amanda. Hanh comments on how impressed August is with wealth.

But April is different. She works hard for causes, she gives money to those needed. She uses her wealth as a tool to help many. Yes, she is different in so many ways.

There is much philosophy in this book. Some of it I believe in, others I need to think more about. This book does make readers think. David Rhodes brought readers into his Driftless world. His writing will be missed.

I like reading about philosophy.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember loving Driftless and I was disappointed this book set in the same world didn't capture me. I actually had to start it twice to make it through, but despite that I am glad I finished. The ending was a balm of sorts.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really loved Driftless and Jewelweed, the two prior novels from David Rhodes set in the fictional small town of Words, Wisconsin. They were enjoyable because they explored human nature, sense of place, and universal love in all the best ways. This book explored some familiar characters from those stories and shared the setting of the beautiful Driftless region, but it was like a completely different person wrote this book. I found the dialog to be completely wooden and the characters completely two (if not one) dimensional. No human person would speak in the long and technically detailed exposition you will find in these pages. On top of that, most of that detail is not even relevant to the story-- it's hard to not just skip ahead (I certainly did at times). For whatever reason, a lot of the focus of this story seemed to be on biology-- in particular, human behaviors that are driven and determined at a cellular level. It was almost like that subject was a particular fascination that Rhodes may have had at the time of conceiving this novel, and he worked really, really hard to try and wedge it into a narrative somehow. Unfortunately, I don't think this is a successful effort.

[Sharon Specht · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping to read someone else's comments on this book . It was interesting, but I am not sure about the science. Is it totally bogus or do I just not know what he is talking about? I have read Driftless and Jewelweed and loved them both.

I have since reread this book and am impressed with most of it. I have learned that Rhodes has died since this book was written, so unfortunately there are no more to read.

I am still mystified about his theory of gene circling and am not able to find out anything about the subject. Did he invent it? Would very much like to hear someone elses' thoughts on this theory!

[MandM · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The room held the aroma of hot, greasy food the way the word “skillet” holds a skillet.”
Simple elegant writing telling the story of people in the Midwest. I will have to go back a read his other books which I believe will give more meaning to this one. However, it stands alone without any difficulty.
“The sensation resembled stepping on pine scented blankets.”
Thank you Milkweed for the advance copy. I love what you publish.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I was going to like this book but then it never went anywhere and just kept getting weirder. The biochemistry angle was overdone and the press really needs to hire a decent copy editor. I stopped counting the typos after awhile.

[Ann Jonas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a disappointment, as this book doesn't measure up to the other David Rhodes books I've read. Too much unnecessary science, characters I couldn't get behind, and a weird plot.

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful finish to a long story. If you don't know who July Montgomery is, you lack any perspective on how to judge and rate this ending. Return to Rock Island Line and then read through Driftless and Jewelweed before you begin here. You will be better for it, and thankful for David Rhodes' wonders.

The writing is, as usual, brilliant. For example, the description of Amanda's prep for falling asleep is funny and warm. Another, the continual descriptions of April's thorough competence when tackling any issue is comprehensive yet concise, matter of fact. So too when Hahn is the subject, the writing is akin to her personality, reserved, quiet, insightful. Ivan seems too smart to be where he is, but that may be more my bias.

Most will focus on gene circling and its disastrous possibilities, but Rhodes turns it into one, perhaps the only, solution to all the world's issues. Such a collective vision needs more attention, but alas, we are left to our own devices now, as we will pine for another addition to this long Driftless love story. Bless David Rhodes, never one to proselytize, but always one to make you think.

[C Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Painting Beyond Walls reminds me of a healthy pomelo tree. Pomelo, a parent of grapefruit, is a small tree that manages to bear enormous, delicious fruits protected by thick rinds. When one approaches to harvest a fruit, one has to wonder how the slender branches support the fruits long enough for them to ripen. The fruits, in the forms of thoughts and conversations, throughout this novel are built of intriguing science and speculation. I enjoyed them despite their weight and apparent lack of sufficient support in the plot. Because the book took so long to write, perhaps a more appropriate analogy is a citrus tree with grafts of multiple citrus species ranging from sweet to bitter successfully fruiting on one root stock.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I agree with the many reviews already posted. This third part of the series that revolves around characters in and connected to the Driftless Area in Wisconsin and the fictional town called Word is not quite as perfect as Jewelweed, which I savored. Yet as a sequel, it still had my rapt attention and it seemed for me a serendipitous segue to yet another, but non-fiction book that I had finished reading immediately prior to opening the covers of Painting Beyond Walls: "The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human" by Siddhartha Mukherjee.

The opening scenes of the novel had a futuristic feel with all the cellular-level prose and dialog, such as this passage:
"...Feelings aren't unique....All emotional states result from the cultural associations we form around the activity of only nine neuropeptides, which are pretty much identically shared among us. For the most part we're all roughly navigating by the same set of biological coordinates. And if that weren't true, then language, psychotherapy, psychotropic medication, compassion, empathy, and frankly reciprocal love would be impossible"

However, once the main character August returned to Driftless from the city life he lived in Chicago as a PhD biochemist, the novel seemed to shed the sense of being set in the future - the near future yes, say in a few years from now, but hardly science fiction.

Rhodes is a joy to read - his insights, his ability to convey perspectives of a variety of fictional characters convincingly through descriptions, inner thoughts and dialog pull me into the world he creates and give me the feeling I am in the hands of a master, super smart storyteller. His metaphorical facility is on a par with stellar creative minds that, for comparison, have the ability to find humor in any situation, such as David Sedaris or Robin Williams.
Descriptions such as this: "...immediately recalling a number of events that had stained his memory like used oil spilled on white carpet," crop up frequently.

His insights are thought-provoking. Even though it often seems like he is using his characters to represent archetypes and that there is a modern mythological dimension to the entire novel, I could still set that aside and enjoy the dialogs, conflicts, plot developments and social interactions as realistic and emotionally involving. The novel could be touching, about friendship, family, loyalty, nature, humanity, the earth, and place.

"Oceans apart, they had nothing in common except a persistent attraction to each other and the thrilling possibility that they might not be condemned to live the rest of their lies alone, subsisting on a low-joy diet of responsibilities and grief."

"But I don't think lesbians are rare in rural communities; I suspect the fear on both sides is more a factor of disparities in wealth. Having a lot of disposable income is more uncommon around here than tall lesbians wanting the fixings for a tasty tossed salad. Problems between people come from not understanding the rules the others play by. In my case, I grew up in a place where loyalty and general acceptance of most people in the neighborhood was taken for granted, and I went to a place where loyalty and acceptance were conditional and expensive. It was a trade I made in exchange for acquiring the skills I wanted, but it was a trade."

"Man's chief predator was Man."

"Sexual motivation could never be underestimated. Whether openly acknowledged or not, the Law of Carnal Desire wrote itself into nearly every human transaction. At least according to Dr. Grafton, better sex was behind the invention of money and the ever-hungry root of most criminal activity, as well as good deeds. Even the existence of the much-acclaimed freedom of will could only be explained by insisting that free will benefitted successful reproduction more than a mindless biological algorithm working toward the same end would."

"I hope I'm not oversimplifying this, August, but aren't you simply saying you want something good to happen to you?
The sound of his name in her mouth infused him with adrenaline. 'Yes, that's where joy and happiness always seem to originate — out there. See, I already have all the chemistry needed for perfect bliss. The biomechanics are inside of me, but it doesn't work without outside stimulation. I'm like a player piano waiting for something to release the music. The exaltation we experience through the most glorious happenings we can possibly imagine — the best things we can ever hope to feel —
must already be inside us, and if they're not there we'll never experience them."

"'But some apples taste really, really good. You take a bite and along with tartness, crispness, sweetness, coolness, and juiciness, you get treated to a blast of indulgent satisfaction....What I'm asking is where that good part comes from.'
'Joy and satisfaction come from the cerebral activity within pleasure centers. Through activations the reinforcement centers in the brain. When synapses cascade in those areas with the appropriate neurotransmitters, we feel good; when even more neurotransmitters are involved, we feel even better.'"

I found the passage about owls on page 350 to be very interesting, and intriguing in its introduction of biological dimorphism; and then came the sections on Gene Circling, cloning and parthenogenesis....
and the novel ended in the 2040's.

[Brooke Vanderheyden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this book 3 stars out of 5. It’s got a lot of unnecessary talking / thinking from the characters. There was a lot of build up between April and August only to not really go anywhere. It’s a lot of odd occurrences and the book doesn’t really seem to have a destination, seems kind of all over the place. Events are abrupt and the flow is bizarre.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved “Driftless.” “Jewelweed” was also good. I was disappointed in this one. There was a lot of boring-to-me cell biology. Most of the characters did not seem real. I did enjoy some of the descriptions on the landscape. The other books had more characters and interlocking stories, that I found interesting. August was really the main character here.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the scienctific detail in this book a challenge but I'm glad I stuck with the story which came together for me toward the end. David Rhodes is one of my favorite authors for his take on human connections and for his beautiful, poetic style.

[kmstullwriter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in the near future (2027), in Chicago & rural Wisconsin, the narration is third person mostly following one character (August) with occasional chapters or paragraphs narrated through supporting characters. Themes include how much evolutionary biology/chemistry drives action & emotions.

The long dialogue sections that sounded like lectures and pretty much every character talked this way. August’s insta-love/lust for Amanda and then for April was sort of interrogated by the theme, but not in a way that emotionally satisfied me. The last third or so dropped most of what I found interesting (the small town relationships; growing up and coming home; new/rich vs old/poor community conflict; the emotional/romantic tangle of August/Hanh/Ivan) for weird science and ethical diatribes about rising above our biology (I think?). The epilogue felt indulgent, as if the author was doubling down on the shift from personal to scientific/philosophical.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic David Rhodes, last work...familiar characters come home to a changing world in the near future. I appreciate Rhodes's understanding in his way the power of humanity. This last story is one of the ultimate population correction into a kinder and better world, but it takes a lengthy route to get there. Fans of his previous work will enjoy the stories inside the stories, background we didn't know and new sides of characters who have grown up and come home. Words is a place in Wisconsin where you're only lonely if you want to be, women are respected, men are reliable, and the children are enabled to grow up. Description is rampant, dialog is neuro-diverse, and the depths of humanity is parsed endlessly. Between the lines is a story of love and hope for a brave new future.

[Kenneth Feeney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third book about Words, Wisconsin a fictional town in the Driftless area. I read the first two years ago, Driftless and Juleweed and enjoyed them both. While this book took you back to Words and the characters of the previous two novels far to much time was spent on August's scientific research and for me esoteric theories. Secondly was the gated community that was occupied by ultra rich outsiders like a dystopian novel waiting for I don't know what to happen. I read it, and completed it, because of the first two novels. If I read it without knowledge of the previous two I wouldn't seek out the previous two.

[Li · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was both interesting and ridiculous. I skip paragraphs of text that were to me unneccesary. Many times I thought of how this book could only have been written by a man. There was just too much "data", over and over which for me took away from the story. I would be more interested in other parts of the story unfolding then hearing about the male characters go off on their scientific explanations. As if life was logical and could be explained by science alone. Maybe that is because I am a women. I definitely would not choose to read this again.

[Stacy Thorson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was excited to find a new David Rhodes (came out in 2022 and I didn't realize) but the style reminded me more of "The Last Fair Deal . . . " than it did Jewelweed or Driftless, at least as far as I read. Also set in the very near future but the why of that isn't motivated. The shorelines are receding? And he takes his coffee white? Is this some near dystopia we didn't plan on? I only read up to where he decides to leave Chicago, and I may come back to this, but I decided to spend my reading time elsewhere right now.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I really loved Jewelweed and Driftless and while Painting Beyond Walls did bring me back to Driftless region and the folks I had lovingly traveled with in the earlier books, Rhodes in Painting often fell into educating the reader about some philosophical point or biological theory that interrupted the story flow and took away from character development. I do recommend the book, but it isn't doesn't rise to his earlier work.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like this author and eagerly read his latest work. I would give this 2 and 1/2 stars but ended up with 3.
I wasn't expecting a work of science fiction (heavy on the science) from Rhodes. His strength is writing about people and this is a story about ideas. I don't mind reading about evolutionary biology but the plot and the dialogue were a bit convoluted at times.
Not his best work.

[Dianne S. Terrasi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Third in the series

This is the last book in a series. I love the way David Rhodes writes. Painting Beyond the Walls was just as intriguing as the others. I love the depth of characters the author provides. The story is nicely wrapped up. I thoroughly enjoyed reading these books.

[Maren Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Rhodes is a gifted author who ably invents interesting characters. This is an intriguing story about future events that are difficult to predict, but unsettling in many ways. While this is not my favorite book by this author, it did keep me immersed in the world he created.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, hmm, covered so many themes in so much depth, I would have to put the book down to digest what David Rhodes wrote. He picked up the lives of Ivan, Hanh (Jewelweed) and August (Gus) after 8 years and, I believe, included every deep thought that he (the author) had since his last book.

[Taylor Jeromos · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. His description of the main female character was so heinously stupid I had to stop reading. Couldn’t be more obvious this man believes his women characters can be smart AND beautiful, and that he’s thus a champion of feminism.

[Deb Sodt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've loved his other books but not this one as much. I still like his writing style and his insights into human behavior, but I found this story line just too unbelievable.

[Janell · Rating 4 out of 5]

So different! Kept me hanging in there. I’m going to read some more of his work.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like how Rhodes writes: interesting sentences, characters, and interspersed with scientific and historical information. It is mainly set in both Wisconsin and the future.

[Nell Fleming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique, bizarre, interesting, hard to describe with a few places that needed editing to make the story flow better but I did want to keep going.

[Jenn Gravert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Iowa City author. Fabulous, descriptive writing and a good story.