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The Painting
Stefan, a naive young Pole, meets Gunter, an artist in 1930s Berlin. Their passionate love affair is overshadowed by the rise of the Third Reich. Denounced to the Nazis, they are sent to Auschwitz as pink triangle prisoners. Some things even love cannot withstand. Forty years later Stefan returns to Poland with one when you have nothing left, how can you prove love ever existed? Berlin, 1936: optimism fades and the freedoms of the Weimar Republic are little more than a memory, yet the inhabitants of the city blind themselves to the approaching disaster. The Painting is a story of love, of survival, of a life lived at the mercy of one of the most terrible events of the last century.
110 pages, ebook
First published December 13, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 11, 2011
Hidden away on Lulu and Smashwords there are quite a lot of gay historicals. I often search through those sites in case I find anything that seems promising, and often I do, so it is a worthwhile endeavour. This title, however, came to my notice through an industry friend Leslie Nichol who said it was a heartbreaking read, but well worth it.
The subject matter of the first half of the book certainly will put many people off from attempting this book, but I urge you to put that aside, be brave and to try this book out. The issue of Paragraph 175, the Pink Triangle and the camps has been dealt with in many memoires and textbooks, but few fictional representations as far as I am aware. The play and film “Bent” deals with it fantastically, too—and this book has something of the feel of Bent to it—only it’s not quite as devastating to read. This should be obvious as I did say that the first half of the book deals with the camps, and so the book moves on from that point.
It’s the story of Stefan Brukalski, Polish born and raised—he comes to Berlin in the early 1930’s because he’s heard that it is a city bursting with inspiration and creative life. The book opens with him at a pavement cafe, at the end of his tether and deciding to return to his home town in Poland, because Berlin has changed drastically since he heard tales of how liberal and fun she was. The Night of the Long Knives put paid to much of the liberalism, and the city is beginning to learn how to live in fear. It is at this cafe where he meets Gunter, a man 14 years Stefan’s senior, a painter, who picks him up, takes him home and they begin a passionate and heartfelt affair. Stefan becomes a German citizen to be able to stay in the country with Gunter, and both men (as they had little choice in the matter) join the National Socialist Party, Stefan as a clerk, and Gunter as an architect/planner.
By the time the war begins, it is clear that Gunter is tortured by some secret he can’t and won’t divulge, and their relationship takes a nosedive, but Stefan holds on, trying to be strong for them both. Then one day storm troopers close off the street and arrest everyone they can. Stefan hides in a hidden place in the house and waits but the scare is enough for them to decide to split up for safety. Homosexuals are being rounded up, being put into camps, and they think the safest thing to do is to separate.
It’s after this that everything goes to hell, for our two main characters (and everyone else) and the section regarding Stefan’s arrest and consequent experiences in Auschwitz are bravely done. The author seems to have reined back a little on what she could have written, but what she puts down is probably worse, because the imagination takes over, filling in the details from every newsreel and documentary our generations have seen, the generations who were not there. I think, though, that the author hints at the worst of it, and although the chimneys are described and the smoke, I didn’t really get the sense that Stefan knew what was going on. I think Wallace was relying too heavily on what the reader would actually know, and felt that she didn’t need to spell it out. Perhaps that’s the right approach. I don’t know.
But it’s this reining in that troubles me for the entire book in general. The description of Berlin as it turned itself inside out from a free-thinking, artistic haunt where anything goes and wilkommen, bienvenue, welcome, to a police state, and then a city under threat of attack was not sketched out for me in enough detail. Most of the pre-war/pre-arrest sections are spent closeted away in Gunter’s apartments and I for one would have liked to have been shown more of the city. It is said that they rarely went out socially, for fear of giving themselves away, but I’d have liked to have seen even the shopping trips, and the like. We are told what’s going on, but we aren’t really shown it.
Aside from the camp sections—which, as I said—probably benefit from veiling the reader from day after day of the horror, the book runs like this with telling rather than showing, and we race along from the end of the war, careering into the fifties and sixties and seventies in a breathless rush, not really showing the passing of time, the changing of the fashions, the ideals in the country where the book takes place. I would have expected some social commentary on England, to be honest. There was a nice touch where the police call on Stefan after his story hit the headlines, and he panics that he’s going to be arrested, no charge, and dragged away, but of course—it’s England and nothing much happens at all. But England would have been such a haven (in comparison to Communist Poland or post-war Germany) and it’s not explored at all.
The book deals with a lot, family issues, people doing things because they had no choice, survivor guilt, and much much more—and with the weighty issues it has to cover it can’t help but skimp on some of the human detail. I for one would have liked the pace to slow after the 1950’s, to show us him bringing up his niece in more chapters than we were given, but we leapt forward seven years in each chapter and it didn’t help to get me connected to Hannah at all, or to get a sense of that, for 14 years or so, he lived a happier life. It didn’t explain his rise as an author, and that’s something I’d have liked to have seen.
Perhaps it should have been two books. It reads as a family saga, and I’m a great lover of family sagas, and would happily read a book three times the size, watching the years go by. I felt a little cheated because I seemed to be there for all the terrible things that happened, but there must have been so much kitchen-sink sweetness and pleasure in Stefan’s life as Hannah grew up. He deserved that, and the reader deserved to share them with him.
There’s no mention of change in the political atmosphere regarding homosexuality in England either, even though Stefan doesn’t further that side of himself for many years, he would have—surely—noted the changes in the law as homosexuality finally became legal in 1967, even if it was only to himself. I'd expected this because Stefan was a Pole, and Poland (under Polish government) had no anti-homosexual laws.
Don’t get me wrong: even though I felt a lack of detail, this is still a beautifully written, thoughtful book. The ending sections, particularly, are touching and utterly believable. The theme that arises—although, once more, I would have liked a little more emphasis on the theme earlier in the book—of finding that Stefan had begun to wonder if he had invented Gunther, to give his own life some focus, is warming and heartbreaking. I was happy for Stefan when I closed the book, but I wasn’t sobbing like a baby, and really—I think I should have been.
Considering it’s self-published it’s a bit of a jewel. The editing is top notch and the author has worked her socks off to get it in a state that—were it picked up by a mainstream publisher and i hope it might be—it would hardly need a comma moving.
It’s a challenging read, due to the subject matter, but don’t let that put you off. This book deserves as many readers as it can get and I look forward to a lot of eagerness to see what Ms Wallace comes up with next.
The author says she is negotiating to get the book into print format, but until then, there's
Kindle Smashwords
The subject matter of the first half of the book certainly will put many people off from attempting this book, but I urge you to put that aside, be brave and to try this book out. The issue of Paragraph 175, the Pink Triangle and the camps has been dealt with in many memoires and textbooks, but few fictional representations as far as I am aware. The play and film “Bent” deals with it fantastically, too—and this book has something of the feel of Bent to it—only it’s not quite as devastating to read. This should be obvious as I did say that the first half of the book deals with the camps, and so the book moves on from that point.
It’s the story of Stefan Brukalski, Polish born and raised—he comes to Berlin in the early 1930’s because he’s heard that it is a city bursting with inspiration and creative life. The book opens with him at a pavement cafe, at the end of his tether and deciding to return to his home town in Poland, because Berlin has changed drastically since he heard tales of how liberal and fun she was. The Night of the Long Knives put paid to much of the liberalism, and the city is beginning to learn how to live in fear. It is at this cafe where he meets Gunter, a man 14 years Stefan’s senior, a painter, who picks him up, takes him home and they begin a passionate and heartfelt affair. Stefan becomes a German citizen to be able to stay in the country with Gunter, and both men (as they had little choice in the matter) join the National Socialist Party, Stefan as a clerk, and Gunter as an architect/planner.
By the time the war begins, it is clear that Gunter is tortured by some secret he can’t and won’t divulge, and their relationship takes a nosedive, but Stefan holds on, trying to be strong for them both. Then one day storm troopers close off the street and arrest everyone they can. Stefan hides in a hidden place in the house and waits but the scare is enough for them to decide to split up for safety. Homosexuals are being rounded up, being put into camps, and they think the safest thing to do is to separate.
It’s after this that everything goes to hell, for our two main characters (and everyone else) and the section regarding Stefan’s arrest and consequent experiences in Auschwitz are bravely done. The author seems to have reined back a little on what she could have written, but what she puts down is probably worse, because the imagination takes over, filling in the details from every newsreel and documentary our generations have seen, the generations who were not there. I think, though, that the author hints at the worst of it, and although the chimneys are described and the smoke, I didn’t really get the sense that Stefan knew what was going on. I think Wallace was relying too heavily on what the reader would actually know, and felt that she didn’t need to spell it out. Perhaps that’s the right approach. I don’t know.
But it’s this reining in that troubles me for the entire book in general. The description of Berlin as it turned itself inside out from a free-thinking, artistic haunt where anything goes and wilkommen, bienvenue, welcome, to a police state, and then a city under threat of attack was not sketched out for me in enough detail. Most of the pre-war/pre-arrest sections are spent closeted away in Gunter’s apartments and I for one would have liked to have been shown more of the city. It is said that they rarely went out socially, for fear of giving themselves away, but I’d have liked to have seen even the shopping trips, and the like. We are told what’s going on, but we aren’t really shown it.
Aside from the camp sections—which, as I said—probably benefit from veiling the reader from day after day of the horror, the book runs like this with telling rather than showing, and we race along from the end of the war, careering into the fifties and sixties and seventies in a breathless rush, not really showing the passing of time, the changing of the fashions, the ideals in the country where the book takes place. I would have expected some social commentary on England, to be honest. There was a nice touch where the police call on Stefan after his story hit the headlines, and he panics that he’s going to be arrested, no charge, and dragged away, but of course—it’s England and nothing much happens at all. But England would have been such a haven (in comparison to Communist Poland or post-war Germany) and it’s not explored at all.
The book deals with a lot, family issues, people doing things because they had no choice, survivor guilt, and much much more—and with the weighty issues it has to cover it can’t help but skimp on some of the human detail. I for one would have liked the pace to slow after the 1950’s, to show us him bringing up his niece in more chapters than we were given, but we leapt forward seven years in each chapter and it didn’t help to get me connected to Hannah at all, or to get a sense of that, for 14 years or so, he lived a happier life. It didn’t explain his rise as an author, and that’s something I’d have liked to have seen.
Perhaps it should have been two books. It reads as a family saga, and I’m a great lover of family sagas, and would happily read a book three times the size, watching the years go by. I felt a little cheated because I seemed to be there for all the terrible things that happened, but there must have been so much kitchen-sink sweetness and pleasure in Stefan’s life as Hannah grew up. He deserved that, and the reader deserved to share them with him.
There’s no mention of change in the political atmosphere regarding homosexuality in England either, even though Stefan doesn’t further that side of himself for many years, he would have—surely—noted the changes in the law as homosexuality finally became legal in 1967, even if it was only to himself. I'd expected this because Stefan was a Pole, and Poland (under Polish government) had no anti-homosexual laws.
Don’t get me wrong: even though I felt a lack of detail, this is still a beautifully written, thoughtful book. The ending sections, particularly, are touching and utterly believable. The theme that arises—although, once more, I would have liked a little more emphasis on the theme earlier in the book—of finding that Stefan had begun to wonder if he had invented Gunther, to give his own life some focus, is warming and heartbreaking. I was happy for Stefan when I closed the book, but I wasn’t sobbing like a baby, and really—I think I should have been.
Considering it’s self-published it’s a bit of a jewel. The editing is top notch and the author has worked her socks off to get it in a state that—were it picked up by a mainstream publisher and i hope it might be—it would hardly need a comma moving.
It’s a challenging read, due to the subject matter, but don’t let that put you off. This book deserves as many readers as it can get and I look forward to a lot of eagerness to see what Ms Wallace comes up with next.
The author says she is negotiating to get the book into print format, but until then, there's
Kindle Smashwords
did-not-finish
October 7, 2022DNF @ 18%. No rating.
This one's my fault. I was wondering why the author had the MCs get together right at the start of the book with zero lead up and zero attempt to make me believe in their relationship. It turns out that I misread the blurb and this is gay historical fiction, not gay historical romance. The point of the story is Stefan's experiences as a gay man who lives through the Holocaust and the decades afterwards. The writing is beautiful and based on the part I've read, the author does a great job portraying this difficult time period.
While I was tempted to continue reading for the historical fiction experience, I'm not brave enough. I've read some Holocaust stories when I was younger and they're very, very difficult to deal with. The only reason I was interested in this book when I thought it was a romance is because I was hoping the love between the MCs would add a bit of hope and warmth to such an awful subject matter, which would have kept things a bit more balanced. Since that's not what the author was going for, I'm not brave enough to keep reading but kudos to the author for apparently writing a very important and well written story.
This one's my fault. I was wondering why the author had the MCs get together right at the start of the book with zero lead up and zero attempt to make me believe in their relationship. It turns out that I misread the blurb and this is gay historical fiction, not gay historical romance. The point of the story is Stefan's experiences as a gay man who lives through the Holocaust and the decades afterwards. The writing is beautiful and based on the part I've read, the author does a great job portraying this difficult time period.
While I was tempted to continue reading for the historical fiction experience, I'm not brave enough. I've read some Holocaust stories when I was younger and they're very, very difficult to deal with. The only reason I was interested in this book when I thought it was a romance is because I was hoping the love between the MCs would add a bit of hope and warmth to such an awful subject matter, which would have kept things a bit more balanced. Since that's not what the author was going for, I'm not brave enough to keep reading but kudos to the author for apparently writing a very important and well written story.
January 15, 2012
I put off reading this book for a while, because I'm a big baby and all, but it was very much worth reading. Fair warning - the concentration camp section of the story is shorter than I expected, but it is still *very* brutal.
At times I wondered where the author was taking the story. I found myself wanting the story to take a certain direction (a result of reading m/m romance novels, I'm sure) but I give credit to the author for keeping things realistic. I'm glad I stayed with the story to its beautiful, poignant ending.
I wish I could be more articulate, but I'm still a bit shell shocked from reading this story. I think I need some chocolate and to re-read Tigers and Devils now .
But not to worry, Stefan, I won't ever forget you.
At times I wondered where the author was taking the story. I found myself wanting the story to take a certain direction (a result of reading m/m romance novels, I'm sure) but I give credit to the author for keeping things realistic. I'm glad I stayed with the story to its beautiful, poignant ending.
I wish I could be more articulate, but I'm still a bit shell shocked from reading this story. I think I need some chocolate and to re-read Tigers and Devils now .
But not to worry, Stefan, I won't ever forget you.
March 19, 2018
What an amazing and beautiful book. I have read a lot of books about WWII and I have never read one about a couple persecuted for their sexuality. This entire book was just so moving and so well written. I loved Stefan and reading about his journey. This book was about more than just the war. It was also about Stefan struggling to find meaning and love in his life. Highly recommend this one.
January 17, 2012
This book deals with a very difficult time in history. Of course we are all aware of the Holocaust and what it was. I know for myself, though, there were many aspects I didn't know about, one of them being the whole pink triangle/persecution of homosexuals. I only learned of this a year or so ago.
Reading the summary/blurb does not even begin to touch on what this book is about. It does tell the story of two lovers, however it is really more a story of what it was like to live in that time period, to live in Europe during that time -- the experiences of someone who lived through the concentration camp and how his whole life thereafter was affected. One item that shocked me was the fact that after the war was over and the camps liberated, the MC still had to serve time in prison because he was gay. Being gay was still a crime back then and i think growing up in our modern society, this type of punishment did not even occur to me as a possibility. Of course one reason the MC is sent to jail, is because he refuses to hide who he is or who he chooses to love. He never falters at any time in the book, always preferring to live the truth then try to deny and make things easier.
The writer does such a wonderful job of telling the story. At 181 pages the story tells of several decades of time passing and does it very effectively, without feeling like things were skipped or passing by too quickly. Along the way we get to find out how other members of his family lived through the war and some of the things they had to do to survive. One id my favorite parts came some forty years after the war when the MC went back to Poland to visit family he hadn't seen in years, and he finally gets to talk to his brother whom he thought always hated him. He learns what really happened to other members of his family while he was in the concentration camps and even he did not realize what his family had been through all those years ago.
Yes there are some harsh events in this book to read through, but it is well worth pushing through to the beautiful end.
Reading the summary/blurb does not even begin to touch on what this book is about. It does tell the story of two lovers, however it is really more a story of what it was like to live in that time period, to live in Europe during that time -- the experiences of someone who lived through the concentration camp and how his whole life thereafter was affected. One item that shocked me was the fact that after the war was over and the camps liberated, the MC still had to serve time in prison because he was gay. Being gay was still a crime back then and i think growing up in our modern society, this type of punishment did not even occur to me as a possibility. Of course one reason the MC is sent to jail, is because he refuses to hide who he is or who he chooses to love. He never falters at any time in the book, always preferring to live the truth then try to deny and make things easier.
The writer does such a wonderful job of telling the story. At 181 pages the story tells of several decades of time passing and does it very effectively, without feeling like things were skipped or passing by too quickly. Along the way we get to find out how other members of his family lived through the war and some of the things they had to do to survive. One id my favorite parts came some forty years after the war when the MC went back to Poland to visit family he hadn't seen in years, and he finally gets to talk to his brother whom he thought always hated him. He learns what really happened to other members of his family while he was in the concentration camps and even he did not realize what his family had been through all those years ago.
Yes there are some harsh events in this book to read through, but it is well worth pushing through to the beautiful end.
June 20, 2011
While this story has elements which may not appeal to all readers it is overall a great read. At times sweet and tender as well as hauntingly sad and violent. Stefan's journey from Berlin in the 1930s thru the horrors of concentration camp life, the loss of loved ones and his subsequent years surviving and then overcoming the horrors he went through are told so well that I was swept away completely into his life. While not the m/m romance I usually read it's a story I'm very glad I read. Stefan went thru so much in his life and even though the ending is not the fairytale ending I normally look for it felt right for the story.
***There are some very violent and disturbing scenes in this book however I found it well worth reading. Highly recommended.***
***There are some very violent and disturbing scenes in this book however I found it well worth reading. Highly recommended.***
September 12, 2021
This was a well written, but heartbreaking story. The story is written in Stefan's point of view. Most often when one thinks of the Holocaust, we think of the Jewish people who were sent there, but many other groups of people were sent there as well. I cried through the first half this book in the tragedies that Stefan and Gunter endured. They both enlisted in the German Army in an attempt to be safe and maintained separate residences in hopes that they would not be discovered. Gunter is clearly troubled by his jobs in the Army, but doesn't share the specifics with Stefan. They both end up on the same train to the concentration camp. Stefan suffers many brutal rapes, but gets extra food and shares it with Gunter. They do anything to keep going and survive. Paragraph 175, the Pink Triangle and the camps was well represented.
The second half of the book is about Stefan's life after the war. After the camp is liberated it is found out why he was there and is sent to jail to serve the rest of his 10 year sentence for being homosexual. In that time only one of his brothers comes to see him. Hungry is at war with Poland. He escapes to Britain with his brother and sister-in-law. He faces many challenges along the way, but refuses to give up his identity and conform by taking a wife and settling down. He eventually moves to London where he makes friends and adopts his nice Hannah.
I highly recommend this one even though it is a heavy read. There is a strong message within and it is well written.
The second half of the book is about Stefan's life after the war. After the camp is liberated it is found out why he was there and is sent to jail to serve the rest of his 10 year sentence for being homosexual. In that time only one of his brothers comes to see him. Hungry is at war with Poland. He escapes to Britain with his brother and sister-in-law. He faces many challenges along the way, but refuses to give up his identity and conform by taking a wife and settling down. He eventually moves to London where he makes friends and adopts his nice Hannah.
I highly recommend this one even though it is a heavy read. There is a strong message within and it is well written.
August 31, 2021
Read many books based on Holocoust, but this one was an eye opener. How a color can differentiate between humans, how even in the worst of times your choices further make you an outcast! This felt more painful. The book may have been portrayed as a love story but for me it was a story of hope. Beautifully written and well narrated.
July 7, 2011
This book will be a hard sell for many, because I know lots of folks don’t want to read war stories, concentration camps, Nazis, suffering, deprivation, killing, torture and more. This story has all that, but it also has wonderful, lyrical writing, incredibly researched historical details, characters that reflect an amazing resilience and strength of spirit in spite of overwhelming odds, and last, but not least, an absolutely perfect ending. What I really appreciate about books that are tough to read is that the pay-off at the end is so worth it and in that respect, this book did not disappoint.
The story opens in a café in Berlin where Gunter sees Stefan and says, “Can I draw you?” They go back to his apartment, where:
And so it begins. The story covers a five decade span, from the waning days of the Weimar Republic, through World War II, and then the years from 1954 on as Stefan tries to rebuild his life. He is ultimately successful and does find happiness but it is not an easy path. But to me, that’s what makes this such a good book. The characters and situations are so vivid and fully realized that it all came to life for me. Everything that Stefan saw, smelled, tasted, touched—I was right there with him, living the experience.
I’ve been on a tear of reading war stories recently, and this was the second WWII story I read in a week. I am struck by the idea that when we think about “war” as a global concept we lose sight of how horrible and devastating it is, and how, at the individual level, people, particularly soldiers and guards, can be incredibly cruel. Even so, people who suffer and experience unthinkable deprivations somehow survive, which is a testament to the strength of the human spirit. Could I manage to cope if faced with torture, starvation, beatings, rape? I don’t know. I don’t think Stefan ever expected to have to answer that question either, but he did and the answer was yes. His journey is the story told in this book and how he got to the other side, both figuratively and metaphorically, is a powerful tale.
I was surprised when I finished reading this to see it was just over 65,000 words. It felt much more epic. I don’t mean that as a criticism—it is more a reflection of the very good writing. The author was parsimonious and made every single word count. No padding or extraneous scenes in this book, that’s for sure!
This is an independent, self-published book—one of the “gems” I like to find. As such, it’s available only as an ebook: on Amazon in a Kindle version and Smashwords in multiple formats. I hope readers who are intrigued by this review make the effort to seek this book out. And if you’re not sure, you can read the first 25% on Smashwords, which I hope is enough to convince you to give this one a go.
Highly recommended.
Posted on reviewsbyjessewave, 6/13/2011
The story opens in a café in Berlin where Gunter sees Stefan and says, “Can I draw you?” They go back to his apartment, where:
A scuffed wooden chair stood in the middle of the floor. Without hesitation I walked towards it, shedding my clothes. It seemed natural that I should be naked; there was no suggestion, no coercion. The smooth wood was cool and the chair creaked as I sat sideways, one foot tucked onto the seat beneath me, my chin on my knee. He did not take his eyes from my face as he reached for pen and paper and began to draw.
And so it begins. The story covers a five decade span, from the waning days of the Weimar Republic, through World War II, and then the years from 1954 on as Stefan tries to rebuild his life. He is ultimately successful and does find happiness but it is not an easy path. But to me, that’s what makes this such a good book. The characters and situations are so vivid and fully realized that it all came to life for me. Everything that Stefan saw, smelled, tasted, touched—I was right there with him, living the experience.
I’ve been on a tear of reading war stories recently, and this was the second WWII story I read in a week. I am struck by the idea that when we think about “war” as a global concept we lose sight of how horrible and devastating it is, and how, at the individual level, people, particularly soldiers and guards, can be incredibly cruel. Even so, people who suffer and experience unthinkable deprivations somehow survive, which is a testament to the strength of the human spirit. Could I manage to cope if faced with torture, starvation, beatings, rape? I don’t know. I don’t think Stefan ever expected to have to answer that question either, but he did and the answer was yes. His journey is the story told in this book and how he got to the other side, both figuratively and metaphorically, is a powerful tale.
I was surprised when I finished reading this to see it was just over 65,000 words. It felt much more epic. I don’t mean that as a criticism—it is more a reflection of the very good writing. The author was parsimonious and made every single word count. No padding or extraneous scenes in this book, that’s for sure!
This is an independent, self-published book—one of the “gems” I like to find. As such, it’s available only as an ebook: on Amazon in a Kindle version and Smashwords in multiple formats. I hope readers who are intrigued by this review make the effort to seek this book out. And if you’re not sure, you can read the first 25% on Smashwords, which I hope is enough to convince you to give this one a go.
Highly recommended.
Posted on reviewsbyjessewave, 6/13/2011
March 3, 2017
The Painting is the life of our narrator, Stefan Brukalski, stripped to its raw essentials. It is a reminiscence that begins in 1934 Berlin, where the innocent Stefan, fresh from a Polish farm, meets the love of his life, Gunter Hein. Stefan and Gunter, who want nothing more than to create their art and delight in each other, are swept up in the tumult of the mid-20th Century Europe. The story is intensely personal account of Stefan's survival. As the horrors of the the war and the KZ camps pass, Stefan is left not only to heal his wounds but to piece together what really happened and what it meant. One might expect this to be a dark and angst-ridden journey; yet it's surprisingly full of hope.
This is a beautifully written novel that feels well researched and authentic to its setting. Fiona Wallace’s understated style, keen characterisation and power of description give the book an unusual intensity. It is writing distilled to an essence, and more beautiful for it. In five words she can express passionate love; in three the silent agony of grief. The effect is of a softly sombre voice, relentless, that overpowers the racket of a loudspeaker.
Among the remarkable features of this book is the richness of character. As in life, no one we come to know is wholly good or bad. Only the nameless are innocent victims, only the faceless are incarnations of evil - and they make only fleeting appearances here. Stefan and Gunter, for example, victims of Auschwitz, had previously joined the Nazi Party hoping for protection. The humanity of Wallace’s characters, flaws and nobility mixed, make them engaging to the reader, for we can see ourselves in them.
The Painting is haunting. There’s much to think about in this short novel. As the book’s characters sometimes do, I reacted with a stunned “wow”. Then, little by little, what it meant began to take form. I suspect those of us who have survived the 1980s and 90s period of AIDS time may feel a special resonance here. Definitely worth the time to read, I think it may be among the books I can come back to again with even more pleasure.
This is a beautifully written novel that feels well researched and authentic to its setting. Fiona Wallace’s understated style, keen characterisation and power of description give the book an unusual intensity. It is writing distilled to an essence, and more beautiful for it. In five words she can express passionate love; in three the silent agony of grief. The effect is of a softly sombre voice, relentless, that overpowers the racket of a loudspeaker.
Among the remarkable features of this book is the richness of character. As in life, no one we come to know is wholly good or bad. Only the nameless are innocent victims, only the faceless are incarnations of evil - and they make only fleeting appearances here. Stefan and Gunter, for example, victims of Auschwitz, had previously joined the Nazi Party hoping for protection. The humanity of Wallace’s characters, flaws and nobility mixed, make them engaging to the reader, for we can see ourselves in them.
The Painting is haunting. There’s much to think about in this short novel. As the book’s characters sometimes do, I reacted with a stunned “wow”. Then, little by little, what it meant began to take form. I suspect those of us who have survived the 1980s and 90s period of AIDS time may feel a special resonance here. Definitely worth the time to read, I think it may be among the books I can come back to again with even more pleasure.
May 29, 2017
Just a beautiful book. I read on average 50 books a year as a sort of personal challenge, and this was by far the best one I read in 2015. That it's self-published is sort of unbelievable to me; I think a lot of people have a view of self-published works being somehow inferior to those released by publishing houses, and thank god that gems like this exist to prove that idea wrong.
So, yes. I loved this book. I read it mostly in two sittings, and it was just phenomenal. I initially bought the Kindle book and then, after finishing it, shelled out for a print copy so that it could have a place on my bookshelf. I can't list the reasons I love this book. You need to read it yourself.
So, yes. I loved this book. I read it mostly in two sittings, and it was just phenomenal. I initially bought the Kindle book and then, after finishing it, shelled out for a print copy so that it could have a place on my bookshelf. I can't list the reasons I love this book. You need to read it yourself.
December 14, 2017
Oh my gosh ... so sad! It couldn't be otherwise - it was about a gay man in Germany during WWII ... being a part of the military, being in Auschwitz : beatings, rapes, having other inmates hate him,having his love die ... completing a 10yrs prison sentence for being gay even after the fall of the Nazis. His life after that all the way into the 1990s. At some point in the book, it says "A right cannot correct a wrong; the two live on side by side. It remains only to turn from negative to positive, not in the hope of erasing the past but to ensure we don not add to the weight that presses down on us." ... Crap, I'm still crying. It was a beautiful, sad story.
January 8, 2013
I'm writing this review just as I've finished the book as this story has really touched me. Starting in early 1930's Berlin, it tells the story of Stefan and his life throughout Europe during the twentieth century. I do not wish to give anything else away less I ruin such a beautiful story for future readers. My only quibble is the pace at which it moves- as often several years pass across just one page, but I'm sure that future re-reading of the book will correct this impression.
January 6, 2017
Tragic holocaust love story
This is really very good, but very sad and quite long.
There is a lot of sadness and tragedy, as befits a story about such a horrible situation. Unlike many holocaust love stories, it doesn't end with a jubilant release at war's end.
Some of the family stories wrapped up a bit too perfectly, I think. But overall it was a very well done story and seemed really relevant to current times.
This is really very good, but very sad and quite long.
There is a lot of sadness and tragedy, as befits a story about such a horrible situation. Unlike many holocaust love stories, it doesn't end with a jubilant release at war's end.
Some of the family stories wrapped up a bit too perfectly, I think. But overall it was a very well done story and seemed really relevant to current times.
October 27, 2011
I did not know what to think when I bought this book--especially with the story taking place during the era of the Nazi Regime in Germany during the 30's and 40's and knowing how the Nazis looked upon homosexuality. It has turned out to be one of the best and most moving books I have ever read. I would definitely recommend this book
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