Larkin’s Reviews > The Crimson Portrait > Status Update

Why didn't McCleary shot Artis in the foot or something? He could still be a surgeon and avoid the war. There had to be better options. In historical fiction novels mental illness is represented in a hysterical manner, like the lady on the window and the man in the tree. The ending was abrupt, like Shields was done and just like ehh, wrap it up. I wish I would've read The Fig Eater first because it must be better.

FINALLY FINISHED! I think I've come to the conclusion that Shields tried too hard. She tried to put in a lot of medical information, some fancy prose, a love story, suffering, war, artists, medicine. It's a lot and none of it was done completely. You don't care for any of the characters because Shields is too protective and doesn't allow them to be vulnerable in a meaningful way.

(223)(232) Idk if the problem is that the writer tried to hard or what, but I do enjoy parts of this book. Like when Anna was making the mask, certain parts will draw me in, but then we'll hit a spot of stunted, or bad dialogue/emotions or confusing prose and I'm out of it again. It just seems like Shields was forcing this book or her writing to be something it's not, idk. The povs are detached, surface connection.

(192) I'm bored. This could've been thriller-ish, I don't know what genre this is. I just want to be done with this book. It's soooo slow. And Catherine is selfish for doing this. I guess she has only altered the mask, but what will happen if he gets another face surgery and they go off of Charles photo, she's stealing a face and identity away from Julian, she's unwell.

(173)(178) This book would be great for someone who is a fan of Hemingway and Mrs. Dalloway. Unfortunately, I don't really like either. There's jumping from feeling intimate moments with the characters and then detached and it doesn't seem like it's done intentionally. Sometimes I get confused whether I'm reading for Anna and Catherine. There are some pretty little snips and I wish Shields spent more time with them

*(109) "Remember me, but forget my fate" -Dido, Queen of Carthage

There's parts of this book, a sentence or phrase at a time that make me think Shields' writing has potential, but then it will be ruined by a confusing metaphor that I can't decipher, even looking at it in a poetic sort of way. It can be confusing. So far there are two PoVs: Catherine and Dr. McCleay, I prefer the doctor's narrative. I didn't think that Catherine would be so obvious unhinged, she's seeing things.

Started on Jan. 14, 2020
*(16)
I got this book at Goodwill, I think the cover is beautiful. I thought the premise sounded interesting. There's some bits of mesmerizing description, but the parts with Dr. McCleary read more like a medical research paper. I'm not far in by any means, so who knows.