Art and power

In The Portrait by Iain Pears, an artist named Henry MacAlpine sits down to paint his old friend, influential art critic William Naysmith. The two men were art students in Paris together, and have enjoyed a long and complicated relationship. As he paints, Henry talks. The narration of this book is entirely Henry's monologue as he paints.

It's hard to believe how well this works, and how well the author manages to build plot and suspense through Henry's talk. Quickly we understand that the two men's friendship has always been one of unequal power; gradually we realize how Henry feels about that. Suspense begins to build as we start to wonder what Henry intends to do about it.

I can't tell you much more than that, because one of the pleasures of this well-written little novel is the surprises it has in store for the reader. I will say that The Portrait has inspired me to read more books by Iain Pears.