The novel starts on a hot July day in 1967. Since arriving in London from Trinidad five years earlier Odelle Bastien has struggled to find her place in the city. Now she is excited to be entering the renowned Skelton art gallery to start work as a typist under the tutelage of the glamorous and enigmatic part owner Marjorie Quick. Quick takes Odelle under her wing and unlocks a potential she didn't know she had by encouraging her to follow her lifelong dream of becoming a writer. One day a young man Odelle met at her best friend’s post-wedding party walks into the gallery with a painting under his arm. It was left to him by his mother and he would like to have it valued and find out something of its history. Quick is sure she recognises it but says nothing. The owner of the gallery is excited by the painting, thinking it could be a lost masterpiece by Spanish painter Isaac Robles, who died under mysterious circumstances.
In 1936 in rural Spain, the threat of civil war is present everywhere. The dysfunctional Schloss family are renting a finca in a village near Malaga. Arrogant Harold Schloss is a renowned art dealer, completely absorbed in his own talent he believes that females are incapable of great art. His wife Sarah hails from a wealthy background. She relies on self-medication, and pines for lost youth and a less wandering husband. Their daughter Olive harbours ambitions of her own. Unknown to her parents she was selected for admission to a London art school but declined the offer to spite her father.
Isaac Robles and his half-sister, Teresa, are employed by the property’s owner, to take on whatever tasks need doing. Isaac is a painter and an activist, working against the fascists. They insinuate themselves into the Schloss family.
Sarah commissions Isaac to paint a portrait of herself and Olive, but he knows he’s not up for the task so he asks Olive to do it and he take the credit. Olive is happy to be the anonymous artist, to enjoy the freedom of creating purely for pleasure, rather than working for praise or profit. She had no way of knowing the ramifications of her decision.
I didn’t like Isaac.
I thought the plot was somewhat predictable but nevertheless it's a good read and it held my interest all the way through.
∼ Happy Reading ∼
Polly x
It’s hard for me to enjoy a book when I don’t like a main character AND it’s predictable as well.
ReplyDeleteHi Bijoux, he wasn't much of a main character and although the plot was predictable I still didn't work out the dynamics :-)
DeleteSounds like a complexly involved plot!
ReplyDeleteIt was Debra.
DeleteSounds like a good read, now the weather is changing I will start to read more again.
ReplyDeleteMore rain here today, I've spent most of the day on the sofa reading.
DeleteThanks, Polly, I've had this one on my list for a while now. I always enjoy your reviews.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Thank you Amalia x
DeleteI am interested in reading a book story with a year old background because I can more or less get to know the history behind the story. Thank you for your review.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Indonesia.
Thank you for visiting.
DeleteI thought I may have read this one at the beginning - must have been something like it. Sounds intriguing but Olive and Odelle - didn't you get them confused?
ReplyDeleteI did, I also kept thinking that Olive was the mother and Sarah the daughter because Olive seemed a name more suited to an older person. I make notes about characters now, so that I can keep track of them!
DeleteI read this one some time ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Like you, I found it held my interest all the way through, as a lot of longish books don't.
ReplyDeleteOh, I can't wait to get back to reading. I really miss that. : )
ReplyDelete~Sheri
Thanks for this review, Polly. I am always interested in learning about books fellow bloggers are reading and especially whether or not they are enjoying them. If I start a book and then do not get back to it, that is for me a sign that it should be returned to the library. It's hard to read a story when you don't like the characters.
ReplyDelete