- Audio Cassette
- Publisher: Bookcassette (Sep 1 1991)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0930435877
- ISBN-13: 978-0930435875
- Product Dimensions: 18.4 x 11.4 x 4.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 181 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
In this touchingly whimsical tale darkened by the undercurrent of a serious parable, Wharton ( Birdy ; Franky Furbo ) explores moments in which sexuality and art intersect. As in Wharton's previous novels, the protagonist is an artist, here, American expatriate painter Jack, 49, who is recovering from a broken marriage and years of scrambling in the corporate rat race. Now penniless, Jack subsists as a squatter in a Paris attic and paints in a public square, where he meets Mirabelle, a blind, 71-year-old, self-appointed pigeon lady who cares for the birds who flutter about his easel. Between Jack and Mirabelle springs a friendship that deepens into an improbable but impassioned sexual union. Mirabelle's blindness is psychological; its sudden onset occurred at age 14 when her mother committed suicide. While their love is often heavily belabored ("In your blindness you taught me to see," Jack tells her), it does produce miracles. Difficulties arise when Jack's wife wants him back, but Mirabelle's frailty in the end helps him solve his dilemma. Jack's bizarre homage to Mirabelle at the story's close somewhat redeems the novel from sentimentality.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
"Believing is seeing," proclaims Wharton in the epigram to this charming novel, and he then proceeds admirably to prove it. Jack is a fiftyish American in Paris. Having abandoned a too successful career and the family life that went sour because of it, he aims to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a painter. A chance meeting with a blind old lady--she inadvertently crashes into his easel--helps him realize his dream. For Mirabelle is a remarkable woman who, though hysterically blind since witnessing her mother's suicide as a child, nevertheless demonstrates a penetrating comprehension of the world. As the newly dubbed Jacques tries to describe his paintings to Mirabelle and she tries to describe her memories of a Paris she has not seen for years, he learns to see in a new way. Their friendship eventually blossoms into a tender yet physically passionate love far removed in its thoughtful depiction from the standard erotic entanglements of contemporary page and screen. The story may seem improbable, but Wharton makes us believe--and see. Highly recommended.
- Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
disgusting,
By Marek Komorowski (Poland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Last Lovers (Hardcover)
Geriatric hardcore. It's unlike the rest Wharton's books which I liked very much. I wish I had missed it.
1.0 out of 5 stars
worst of wharton,
By A Customer
This review is from: Last Lovers (Hardcover)
He's one of my favorite authors and several of his books make my all time top ten list...but this one, never. The voice is Wharton, but the progressive love affair was unappetizing to the point of nausea. Also, the climax may have been written as a hoax, it was that unbelieveably trite. The setting was described so beautifully I could see it, as could the blind heroine, through the painter's eyes. The concept of mutual other self actualization was intriguing. Its enactment was not. Perhaps I expected too much.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A moving story,
By Maanu (Orangeburg, SC United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Last Lovers (Hardcover)
This unusual story of the love between an American street artist in Paris running away from himself, and an old blind woman traumatized by a family death, is unforgettable. The seemingly contradictory themes of carnal sex and innocence, pain and caring, culture and cross-culture are painted so engagingly that the book is a page-turner to the very end.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
