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Vendor
Fritz Agency
Christian Dittus
Original language
English

PAINT YOUR WIFE

Lloyd Jones

Long ago, when the men of a small town in New Zealand were away at war, Alma began painting the women of the town. They sat for him in lieu of payment for his work catching rats. Alice, his favourite, returned his attentions, and when her husband, George, came home from the war, he set out to prove his love and reclaim his wife by moving a hill - wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow - for her. Now, decades later, Alma's 'in lieu of' payment is revived, and the townspeople, looking to escape various corners of despair, turn to drawing classes. They begin to discover that when you draw, the only thing that matters is what lies before you.

Like other novels by Lloyd Jones, PAINT YOUR WIFE is about the redemptive power of art. Ailing marriages are revived as men learn to truly see their wives, many for the first time. It's a colourful, sensual novel, brimming with rich stories and even richer characters.
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Published 2023-05-11 by Penguin Australia

Comments

[This] playful, perceptive novel originally came out a decade ago. Its reappearance now completes Text's publication of his back list—and what an accolade that is Rooted in domestic detail, yet always liable to soar into the fabulous, the narrative winds through all sorts of transformations towards reverie, reconciliation, and an epiphany of “just as you are, please” Lloyd Jones has written recently that plot now matters less to him in his writing; that the exploration of language itself is becoming more of a preoccupation. The pleasures of this swooping, sensuous narrative make you hope there'll be room for both strengths in his future fiction.

A delightful read, moving and uplifting, and loaded with gorgeous prose this new edition by Text Publishing has wonderfully evocative cover art by W. H. Chong. Highly recommended.

A gentle, whimsical book Jones's writing is easy and sophisticated, reminding me of Steinbeck at his humorous best the whole fanciful sprawl is a delight.