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| The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Jeffrey Ford
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $12.95
Buy New: $4.95
You Save: $8.00 (62%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $3.93
Avg. Customer Rating:  (25 reviews)
Sales Rank: 420604
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 0060936177
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780060936174
ASIN: 0060936177
Publication Date: June 1, 2003
Release Date: May 27, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
A mysterious and richly evocative novel, The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque tells the story of portraitist Piero Piambo, who is offered a commission unlike any other. The client is Mrs. Charbuque, a wealthy and elusive woman who asks Piambo to paint her portrait, though with one bizarre twist: he may question her at length on any topic, but he may not, under any circumstances, see her. So begins an astonishing journey into Mrs. Charbuque's world and the world of 1893 New York society in this hypnotically compelling literary thriller.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
 Great writer April 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I went to grad school with this man. He was one of my favorite short story writers and now ... these novels are fantastic! John Gardner would've been so proud.
A mysterious comission October 8, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
In New York of 1893, painter Piambo is suffocating. He's forced to paint society portraits of the nouveaux riches in order to make a living. A mystery comission to paint the portrait of Mrs. Charbuque offers a way out, as she offers a rather mind-boggling amount of money for her portrait. There's a catch, of course: Piambo is not allowed to see Mrs. Charbuque. He can only hear her talk behind a screen.
Piambo accepts the commission. While he struggles with the painting, a wave of mysterious murders hits New York. Soon Piambo finds out he's in a bit too deep for his own good, but getting out is not that easy - and does Piambo really want to get out?
Jeffrey Ford has written a marvellous book. The story was a real page-turner, this is a magical book full of new wonders. Both Piambo and Mrs. Charbuque are interesting characters and the story is riddled with interesting people and events. It's been a while since I've read a book this captivating. Highly recommended for the fans of magical and fantastic.
 Decent mystery July 13, 2006
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
The lush writing is a bit overdone at times, and the author admits his historicity isn't supposed to be accurate; but the mystery is fun, though the plot gets out of hand now and then (how many times can the narrator be smashed in the head without landing in a hospital with a serious concussion?), and the ending is a let-down, really just being a rehash of several '60s Hammer psycho movies. If the book hadn't been over-hyped as a "masterpiece" I would have enjoyed it more. But that's today's book market for you: just about everything that manages to get published is touted as being the Future of Literature, a Marvel, Inspired by God. Uh-huh. Note to publishers: There's nothing wrong with just publishing a pretty good book.
 It kept me guessing March 23, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque is an original, fast-moving mix of mystery, historical fiction, and psychological thriller. While reading it, I was reminded of The Alienist, another novel set in period New York City that deals with a serial killer. Like Carr, Ford provides just enough detail to keep the story grounded in turn-of-the-20th-century NYC without overwhelming the reader with outdated words or ideas. He also touches on a host of themes ranging from the responsibility of an artist, to fidelity, to the fragility of the creative mind. I am most impressed by the web of coincidences and events that are joined by theme or imagery. I'm sure there's a word for it--I'll call it "interconnectedness." Everything that happens is connected in some way to everything else. For example, the importance of sight for an artist:Watkin's disguised blindess:eyes bleeding. I also like the red herring that convinced me that the story was headed in a supernatural direction. Nice sleight-of-hand by Ford. I think that it is interesting and probably deliberate that Piambo is the one character who is never described. It meshes with his thought that throughout all his portraits the one identity he could not uncover was his own. The novel's weakness is its ending, which does not rationalize or explain the events preceding it. Overall, The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque is an expertly written, engaging milkshake of genres that kept me guessing.
He has to Paint a Portrait of a Woman he Can't See November 11, 2005
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
It's 1893 and Piero Piambo makes his living painting the portraits of the wealthy. He's talented and thinks he has what it takes to be a great artist, but he needs money, so he can't resist when he's offered a small fortune to paint the Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque. But he may not, under any circumstances, see her, and he cannot ask her any questions about her appearance. She speaks to him from behind a screen for an hour a day and he must figure out what she looks like by their conversation alone, however he's not allowed to ask her what she looks like.
She tells him unbelievable stories of her life from behind that screen as he sketches, spinning stories within stories as his work progresses. Then people start dying mysteriously in the city seemingly by illness, but he can't help thinking that Mrs. Charburque is somehow connected.
"The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque" is a novel that will keep your imagination working overtime and one you won't soon forget. I know, because it's been a couple months since I've read it and I'm still thinking about it. This book made me laugh and it scared me a little too, plus there was that little revenge bit. I do so love a story about revenge.
Reviewed by Stephanie Sane
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