Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-gravity-of-birds.html
Thomas Bayber is a world-renowned painter. He has not painted for many many years and lives pretty much as a recluse. Dennis Finch has spent his life studying Thomas Bayber and supporting him as an individual and as an artist. He is the authority on Thomas Bayber's work and is shocked when Bayber reveals the existence of an undocumented painting. A painting that is part of a triptych that he now wants to sell.
The painting is of a young Thomas Bayber and two young ladies - sisters Alice and Natalie Kessler. Bayber has one piece of the painting. The other two are supposedly with the two Kessler sisters, who seem to have vanished. Bayber charges Dennis Finch to find the other two panels of the paintings so that the three can be put up for sale, and he engages Stephen Jameson, an art expert, to authenticate and sell the paintings.
The book is about Finch and Jameson's search for the paintings and the sisters. The book weaves back and forth through time and characters. Alternating sections tell of the the search, of the past relationships between Bayber and the Kessler sisters, and of the life of the sisters. What emerges is a tale more complicated and discoveries much different than what Finch and Jameson could ever have imagined.
This book reminded me a little of Kate Morton's books - the emotional story, the mystery, the hint of things around the corner. The book kept me reading. The ending throws in a curve that I felt was unnecessary to the story, but other than that, this story pulls you in and keep you with it. A beautiful debut. I look forward to reading more by Tracy Cuzeman.
***Reviewed for GoodReads First Reads program***
Thomas Bayber is a world-renowned painter. He has not painted for many many years and lives pretty much as a recluse. Dennis Finch has spent his life studying Thomas Bayber and supporting him as an individual and as an artist. He is the authority on Thomas Bayber's work and is shocked when Bayber reveals the existence of an undocumented painting. A painting that is part of a triptych that he now wants to sell.
The painting is of a young Thomas Bayber and two young ladies - sisters Alice and Natalie Kessler. Bayber has one piece of the painting. The other two are supposedly with the two Kessler sisters, who seem to have vanished. Bayber charges Dennis Finch to find the other two panels of the paintings so that the three can be put up for sale, and he engages Stephen Jameson, an art expert, to authenticate and sell the paintings.
The book is about Finch and Jameson's search for the paintings and the sisters. The book weaves back and forth through time and characters. Alternating sections tell of the the search, of the past relationships between Bayber and the Kessler sisters, and of the life of the sisters. What emerges is a tale more complicated and discoveries much different than what Finch and Jameson could ever have imagined.
This book reminded me a little of Kate Morton's books - the emotional story, the mystery, the hint of things around the corner. The book kept me reading. The ending throws in a curve that I felt was unnecessary to the story, but other than that, this story pulls you in and keep you with it. A beautiful debut. I look forward to reading more by Tracy Cuzeman.
***Reviewed for GoodReads First Reads program***
