The Painter of Battles

by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

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The Painter of Battles

by
Arturo Pérez-Reverte

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147 ratings, 3.49 average rating, 50 reviews (more data...)

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published

2008

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 237)

All ratings | 5 stars (29) | 4 stars (42) | 3 stars (42) | 2 stars (24) | 1 star (3) | avg 3.49

all | this edition

Sandie

Sandie rated it:

07/15/08

Read in January, 2008

The Painter of Battles is a beautifully written word picture encompassing everything from "the Butterfly effect", to art history lessons, to a morality homily on the futility of war and the evil that man bestows on his fellow man.

Perez-Reverte draws you into the story as he meticulously recounts (probably from his own experiences as a war journalist) example after example of the insanity of war and examines the cruelty and finality of its outcome. In essence, Perez-Reverte gives u...more

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Kitty-Wu

Kitty-Wu rated it:

(review of isbn 8467219440)

02/10/07

Read in September, 2006

Este libro me ha gustado en cierta manera y me ha cansado en otra. Se reconoce bastante al autor en el personaje de Faulques, y me parece interesante la introspección del personaje sobre el tema de la guerra y los horrores de la condición humana, especialmente en la confrontación con Ivo... pero Reverte me parece penosamente pedante en otros momentos, pretendiendo tener la verdad absoluta sobre el mundo y los hilos ocultos que lo mueven... no niego que seguramente, tanto el personaje como el ...more

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Caitlin

Caitlin rated it:

(review of isbn 0753824531)

06/06/08

Read in March, 2008

This book is like a one act play in which the main character, previously a war photographer in the Balkans, gives up his career to live in seclusion and paint the inside of the lighthouse in which he lives. However, a man whose life he affected by doing nothing but shooting photographs of the suffering, has decided he will camp out at the painter's home and eventually kill him, to the painter's knowledge. While he is there, he tries to make the painter gain emotional attachments. The book pro...more

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Erica

Erica rated it:

(review of isbn 1400065984)

08/06/08

Read in August, 2008

Whew. This was a well-written book but man was it depressing. I don't think I cracked a smile from beginning to end. I'd like to read more of this author though; I hear his other books are more action packed. This was good despite a minimal plot. It was more philosophical and tended to get very deep at times.

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Rowena

Rowena rated it:

07/07/08

Read in May, 2008

A war photographer retires to a tower on the coast of Spain, where he begins a mural of battles past and present, when he is interrupted by a stranger who wants to kill him. This is a novel of philosophy and art, and an exploration of love .

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Natalie

Natalie rated it:

08/17/08

Read in June, 2008

recommended to Natalie by: other books by the same author
recommends it for: liberals, conservatives, pacificsts, war-mongers, painters, photographers, tour guides

Commenting on a book one has read in translation is a bit dicey. Whose language am I praising? Even in translation, however, it is clear Perez-Reverte is a gifted teller-of-tales and creator of character, of mood, and of story. "The Flanders Panel" was the first of his books I read and I have been hooked ever since. If you haven't read that, run -- do not walk -- to your favorite independent bookseller and hope they have it on the shelf as well as this one. Now -- to "The Pain...more

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Eileen

Eileen rated it:

09/21/08

Read in August, 2008

recommends it for: Philosophical pessimists

Rating: 2.5, because while slow-starting and depressing, it really does make you think.

EXPLORING THE GEOMETRY OF CHAOS

“Geometry” is a recurring word and concept throughout Arturo Perez-Reverte’s dark novel, THE PAINTER OF BATTLES. His protagonist, Andres Faulques, photo-journalist turned painter, uses it to try and make sense of all the horror he has photographed covering wars. The book is more geometric “proof” or theorem than story, and is a difficult read, both for the co...more Rating: 2.5, because while slow-starting and depressing, it really does make you think.

EXPLORING THE GEOMETRY OF CHAOS

“Geometry” is a recurring word and concept throughout Arturo Perez-Reverte’s dark novel, THE PAINTER OF BATTLES. His protagonist, Andres Faulques, photo-journalist turned painter, uses it to try and make sense of all the horror he has photographed covering wars. The book is more geometric “proof” or theorem than story, and is a difficult read, both for the complexity of Faulques’ arguments as well as the harrowing images of war he evokes.

Faulques is painting his circular “proof” on the inside of a tower wall where scenes from famous battle paintings merge with his own horrific visions. One day he is visited by a man, Ivo Markovic, who was the subject of one of Faulques’ photos, a prize-winning shot of a soldier returning from battle. Markovic claims that the photograph led to a disastrous series of events, ruining his life, and causing him to seek out Faulques in order to kill him. Hence one of the main themes running through the novel, the “Butterfly Effect,” or the theory of determinism, i.e. all events occur in accordance with natural laws and are determined by previous events or fate. Faulques believes (p. 55), “We are a product…of the hidden rules that determine coincidences.” The idea is that “if a butterfly flutters its wings in Brazil…a hurricane will be unleashed on the other side of the world” (p. 36). Or, perhaps, a war will break out. Falques says (p. 154): “This painting is how I see it. It’s a question of form, of law, or principle, or whatever we want to call it…set against the disorder of colour and of life.”

The chapters are alternating philosophical discussions between Faulques and Markovic and Faulques and himself, centering on the memories that haunt them both. Among other topics, they argue about free will and taking responsibility for one’s actions versus chalking it all up to fate. This leads to an interesting, if rather intellectual, exploration of the responsibility of the artist and the media in general, but especially in war time. Another debate, photography versus painting, might also be applied to memoir versus fiction. Markovic remarks to Faulques that some of the scenes in his war mural are more real than his photos. Faulques replies (p. 45): “A French poet thought that photography was the refuge of failed painters.…but it’s also true that photography allows us to see in fractions of a second things normal people don’t see no matter how hard they look. Painters included.” To which, Markovic concedes, “All those battle scenes hanging in museums, with people looking at them as if the paintings had nothing to do with them. Their error captured by your camera.” (p. 46). Yet, in the end, Faulques abandons photography and becomes obsessed with completing the war painting. The often stultifying details of picture-taking give way to a more literary and easier-to-connect-to portrait of the artist at work. Given the subject, however, it is a toss-up as to which version would be easier to stomach, the photos or the painting. I for one would never buy any of Faulques’ books, nor climb to the tower to gaze on his mural. The descriptions in the novel (even skimmed) were enough.

The horror of war makes a grim enough subject for a painting or a novel. Faulques takes it a step further, however, trying to show that all humans are basically animals. We behave in war just as we do in everyday life, only on a different scale. He ascribes to humanity the “fearful symmetry” and cruelty of William Blake’s “Tiger.” Even the love story that is woven in and out of the discussions is a tragic one, set against the backdrop of the various wars that Faulques is covering. While Faulques critiques countless famous and not so famous paintings, he does not even mention the one that seems to sum up perfectly his philosophy: Pieter Brueghel’s “Icarus.” At first glance, you wonder where the title comes from since the painting is a peaceful scene of a man plowing his field and a shepherd tending his flock, while a ship sails by on a calm sea in the background. Until you look in the bottom corner and find the legs of a boy disappearing into the waves. W.H. Auden was inspired by that painting to write his poem, “Musee des Beaux Arts.” The opening lines are:

“About suffering they were never wrong
The Old Masters: how well they understood
Its human position; how it takes place
While someone else is eating or opening a window or
just walking dully along;”

The last war that Faulques covers is Bosnia and I finished the novel just as the war in Georgia was breaking out. So, there is no disputing the relevancy of the subject. I cannot say, though that I wholly appreciated the treatment. I kept comparing the book (maybe unfairly) to Orson Scott Card’s “Ender’s Game,” which I had read just before. Card’s book, albeit science fiction, is also a war novel, with plenty of violence - and child soldiers to boot. Still, I much prefer Ender’s vision of the world to Faulques.’ Because for Faulques, not only is the glass half empty, but that clear, innocuous-looking liquid inside that you thought was water turns out to be poison. 100 proof.

...less

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Jason

Jason rated it:

(review of isbn 1400065984)

05/23/08

bookshelves: read-2008

Read in May, 2008

This book is often beautifully written, but just as often redundant. I quickly grew tired of hearing how the photographer "looked through the camera's viewfinder" and scenes were often massively overwritten. Then there are the speeches. Characters would just go on at length, without interruptions, on the most ridiculous monologues. Here is an example:

"Of course! My God! That's exactly what happens. It isn't the pyramid of Giza, or the Sphinx, it's what's left of them after tim...more

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Wyatt

Wyatt rated it:

(review of isbn 8466368906)

04/19/08

The Painter of Battles
By Arturo Perez-Reverte

I love any book that has to do with the Balkans. It’s a bit like Waiting for Godot,. I would offer the alternative title: “Waiting for the Croat (to Kill You).” Like The Optimists, it’s about a photographer decompressing from bearing witness to the atrocities of the 1990’s. It provided motivation for me as a photographer during my trip. I’m so glad that I randomly saw this book on a shelf at a store in San Francisco. I would nev...more

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Amy

Amy rated it:

(review of isbn 1400065984)

06/08/08

bookshelves: 2008-books-read, amazon-vine-pre-release-copy

Read in June, 2008

This is a story that had to be written. The painter of battles used to be a photographer of battles. But after a time, there was a need for him to process all that he'd seen in war. So he bought a tower on a hill and proceeded to make a war mural to capture the realism of the geometry and laws of war. It's here that the subject of one of his war photographs seeks him out for revenge. Markovik, the subject of the photograph, felt that the photo had ruined his life. Markovik has been stalking Falq...more

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Eli

Eli rated it:

(review of isbn 0753824337)

11/28/08

bookshelves: new-and-fantastic

Another of Perez-Reverte. Not quite as good as _The Queen of the South_, or maybe better. Depends.
Perez-Reverte, before becoming a writer, was a war correspondent. Did this inspire this book?
The story is amazing, as a retired war photographer looks back through his memories, trying to see the meaning of life. Yet, although I can see the amazingness...something was missing to make it five stars. Maybe it should be five stars, maybe I should read it again.

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Maria

Maria rated it:

(review of isbn 9870403409)

04/14/08

Read in January, 2007

En una torre junto al Mediterráneo, en busca de la foto que nunca pudo hacer, un antiguo fotógrafo pinta un gran fresco circular en la pared: el paisaje intemporal de una batalla. Lo acompañan en la tarea un rostro que regresa del pasado para cobrar una deuda mortal, y la sombra de una mujer desaparecida diez años atrás. En torno a esos tres personajes, Arturo Pérez-Reverte ha escrito la más intensa y turbadora historia de su larga carrera de novelista. Deslumbrante de principio a fin, El...more

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Christian

Christian rated it:

(review of isbn 9870403409)

09/24/08

Read in September, 2008

"The Painter of Battles" by Arturo Pérez-Reverte is about a war photographer who becomes a painter after retiring from photographer. Thus, the title refers to his full professional/avocational life--making images about war. He has an encounter (which makes up most of the book) with the subject of one of his photos who comes to confront him about the impact the photo had on him.

It has some interesting ethical points/questions about photography, which you could translate to an...more

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Betsy

Betsy rated it:

(review of isbn )

04/23/08

bookshelves: currently-reading

Read in January, 2008

I'm so glad my dad discovered this wonderful Spanish author. His writing is beautiful, and topics are so different from what I normally think about. This book is about a war photographer who has retired to paint a massive war mural. He is approached by a man who he photographed in the Croatian battles. The man's life was ruined because of his connection to the photo, and he's come to kill the photographer. (I'm not giving anything away - this fact is listed in the book jacket!) It's not a q...more

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Sarah

Sarah rated it:

(review of isbn 1400065984)

02/19/08

Read in February, 2008

recommends it for: art lovers

I love Perez-Reverte's books normally - a more cerebral thriller. After Queen of the South, I really thought he was at the top of his game. However, I'm only giving this 3 stars because at the end it felt a bit like an extended short story. An interesting conceit and gripping but not nearly as multi layered as some of his other books. As in all his books except for Queen of the South, his female characters are a bit flat but in this one, at least, she's an enigmatic ghost - defined by his memori...more

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Cheryl

Cheryl rated it:

(review of isbn 0739358707)

08/18/08

Read in August, 2008

I was listening to this book. The reader has a very relaxing, easy to listen to voice. However, with the jumping around, I found there were times I had trouble following the story. I re-listened to the last 2 chapters to make sure I got it.

Saying that, I thought it was an intriguing story about a war photo journalist who was well published, but had converted from photography to painting. One of his subjects met with unfortunate results due to the fame. That subject comes back to him for...more

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Amy

Amy rated it:

(review of isbn 0297851853)

01/05/08

Read in September, 2007

Perez-Reverte is one of my favorite writers. His earlier works (everything before The Nautical Chart) are my favorites. I love the way I always learn about the topic while being catch up in the mystery/adventure of the book. This newest release is very contemporary and is an amazing look at war. The premise of the story is, for me, totally possible and I was captived and sadden by the atrocities of war described by both main characters. This is a story that lingers with you for days. I hig...more

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Joe

Joe added it (review of isbn 9870403409)

11/20/08

Read in February, 2008

In English

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Jessica

Jessica rated it:

(review of isbn 1400065984)

03/20/08

bookshelves: art-history, modern-lit

Read in March, 2008

A different take from the author - definitely not of the same ilk as The Club Dumas or The Flanders Panel. If those two are the departure from his prior life as a war correspondent, this one is the return leg. Very meditative and tightly focused on exploring the horror of war, both in terms of how we live in it and how we remember it. A thinking man's piece more than the

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carrie

carrie rated it:

(review of isbn 1400065984)

03/02/08

bookshelves: 2008-reads

Read in February, 2008

I was very excited when I found Perez-Reverte's new book at the library, but it wasn't at all what I expected. A definite departure from his other books. This was more of an essay on war and human nature and the main character's outlook was bleak at that. It also wasn't the easiest book to read - I felt like I easily missed half the historical/artistic references.

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