David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "stalking"
The Painter
The first Peter Heller novel I read was THE DOG STARS, a dystopia about a blood disease that wipes out the world population, except for a few stragglers here and there. THE PAINTER is entirely different, although quite violent in its own way.
Jim Stegner, the main character, is an artist plagued by the loss of his daughter and a temper that gets the best of him. Prior to her death he shot a suspected pederast who said he wanted to “train” his daughter as a projectionist in his movie theater. Besides art, Jim’s other passion is fly fishing, and that’s what he’s doing when he runs across an “outfitter” who’s beating his horse. This is after his daughter’s death, and in his mind Jim associates the little roan with his daughter. Let’s just say that doesn’t bode well for the outfitter.
The book includes many scenes where Jim is working on a painting. Each chapter heading includes the dimensions and the subject of a new painting.
It gets psychological after a while. One focuses on a man digging a grave. That one was unfortunate because the detective investigating the death of the outfitter sees the painting and immediately makes the connection.
Heller must have great respect for law officers. There are two in the novel, affectionately known as “Sport”, the one above, and “Wheezer,” a really nice guy who’s not in the best of health. Wheezer goes so far as to chart a way out for Jim.
I had a little trouble believing some of the violent incidents in the book, especially the second. There’s another outfitter who happens to be the first one’s brother and he goes looking for Jim. What happens there is hard to believe. And there’s another relative, a trucker, who stalks Jim after the second brother gets his just desserts. Only this guy is essentially a nice guy, too, who provides the ending for the novel. I liked the way Heller handled the epilogue. It’s hard to believe Jim would actually do what the trucker suggests, considering his obsessions with painting and fly fishing.
I should say something about the women in Jim’s life. He’s been divorced twice, and he is currently having a relationship with his model, Sofia, who makes a move on him. Stephen Lily, Jim’s agent, is also significant in that he has a schizophrenic relationship with Jim’s art. He wants Jim to do commissions, but he also respects his talent.
This is a decent read if you like a theme with your plot. You might be reminded of Robert Browning’s poem where he refers to a “tender murderer”.
Jim Stegner, the main character, is an artist plagued by the loss of his daughter and a temper that gets the best of him. Prior to her death he shot a suspected pederast who said he wanted to “train” his daughter as a projectionist in his movie theater. Besides art, Jim’s other passion is fly fishing, and that’s what he’s doing when he runs across an “outfitter” who’s beating his horse. This is after his daughter’s death, and in his mind Jim associates the little roan with his daughter. Let’s just say that doesn’t bode well for the outfitter.
The book includes many scenes where Jim is working on a painting. Each chapter heading includes the dimensions and the subject of a new painting.
It gets psychological after a while. One focuses on a man digging a grave. That one was unfortunate because the detective investigating the death of the outfitter sees the painting and immediately makes the connection.
Heller must have great respect for law officers. There are two in the novel, affectionately known as “Sport”, the one above, and “Wheezer,” a really nice guy who’s not in the best of health. Wheezer goes so far as to chart a way out for Jim.
I had a little trouble believing some of the violent incidents in the book, especially the second. There’s another outfitter who happens to be the first one’s brother and he goes looking for Jim. What happens there is hard to believe. And there’s another relative, a trucker, who stalks Jim after the second brother gets his just desserts. Only this guy is essentially a nice guy, too, who provides the ending for the novel. I liked the way Heller handled the epilogue. It’s hard to believe Jim would actually do what the trucker suggests, considering his obsessions with painting and fly fishing.
I should say something about the women in Jim’s life. He’s been divorced twice, and he is currently having a relationship with his model, Sofia, who makes a move on him. Stephen Lily, Jim’s agent, is also significant in that he has a schizophrenic relationship with Jim’s art. He wants Jim to do commissions, but he also respects his talent.
This is a decent read if you like a theme with your plot. You might be reminded of Robert Browning’s poem where he refers to a “tender murderer”.
How Quickly She Disappears
Elizabeth's sister disappears when she was a young girl. They were twins, and Elizabeth senses that Jacqueline is still alive.
She has an opportunity to find her when an airline pilot named Alfred Seidel enters her life. He's a substitute mail pilot serving the interior of Alaska, where Elizabeth and her husband John have moved for his job as a teacher. Elizabeth stays home to homeschool her daughter Marjorie who reminds her a lot of Jacqueline.
Then the story gets a bit hard to believe. Seidel says he has problems with his plane and asks if he can stay at Elizabeth's house. There is no hotel or motel in the small of Tanacross, a mostly Athabaskan town and she and John have an extra bedroom. There's nothing wrong with Seidel's plane, but when Mack, a friend of Elizabeth and John's, sniffs out the real reason he's there, Seidel murders him and is imprisoned.
He wants to see Elizabeth and hints that he knows where Jacqueline is. She's still alive. You won't believe what he has to say, but he keeps stringing her along until of all things, she agrees to let him talk to Marjorie, who's been acting up because her mother is spending too much time obsessing over Jacqueline, alone for twenty minutes. You know this can't be good. He's a murderer after all.
The book did have me on pins and needles toward the end when Elizabeth gets closer to finding out about Jacqueline, so close that she carries a gun.
If you can get past the coincidences (Alfred lived in Elizabeth's town in Pennsylvania, and she had no idea who he was despite the fact that he's been stalking her for years), you'll enjoy this book, but if you're constantly saying, “Wait a minute!” you won't. I ignored the little voice inside my head that was muttering those words.
She has an opportunity to find her when an airline pilot named Alfred Seidel enters her life. He's a substitute mail pilot serving the interior of Alaska, where Elizabeth and her husband John have moved for his job as a teacher. Elizabeth stays home to homeschool her daughter Marjorie who reminds her a lot of Jacqueline.
Then the story gets a bit hard to believe. Seidel says he has problems with his plane and asks if he can stay at Elizabeth's house. There is no hotel or motel in the small of Tanacross, a mostly Athabaskan town and she and John have an extra bedroom. There's nothing wrong with Seidel's plane, but when Mack, a friend of Elizabeth and John's, sniffs out the real reason he's there, Seidel murders him and is imprisoned.
He wants to see Elizabeth and hints that he knows where Jacqueline is. She's still alive. You won't believe what he has to say, but he keeps stringing her along until of all things, she agrees to let him talk to Marjorie, who's been acting up because her mother is spending too much time obsessing over Jacqueline, alone for twenty minutes. You know this can't be good. He's a murderer after all.
The book did have me on pins and needles toward the end when Elizabeth gets closer to finding out about Jacqueline, so close that she carries a gun.
If you can get past the coincidences (Alfred lived in Elizabeth's town in Pennsylvania, and she had no idea who he was despite the fact that he's been stalking her for years), you'll enjoy this book, but if you're constantly saying, “Wait a minute!” you won't. I ignored the little voice inside my head that was muttering those words.
