Peter Heller’s THE PAINTER
It seems as if death and destruction follow Jim Stegner wherever he goes. Which is odd, actually, considering Jim’s an artist, a painter rather than any burly blue-collar profession, a decent who’ll do anything to protect those who can’t stand up for themselves. Yet, it’s as if God’s got a hand in his life, striking down those Jim comes in too close of contact with.
It started years ago, as so many fights do, in a local bar. Some gross guy makes a comment about Jim’s daughter, the joy of his life, and Jim pulls a gun just like a reflex. His friend knocks his arm, though, saving Jim from spending decades in jail, but still, the guy goes in for a while and it seems like this path of destruction never leaves after that night.
For instance: His daughter, the light of his life, his best friend, is killed a couple years after he gets out of jail, in some stupid accident. After that, his marriage just dissolves, and he’s left alone, maybe, he thinks for the better. Less people to hurt that way.
These are all things that happen before the story even gets its start.
And really – Jim’s not just this guy that’s in and out of jail, getting in fight after fight. As his daughter used to say, he’s not a fighter – he’s a reactor.
Take for instance, the way Jim made it big in the art world. He was always good, (it’s not too big on describing what he’s painting style is actually like, from context, I’m guessing kind of like Van Gogh, with a little more abstraction in subject matter), but he made it big after going on a talk show, getting called an “outsider” artist by the host because of his burliness and the way his father was illiterate, and then ending up breaking the host’s hand on live radio. After that, Jim’s painting didn’t sell for less than $50,000 or so. It’s a great gig for a guy who’d rather spend his days fishing.
So it picks up: Jim’s out and hears a horse whining, finds this big guy just beating the poor thing. He steps in, saves the pony, and pisses off the guy to no end. Later, there’s another fight, Jim knocking the guy extra hard and leaving him there.
The next day, police come to the house, asking Jim where he’s been. The other man is dead.
We don’t even know for sure if Jim killed him, if he got in another fight later that night, or if some accident took his life. Jim doesn’t know himself. The guy’s older brother, though, is convinced Jim’s the killer. And he begins stalking him, threatening him at every turn, tormenting his friends, making more trouble in this already tired-of-violence town.
Almost at the same time, Jim’s paintings take on a dark new edge. Everyone in the art world is noticing. He’s doing better than ever.
It’s so weird, though, how much author Peter Heller (author of the fantastic, amazing “The Dog Stars”) can make this character and this story, The Painter, read like real life. I found myself turning pages, feeling so troubled by the story and so worried about the characters until I would remind myself, “oh yeah. I’m reading a book.”
You know how there’s always those family novels or characters by authors like Franzen that people are always saying are “exactly like someone you know?” Jim’s not like this – he’s not like, someone I remember from my small Minnesota hometown, or someone it seems like I’ve met, but rather, he feels like his own sentient being. It’s not like Heller’s created a new character; it’s like he’s made a real person, someone I can’t even fully believe isn’t out West fishing right now; that’s how far Heller went into his character’s head, figuring out what this guy would do in any situation.
This novel is gritty and raw and heart breaking and rough, but ultimately, it’s a story of redemption. It’s the story of a guy who’s trying to do right, sometimes without knowing
