The Triumph of Love and Other Paintings

by Michael Westlake

This is the story of Joel and Alyx, as told by The Trimph of Love and eleven other paintings by Cezanne, Picasso, Uccello, Dufy, Mantegna, Caravaggio, Johns, Rousseau, El Greco, Rothko, and Seurat. (One work may be a fake ... and may be lying!) It is a dark, comic romp of a novel, revolving upon a mystery to be puzzled out by the clever reader.

Genres: Fiction

245 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 1995

About the author

Michael Westlake was born in 1942 and read philosophy at the London School of Economics, worked as a mathematics tutor and a taxi driver, researcher in an American think tank, journalist and lecturer in film studies.

Reviews

[MJ Nicholls · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ludic tale told from the shifting perspectives of twelve paintings, concerning a love-hate triangle between an artist couple and a dealer. Rich in Westlake’s trademark droll wit and shameless erudition.

[Duk Wings · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intriguing and unique novel. It is all at once a love story, a mystery, an art appreciation textbook, an art history textbook, and finally an art instruction book. Oh, and there's some film theory involved, too. I'm not very good at any of those things, yet I very much enjoyed the read. I will definitely pass it on to my favorite literature professor.