Smoking Mirror: An Encounter with Paul Gauguin

Art Encounters

by Douglas Rees

A Junior Library Guild Selection


"A haunting, deeply affecting book. Set on the island of Tahiti, this story of artist Paul Gauguin and the young man he immortalized in his paintings reads like a tropical breeze—easy and relaxed at first feel, but hinting at dangerous storms brewing ahead. Highly recommended."— Brent Hartinger , author of The Order of the Poison Oak and The Last Chance Texaco


This second book in the new Art Encounters series centers on Paul Gauguin's painting Landscape with Peacocks , or Matamoe , and recreates the world the artist found in Tahiti when he painted the picture in 1892.



This action-packed South Sea adventure is about a young sailor, Joe Sloan, and his mission to avenge the death of his friend, Robert. Joe searches for Robert's girlfriend, a Tahitian girl named Tehane, to deliver the sad news personally. He doesn't have to go far before fate reunites him with his friend's killer, the Marquesan warrior, Gun, and his evil master, a man known as the White Wolf.



As Joe navigates the unknown territory of Tahiti and its people, he finds an unlikely ally in French artist Paul Gauguin. In the course of the story, readers are introduced to Gauguin and his work, the artist's relationships with the Tahitian natives, and his artistic temperament.



Paul Gauguin in Tahiti

Paul Gauguin spent his life searching for paradise, a propensity that must have been set during his vagabond youth spent sailing around the world. He became a painter relatively late in life, with encouragement from Pissarro, Cézanne, and other impressionists.



Ever the outsider, Gauguin left France and sailed for Tahiti in 1891 to escape debt and ruin, as well as "everything that is artificial and conventional." But to his deep disappointment, Tahiti was not the tropical paradise he had imagined. It had been thoroughly westernized.



Nonetheless, he settled in Papeete and created some of his finest paintings. He had not found the simplicity of primitive life, so he painted it in such works as Landscape with Peacocks, or Matamoe .



Except for one visit to France, he remained in the South Pacific for the rest of his life.



• For readers 12 and up

• The second book in the new Art Encounters series

• Gauguin is frequently studied in elementary school because of the importance of his art to the post-impressionist period

• The story is based around Gauguin's painting Landscape with Peacocks , or Matamoe (Pushkin Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia)

176 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

I was born on October 19th, 1947 in the hospital at March Air Force Base just outside Riverside, California. My father, Norman, was a career sergeant who'd served as an aircraft mechanic and infantryman in the Philippines campaign early in the war and was taken prisoner on Bataan. My mother, Agnes, was a nurse at the hospital where he was sent to recuperate after the war was over.

Until I was fifteen, I lived on or near a number of Air Force bases in this country and in Germany. My sister, Patricia, was born in 1950 at Travis AFB.

Until I was six, I wanted to be a fireman. Between six and twelve, I wanted to be a paleontologist. When I was twelve, I decided I wanted to be a writer. I still haven't outgrown that.

I made some occasional stabs at writing and submitting manuscripts in my twenties and thirties. When I turned forty-seven, I decided to start writing things more regularly. I've been doing so ever since.

Reviews

[Priscila · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, unique, exciting tale with a crossover of cultural elements. The Mexican protagonist carries the stories his Abuela shared with him about Mexican myths, including tales of Aztec Gods. He believes Smoking Mirror, the Aztec god of sorcery and punishment, has followed him all his life, bringing constant grief and despair. This historical fiction is a fun read, especially for art lovers who are familiar with Gauguin and the other pieces mentioned in the book.
The enthralling imagery brings the story to life. Here are some of my favorite quotes, most of which exemplify the visual elements:
"If my words had been tears, I'd have drowned us all."
"She poured out her stories, and I drank them up."
"...the clouds came and went like ghost ships before the moon, stealing the light and giving it back, turning the sea silver and black."
"You are chopping the dead wood to make the fire. The fire makes the wood live again in a new form. Nothing is ever really destroyed without something being born in its place."
"...long scars of lightning came and went, slicing across the sky."
"...dance in my nostrils like a joke."

[z a k i a · Rating 3 out of 5]

beautiful prose, short and sweet story but Paul Gaugin deserved everything he got