The Painter

Skills. The more pages I turned while reading Peter Heller’s novel, The Painter, the more I appreciated the author’s skill. Every time I came to an understanding about protagonist Jim Stegner, Heller would add a layer of complexity. All the characters in the novel reside in that gray area where most of us live as neither wholly good nor wholly bad. Generally good people do very bad things and generally bad people do very good things. Heller twisted and turned my expectations about behavior as his lyrical prose mesmerized me with descriptions of western outdoor life. Stegner’s skills as an artist and as a killer seemed almost effortless. The depths of his love and loss influenced both his art and his violence. I highly recommend this novel to readers who enjoy literary fiction and who can tolerate depictions of violence. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase The Painter from amazon.com.