The Portrait

By: Iain Pears

Narrated by: Simon Vance

A national bestseller from acclaimed author Iain Pears, The Portrait is a novel of suspense and a tour de force.

An art critic journeys to a remote island off Brittany to sit for a portrait painted by an old friend, a gifted but tormented artist living in self-imposed exile. The painter recalls their years of friendship, the gift of the critic's patronage, and his callous betrayals. As he struggles to capture the character of the man, as well as his image, on canvas, it becomes clear that there is much more than a portrait at stake...

Iain Pears's An Instance of the Fingerpost and The Dream of Scipio are also available from Riverhead Books.

Critic reviews

"Mighty scary. Only an author as clever and confident as Pears could pull off this trick."—Newsweek

"A stripped-down exercise in creeping dread."—Christian Science Monitor

"A shrewd and masterful raconteur...a tour de force."—The Washington Post Book World

"Weirdly haunting, the traps [Pears] sets for the critic are also traps for the reader."—Baltimore Sun

"One gutsy novelist... The suspense becomes almost unbearable."—Boston Globe

"A fascinating world of high-minded literature written on a small canvas."—Houston Chronicle

"An exquisite little gem."—Booklist, starred review

Give this one a chance

What did you love best about The Portrait?

It steadily improved and ended unexpectedly.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Not at first. In fact, I intially intended to return it but accidentally left it playing while I was cooking and noticed it was pulling me in with the story.

Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favorite?

The painter, of course.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Not-so-quiet lives.

Couldn’t get enough

I’ve listened 3 times now. This is a gem of a novella. A portrait indeed, of the painter and the painted. Of a time and of a community. This story is vivid and enthralling and read beautifully.

Quirky

An attempt at a tour de force but it doesn't quite come off. He should stick to classic mysteries. It was a relief when it was over.

Good, but tedious

This was interesting, but after a while, the monologue got a bit tedious. Nothing very shocking, but I did like the comparison of the artist painting a portrait of his friend as we get see the portrait of the artist through his narrative that went on and on and on ...