The Portrait
Author: Antoine Laurain
Published by Gallic Books
Format Paperback
My Rating ★★★1/2
Published by Gallic Books
Format Paperback
My Rating ★★★1/2
From the bestselling author of The President’s Hat & The Red Notebook A mysterious painting holds a wonderful secret…
‘At last, I saw the gavel begin to move. Any second, it would strike…Yes! The portrait was mine.’
While wandering through a Paris auction house, avid collector Pierre-Francois Chaumont is stunned to discover the eighteenth-century portrait of an unknown man who looks just like him.
Much to his delight, Chaumont’s bid for the work is successful, but back at home his jaded wife and circle of friends are unable to see the resemblance.
Chaumont remains convinced of it, and as he researches into the painting’s history, he is presented with the opportunity to abandon his tedious existence and walk into a brand new life…
Antoine Laurain is a Parisian screenwriter, antiques collector, and prize-winning novelist.
My thoughts:
Having previously enjoyed Antoine Laurain’s other books, I was really pleased to find this book unexpectedly while browsing in one of my favourite bookshops.
The Portrait is another charming little novella from Antoine Laurain, telling the story of a man who purchases an antique portrait that looks just like him. However, he seems to be the only person who can see the physical resemblance, which leads him to begin his research into the history of the portrait, and the true identity of the sitter.
Sadly, though, this one just didn’t really engage me quite as much as the other books I have read by Laurain which were, in my opinion, far more enjoyable. I felt that the plot kind of let this one down, as everything felt a little too far-fetched and unexplained. However, whilst I don’t think it was quite as successful or as complex as The Red Notebook, or The President’s Hat, I still very much enjoyed the writing style and was fairly engaged from start to finish.
I would describe The Portrait as a light and enjoyable short read, and an interesting story, even though I didn’t enjoy the abrupt and somewhat ambiguous ending. It is worth mentioning that in the notes at the back of the book, it is explained that The Portrait was actually Antoine Laurain’s first novel, written while he was working for an antiques dealer. Knowing this, it is obvious to see just how much the author’s writing has improved and developed in his other works. In his later books I love the way his style became much more refined and his characters more developed.
Antoine Laurain is fast becoming one of my favourite authors, and I love his intelligent and quirky writing. His writing style is very original and his stories provide something unique and extremely different to other short stories I’ve come across recently. I would highly recommend reading his other works, and perhaps giving this one a try afterwards.
Overall reaction: