An Exquisite Corpse

May 4, 2020
Set in 1943 New York City, this intriguing if uneven first in a trilogy from art historian Harrison (Such Desperate Joy: Imagining Jackson Pollack) focuses on the fictional murder of Afro-Cuban Chinese artist Wilfredo Lam, a surrealist who actually died in Paris in 1982. Lam’s body is staged in his Greenwich Village apartment according to the principles of a surrealist party game called Exquisite Corpse, which points the finger at members of the art community, but are they being framed? The cops are stumped as they dig into Lam’s complex heritage to solve the mystery. The cast includes such real-life figures as Peggy Guggenheim and Lee Krasner, but the sheer number of characters can make the story difficult to follow. As a result, original characters like Cuban American police officer Juanita Diaz are underserved as the novel takes the reader on a twisty ride through various New York immigrant communities. Harrison is at her best depicting the New York art world at a precarious time and its dependence on wealthy patrons for survival. That alone is worth the price of admission.

May 1, 2020
Surreal shenanigans surround the murder of a prominent Cuban painter. New York, 1943. French writer Andre Breton discovers the body of his friend Wifredo Lam at Lam's apartment on West 10th Street in Greenwich Village. Uncertain how to proceed, Breton goes to his friend Roberto Matta's place, where he enlists Marcel Duchamp to check out the scene. After reporting the body at the 6th Precinct, the duo spend most of the wee hours dictating statements. As Harrison's focus shifts to the murder probe, readers follow married detectives Juanita Diaz and Brian Fitzgerald and a team of cops as they unravel the case and dip entertainingly into Manhattan's vibrant subcultures. Fitz and Diaz go to East Harlem to question "spiritual advisor" Madame Carmen, who knows everyone in the city, about the background of Lam, a Cuban national. Meanwhile, a cop named Dillon is watching the Chilean Matta, who knows more than he's told police. He and his friend David Hare discuss a certain important package in the possession of Carlos Solana, who was freaked out to discover Lam's corpse before Breton did. Harrison's short, brisk chapters keep the action moving from cons to cops to colorful characters in between. As the case becomes increasingly tangled, the path to its solution runs through Midtown, Chinatown, and elsewhere, and the cast of real art-world characters expands to include Lee Krasner, Max Ernst, and more. Harrison writes with panache, mixing real artists with her vivid creations.

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