Alive in Shape and Color

September 15, 2017

Following the success of 2016's art-related collection In Sunlight or in Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper, also edited by Block, this follow-up falls a little short but still contains some nuggets. Unlike the Hopper-centric stories of the earlier volume, this title features all manner of art, from the cave paintings of Lascaux (Jeffery Deaver's "A Significant Find") to Balthus (Joyce Carol Oates's creepy "Les Beaux Jours"), Bosch (Michael Connelly's taut "The Third Panel"), Van Gogh (David Morrell's "Orange Is for Anguish, Blue for Insanity"), Rodin (Kristine Kathryn Rusch's uneven "Thinkers"), and many others. Some authors tell the painting's creation myth, with Morrell's Stephen King-inflected offering a standout, and Nicholas Christopher contributing "Girl with a Fan" (Gauguin), a spy story with Nazis. Sarah Weinman's period-perfect "The Big Town," and Lee Child's well-crafted "Pierre, Lucien, and Me" feature art-loving protagonists compelled by paintings to do wrong. In "The Great Wave," S.J. Rozan's captive narrator speaks to a print of Katsushika Hokusai's masterpiece (it talks back). Yet two of the best stories, Joe R. Lansdale's deceptively folksy "Charlie the Barber," and Thomas Pluck's stunning "Truth Comes Out of Her Well To Shame Mankind," barely mention their chosen artworks. VERDICT Reminiscent of Rod Serling's Night Gallery, this anthology has something, often nasty or scary, for every art lover.--Liz French, Library Journal

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 30, 2017
MWA Grand Master Block follows 2016’s In Sunlight or In Shadow—which gathered stories inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper—with an anthology whose theme is a bit more nebulous: stories inspired by iconic paintings, from the cave drawings at Lascaux to Georgia O’Keeffe’s Red Cannas. Among the 16 contributors are such luminaries as Joyce Carol Oates, Lee Child, and Michael Connelly, most of whom are best known for their thriller and mystery fiction. Standouts include David Morrell’s Van Gogh–inspired “Orange Is for Anguish, Blue for Insanity,” which chronicles an artist’s horrifying descent into madness; Jeffery Deaver’s “A Significant Find,” in which a husband-and-wife archeologist team makes what seems to be the discovery of a lifetime in the caves of southern France; and Joe R. Lansdale’s “Charlie the Barber,” which uses a charming Rockwell painting, First Trip to the Beauty Shop, as a jumping-off point for a horrifying tale about a robbery gone wrong. Other selections aren’t so memorable. Still, the fascinating premise has yielded some dark gems that are worth the price of admission.