The Brutal Art [Paperback]

Jesse Kellerman (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Sphere (2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0751540285
• ISBN-13: 978-0751540284
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 1.2 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,410,588 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jesse Kellerman is the author of three previous novels, The Genius, Trouble, and Sunstroke. His plays have also won several awards, including the 2003 Princess Grace Award, given to America's most promising young playwright. He lives in California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Got a bright future, May 15, 2011

By 

BookBliss (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Brutal Art (Paperback)

This is a good read which is packed with twists and turns. The plot is different to what you expect in murder mystery novels as all the murders have already taken place.

I think this novel shows that at some point Jesse will become a really great writer, he's just not quite there yet. Maybe I expected too much because I read a lot of his fathers work. This isn't up to the same standard but I think he shows a lot of promise and I will definitely try his future books as I don't think it will be long before I'm giving Jesse Kellerman 4 stars rather than 3.

4.0 out of 5 stars Gripping, interesting plot, interestingly written, December 14, 2010

By 

Juliana Apopei (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Brutal Art (Kindle Edition)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the story is great, I just couldn't put it down!
I agree that the ending is a bit flat, but I rarely read a book where the last few paragraphs are mind blowing! The mind blowing stuff is found well before the end.
The only thing I didn't like, and that's only because I don't enjoy such literary style, is how the character describes most things, from feelings to surroundings, etc, I think is too much of this kind and I would often skip paragraphs because of it.
But a great book nevertheless

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Original but hardly compelling, July 5, 2009

By 

Lance Mitchell (Hampshire, UK, Northern Hemisphere, Planet Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Brutal Art (Paperback)

This book is very difficult for me to discuss, as I am still not sure whether I like it or not. At times the writing is great, and I cannot wait to find out what happens next. At other times, I found myself saying, "Well, that's totally ridiculous!" and laying the book to one side until I could return with a little more enthusiasm.

There are a few intriguing twists and turns along the way, so one would expect an unpredictable ending. Not so. The last few chapters lead to some fairly predictable conclusions.

However, I would still recommend it as light reading, and there is a good story buried within the pages.

One thing to look out for though: when you come to the discovery of the drawings, do a quick calculation. How long would it take an artist to draw this number of pieces if he were to produce, say, three per day? These are described as being very detailed works of art, so I could not imagine that the artist could sustain a higher rate of output and have time for any other activities in their life. Look at the number, and work it out for yourself!