Customer Reviews

The Burnt Orange Heresy: A Novel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Best known for his Hoke Moseley novels, Willeford was also a painter. Here he brings the art world to a crime novel and renders a work that is sort of Crime and Punishment as rewritten by James M. Cain and Tom Wolfe.

James Figueras is a low rent art critic. He's wangled a posting to Palm Beach but he's saddled with dim prospects and an annoying girlfriend, Berenice Hollis. He's on the lookout for his one big break and it comes when he receives information that one of the most influential, but enigmatic, artists of the Twentieth Century has moved to Florida. A big collector offers to tell him where to find the artist, Jacques Debierue, if he'll steal one of the artist's works in exchange for the information.

In addition to a deftly rendered crime novel, Willeford proceeds to treat us to a devastatingly funny send up of Modern Art and the pseudo-intellectual theories that spawned it.

A hoot.

"The Burnt Orange Heresy" is Willeford's most fascinating work; the fact that it's out of print is a real pity.

In this novel about a corrupt Miami art critic who favors menthol cigarettes, pegged trousers, and buxom blondes, and who talks about his career as his "racket," Willeford expands the traditional limits of crime writing. There are some very amusing asides about art and art history -- subjects the author knew well, having been a failed painter himself -- and the psychological suspense remains taut throughout, even if the killing itself seems a little far-fetched. Even so, the invention of an expatriate French surrealist living in the Everglades is a bold move for a writer known for a noir palette.

Please reprint this book!

James Figueras is a talented and ambitious Miami art critic who has been slowly working his way toward the top of his field. He's always on the lookout for opportunities for advancement, although he likes to consider himself a basically honest professional. One night at an art gallery opening, he gets a shocking proposal from a mysterious lawyer, Joseph Cassidy. Cassidy has managed to gain the acquaintance of a legendary French painter, Jacques Debierue, who is so reclusive that his work hasn't been seen in decades. Interviewing Debierue would be a major, career-defining coup for Figueras, and he's prepared to do anything to get the information from Cassidy. However, when he hears Cassidy's proposal, Figueras has his doubts....

Many of Charles Williford's novels have gone out of print, which is unfortunate as his writing stands with the best noir writers. The Burnt Orange Heresy is a mean read, with shocks and twists galore. Some of the plot seems a bit far-fetched, but Williford writes so skillfully that the book withstands this flaw beautifully. Williford also has a real eye for detail and takes great advantage of the Miami and Florida settings. Overall, I highly recommended this novel, especially for fans of noir writers (e.g., Chandler, Jim Thompson).

In this short novel, Willeford mercilessly satirizes the contemporary art scene, and succeeds in deflating the pretensions of a certain type of artist and the bombastic critical establishment that supports his or her "art." Intermixed with Willeford's dry but devastating satire is a kind of gritty portrayal of the main character, an American art critic and near-psychopath named James Figueras. To enjoy the book, you will probably have to simultaneously like Willeford's focus on the seamier side of life, and regard much of contemporary art and its critics as deserving of being lampooned.

Not just another of Willeford's highly acidic novels observing human nature, The Burnt Orange Heresy is also a brilliant send-up of modern art -- in fact it brings up several questions about the nature of art itself. I am always happy when some poor misguided publisher tries to rerelease vintage Willeford material. You've gotta buy this book. Really.

I read it because I heard Willeford was part of the triumvirate of Noir power-hitters that included Jim Thompson (who I love!) and David Goodis (also very cool).

But this book was a bore.

Horribly paced, no sense of dark humor, not at all edgy.

I kept waiting and waiting for the good stuff; it never happened. Instead you get lots of didactic passages explaining art history, art criticism, schools of art, etc, along with tons of superfluous details about the location of air conditioners, the brands of furniture and clothing, their precise dimensions, etc. Just look at Chapter 5 where the dialogue goes on for 15 pages (!) regarding all the tedious minutiae of the Art World. (Could've easily seen reduced to two simple expository paragraphs or one page.) And check out the "learned" words that are constantly thrown around: "synecdochic" and "nescience," etc. Yawn! Wanted less info and more action!

I can't believe this guy's style was been described as being "clean and tough" or that his words "fly off the page." Instead it manages to be both pedestrian and pedantic at the same time. Were these "notable critics" on crack when they read him???

In short, it's very mainstream-y. If you like those airport books written by the same names every year you'd probably like this. And if you liked Da Vinci Code you'd probably love it for giving you a (false) sense of having learned something (ha!) It's a "safe" read, i.e., won't disturb you or make you sweat. But that's not the essence of Noir. I think I'll stick with my Thompson and Goodis.

PS -- Maybe I should've read Miami Blues instead? I read Bored Orange Heresy because I heard it was his best. I'd appreciate it if anyone can tell me if Miami Blues is significantly better and more Noir-ish or just more of the same. Thanks!

I found this book quite enjoyable. The main character is not likable, but he is interesting. His girl is (to me) irritating. But that makes the whole thing a good read. After all, if we wanted happy, we'd read something else.

Some call Willeford's writing dry, but I find it clean, refreshing and subtle at times without being dry or dull.

If you like any type of noir, I would definitely give this a shot.

deep within the text there is a paragraph that describes the French artist's delusion about frozen vegetables reigning supreme over fresh. that graph is priceless. also the recurring descriptions of our hero's wisconsin girlfriend is downright salacious and seductive. true, the leadin to the action is somewhat longwinded, but given that the novella takes roughly 2 hours to read negates that silly objection. ultimately, i'd recommend this pile of words for the fact that our dear writer selects valdosta, GA as a key location in the narrative. it ain't often one uses that locale, and for that i must pass this read along to friends.

I wish I can give 'The Burnt Orange Heresy' the same sort of glowing review the others have posted. However despite its originality (at the time it was written) and overall quality I found myself curiously bored by it all. Why? Well...

The story is certainly bizarre. A rather obnoxious art critic is obsessed with getting a glimpse of paintings by a living art legend who happens to be a recluse. No one has seen this fellow's work in decades. Our art critic will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Think deceit, betrayal and murder and you've got the right idea. Sadly, I think such art critics actually exist in this world. ;-)

But Willeford unfortunately devotes too much time during most of the book blathering on about the art world: competitiveness between critics/reviewers, different styles of art during the last century, and how to judge the quality of art. For this reader, who couldn't give a monkey's about art, became quite bored with it all. Towards the end when the story picked up I was too disengaged to really appreciate the shock/horror of our art critic from hell.

...Bottom line: perhaps best left for those who truly hate art critics and love Charles Willeford.

you'll love this one. If you don't, stay away. I've recommended Willeford to a couple of people who found him boring and pointless. If you enjoy deadpan prose, offbeat humor and a large dose of arcane knowledge you'll enjoy this a lot.