Last Lovers [Hardcover]

William Wharton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1991

In Last Lovers, William Wharton gives us his most intimate look yet at the ways each of us can be drawn away from love, creativity, and innocence, and at the forces that, when we are lucky, bring us back.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this touchingly whimsical tale darkened by the undercurrent of a serious parable, Wharton ( Birdy ; Franky Furbo ) explores moments in which sexuality and art intersect. As in Wharton's previous novels, the protagonist is an artist, here, American expatriate painter Jack, 49, who is recovering from a broken marriage and years of scrambling in the corporate rat race. Now penniless, Jack subsists as a squatter in a Paris attic and paints in a public square, where he meets Mirabelle, a blind, 71-year-old, self-appointed pigeon lady who cares for the birds who flutter about his easel. Between Jack and Mirabelle springs a friendship that deepens into an improbable but impassioned sexual union. Mirabelle's blindness is psychological; its sudden onset occurred at age 14 when her mother committed suicide. While their love is often heavily belabored ("In your blindness you taught me to see," Jack tells her), it does produce miracles. Difficulties arise when Jack's wife wants him back, but Mirabelle's frailty in the end helps him solve his dilemma. Jack's bizarre homage to Mirabelle at the story's close somewhat redeems the novel from sentimentality.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

"Believing is seeing," proclaims Wharton in the epigram to this charming novel, and he then proceeds admirably to prove it. Jack is a fiftyish American in Paris. Having abandoned a too successful career and the family life that went sour because of it, he aims to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a painter. A chance meeting with a blind old lady--she inadvertently crashes into his easel--helps him realize his dream. For Mirabelle is a remarkable woman who, though hysterically blind since witnessing her mother's suicide as a child, nevertheless demonstrates a penetrating comprehension of the world. As the newly dubbed Jacques tries to describe his paintings to Mirabelle and she tries to describe her memories of a Paris she has not seen for years, he learns to see in a new way. Their friendship eventually blossoms into a tender yet physically passionate love far removed in its thoughtful depiction from the standard erotic entanglements of contemporary page and screen. The story may seem improbable, but Wharton makes us believe--and see. Highly recommended.
- Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 387 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1st edition (May 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374183899
• ISBN-13: 978-0374183899
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,013,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A simply beautiful work that touches all emotions., December 4, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Last Lovers (Hardcover)

In Last Lovers, an American expatriate-businessman turned
street artist meets, by accident, an ingenuous, blind,
Parisian spinster and a beautiful relationship
ensues. More than just an exploration of these two
distinct lives, Last Lovers peers into the Byzantine
mysteries of love and relationships. In a clear and
unencumbered voice, William Wharton tells how these two
people find joy, beauty, and clarity in lives scarred
by sorrows and misfortunes. A touching novel that will
effect every emotion and leave each reader changed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A moving story, August 7, 2000

By 

Maanu (Orangeburg, SC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Last Lovers (Hardcover)

This unusual story of the love between an American street artist in Paris running away from himself, and an old blind woman traumatized by a family death, is unforgettable. The seemingly contradictory themes of carnal sex and innocence, pain and caring, culture and cross-culture are painted so engagingly that the book is a page-turner to the very end.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You're Never Too Old to Love, March 22, 2011

By 

Ford Ka (Edinburgh, Scotland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Last Lovers (Hardcover)

William Wharton's 'Last Lovers' tells the story of love which can be very seldom found in novels. It is a story of a man in his forties disappointed with life and love who chose the life of a street painter to run away from a failed marriage (failed also because of him) and a woman in her sixties who lost her eyesight when life turned too cruel for her to bear. They meet by chance, do not trust each other at the beginning, very slowly learn to respect and like each other and, ultimately, fall in love.

It is a love story but also a story of mutual guiding towards the light - Jack helps Mirabelle regain her trust in the world, Mirabelle helps Jack regain his trust in other people and love. The story is very touching and there are no easy happy ends here but Wharton succeeds in making his tale real even if it is very unusual. A perfect love story for those who doubt they can ever love again.