Customer Reviews

The Lost Glass Plates of Wilfred Eng

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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

With apologies to our host, I bought my copy of Lost Plates from the author himself, at the shop he runs. He seemed humbly grateful, insisting on adding an inscription to his autograph ("To D---, with many thanks," as though I'd somehow aided in launching the book). Orton needs no assistance. Besides being a well-written, cleverly executed story that he refrains from sprinkling with ubiquitous Seattle references, Lost Plates showcases Orton's mastery of juxtaposition. The text is offset by diary entries, the first seemingly unrelated to the story but which later become interrelated and offer insight and perspective. The greed and lack of integrity that sometimes exist at the highest levels of the museum culture is set against one minor character's purism. And Robert Armour himself, we suspect, is reliving Wilfred Eng's own life crisis: Do I commit to my art or my partner? A compelling read; set aside time because you won't want to stop.

Thomas Orton meticulously weaves the threads of passionate love, wrenching betrayal, and art world intrigue into this seamless, superbly written novel. His astute protrayal of the art world enlivens the book, his characters are wonderfully complex, and his storyline unfolds with great intrigue and surprise. Orton's beautiful, sophisticated writing style makes me eagerly await his future work.

Robert Armour, a photo dealer and historian, is called by Judith Lund, a rich and fledgling artist, to appraise a group of glass plates (photo negatives.) He suspects they are self-portraits of famous nineteenth century photographer Wilfred Eng. When he later discovers more glass plates in Judith's basement which he believes are nudes of Eng's mistress Ellen, he sets out to dupe Judith into believing they're worthless and introduce them to the world himself.

He teams up with Parker, a former associate, and together they put a plan in motion which ends up with more complications than Armour bargained for. In the meanwhile, the more he involves himself in the research of Eng's life and the stealing of the plates, the more distant Armour becomes in his personal relationships with girlfriend Diane and her son Budge, a relationship further complicated by Diane's growing affection for her ex-husband's attentions.

Most of this is fairly engaging, despite the fact that Orton often takes us into territory which doesn't really further the novel. Where Orton really shines is in his creation of Wilfred Eng's personal and professional history. This is where the story is most involving, as we learn about Eng's contributions to the art world, his personal shortcomings, and his love affair with Ellen. Much of this is revealed in Ellen's own voice via a journal she kept during the affair, which Armour is reading. It's a complicated, believable, involving biography that meanders through the novel. It is also set up in such a way that loosely parallels Armour's own personality and ultimately, self-discovery.

Despite a few typical first-novel pitfalls, this is a fine debut.

When I sat down with the pre pub galley of Tom Orton's "Lost Glass Plates of Wilfred Eng" in the middle of a work day, I expected to read a couple of chapters and return to business. Instead, I put aside the work I should have been doing, and kept on reading, entranced by the plot, humbled by Orton's writing. At the day's end I walked home, reading the galley as I weaved through passing pedestrians -- stopping only for street lights. Once I started reading this beautifully written, fast paced book, I could not put it down.

Without giving anything away, I'll say that this first novel is so good that I almost wept when the girlfriend of our hero, Robert Armour, said she was leaving him. How often do we meet characters so wonderful and fully-formed that we would dearly like to meet them? How often do we find a novel that we read in its entirety in one evening? In my experience, not often. This is a touching, sexy, funny and intellectually-satisfying story set against a background of the history of photography. I highly recommend it. I look forward to Mr. Orton's next work. A+!

This supremely engrossing story is irresistable on a couple of levels, the first being the what is is -- hallucination? delusion? -- that there REALLY was a Wilfred Eng who has faded from public memory because of his renegade status and because he was Chinese in a time of Exclusion. I still actually feel that way: that this is somehow a true story or one that will prove true eventually. I really love the twists here of ethics and conscience, of how much we imagine we'll do for the sake of art and riches, also, for the deep truth of how we fall in love with our proto step children and that love lasts when the love for the parent is tarnished or else somehow fades. BRAVO, THOMAS ORTON!

It is ironic. Some books have great themes but get written about with little substance. Others are written with great beauty and poetry but have nothing to say.

This book is of the former.

Wilford Eng was a wonderful photographer. Of this, there can be no doubt. However, Orton seems to be playing upon the Eng unknowns or created unknowns so he can have something to make up for his lack of imagination. Otherwise, why would he pack his book with erotic sex and the like? If it is not sex that he is writing about then he digs up betrayal at every other dark corner of his almost literature of third rate porn.

Now, all this may be excused if we, the reader comes away with a better understanding of himself, circumstance and philosophy. Don't hold your breath as you will not. The only reason for holding your breath is to stop the bad smell of a rotten novel and time wasted reading it.

This novel has characters that are very realistic, even uncomfortably so! It is skillfully put together on many levels. An unanticipated climax. Accurate descriptions of geographic locals give the novel a feel of being there. Highly recommended for anyone. A really great read!