Customer Reviews

The Great Man

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A cursory glance at the title indicates that this is a book about a man. It is, and it isn't. Of course, the man of the title, Oscar Feldman, rather the late Oscar Feldman, a figurative painter, plays a role. But the starring parts are given to three women, Teddy, his mistress; Abigail Feldman, his widow; and Maxine Feldman, his sister. Each is being interviewed by two biographers who hope to tell Oscar's true story.

According to his obituary, Oscar died at the age of 78 after a prodigious career, which was totally devoted to the painting of female nudes. He remained apart from others in the artistic world, and once wrote, "The female body is the ultimate expression of truth and beauty..." His works were characterized by bold brush strokes, and came to be highly collectible.

After reading this, one can easily see why two biographers, Henry Burke and Ralph Washington, were intrigued, determined to find out the truth about Oscar Feldman. What better place to start than with his mistress, Teddy?
Now 70-some she is still an attractive woman, angular with chin length white hair and a ready wit. She's a bit of a tease and gives her friend, Lila, a start when she admits "I wouldn't mind seeing my old carcass in bed with a nubile forty-year-old body." She's come to terms with who she is now and what her life has been. She gave birth to Oscar's twin daughters, Ruby and Samantha, and basically raised them alone. Yet, she loved Oscar, enjoyed tweaking him in front of a gathering so he would show off. She adored him...did she also manipulate him? She seems to have had the upper hand when she says that she could share him but he could not share her.

Maxine is quite a different story. She, too, is an artist yet never received the acclaim that her brother did. She is an unhappy woman, who lives with her dog, Frago, and her assistant, Katerina. Not at all comfortable with who she is, Maxine wears thick glasses and thinks she looks like an "ugly dwarf like toad." She detested the thought of anyone writing a biography of Oscar......unless they might shed some light her way. Maxine fears she will die alone and forgotten; she longs for a much closer relationship with her years younger assistant.

Abigail, whom Teddy called "Oscar's fat wife" was the favored daughter of a multimillionaire furrier. The apartment she and Oscar shared, a gift from her father, was on 84th and Riverside. She knew her husband little, assuming he would give up the silly notion of being an artist and go into business with his father. What she did know was Teddy; she saw her at Oscar's openings. Of course, she was also extremely jealous but also curious. Now that Oscar was gone she ordered almost everything she wanted or needed via the Internet so that she rarely left the apartment and her autistic son, Ethan.

Christensen is such a skillful author that she leads readers along, tantalizes them with lively, astute prose until an important secret is revealed and the three women come together to decide what is to be done, what is to be told and what is not.

The Great Man won the Pen/Faulkner Award - deservedly so. It is a remarkable novel, rich with wit, keen observations, and characters we'll not soon forget.

- Gail Cooke

The style of this novel is very unique and hooks you from the start. I couldn't put it down. The four women who loved this (not-so) great man are so sensitively crafted by the author that you both, at once, admire them and question their devotion to such a hollow person as Oscar. The book also asks some important questions, such as what constitutes "great" art, who gets to decide, what role do women play in the art world, and how are we, as viewers, implicated in the social construction of the artistic genius.

Additionally, the inclusion of the two men writing separate biographies of the great man add tremendously to the story. The obituary and the two reviews at the end act as book ends to the story and add to its unique style. Bravo Ms. Christenson.

Great idea for a book. The famous painter dies and his close lovers, admirers and daughters come in together due to the fact that at least two biographers are on the prowl. All this results in digging out well buried emotions and past deeds to light of the day. That is the basic plot, but what sets this novel apart is very direct and concise use of English. The author appears almost transparent, as she does not add un-plausible elements to enhance the prose. Personages in the book, mostly woman, seem to come to life, not in details of environment, but in their psychological exposure by the author. None appear flat and unremarkable, or one sided on good vs. bad scale and yet very different. One notable achievement of the book is how well mental states of participants of social interactions are shown. We are given a glimpse of how woman pick up non verbal cues and judge their partners. This is all done without any hint of author trying to be cute, which would have reduced it to a typical chick lit.

Fabulous read about an artist as told, after his death, from the viewpoint of four women: his wife, his lover, the lover's best friend and his sister, also an artist. The women are all in their late 60s and early 70s and they have vastly different memories and relationships with this man and with each other. When two biographers come around to interview the women it forces them to speak to each other and for a long-standing secret to be revealed. Masterful writing by Christensen.

Wonderful writing about the lives of women who were entangled with an imaginary narcissitc artist. The story pulls you into the world of the wife,mistress, children and sister .
Great book group choice.

I've always found it fascinating when people of advancing years brag that they are "going to be" the next age, not holding onto the current year designation, which, of course, is what I've done for years.....usually not until the TIME of my birth will I admit I'm a year older. After reading THE GREAT MAN, I'm rethinking this.....planning to be graceful, bold and sassy/sexy. Kate Christensen somehow has crawled inside the minds of women past 70 and "gets" them......individually, specifically and gloriously. Oh, yes, Oscar Feldman may be the central figure of this book, but we learn about him, slowly, like peeling a pungent onion, through the lives and tales of four intriguing women. And then the book ends, sadly, while I sit waiting for more. I can only pray the movie is not far away.

It's so wonderful to read a beautifully written book about vibrant, sexually active, super alive women over the age of 70. I laughed; I commiserated with the women; I loved seeing them in their settings, and I hated having the put the book down to actually live my own life.

The Great Man is a great book with great characters and a great flow of dialogue, drama, and spicy romance--all guaranteed to give great pleasure to the reader! I was reluctant to complete this great short novel because I knew if the story ended I would no longer be able to share in the bittersweet adventures of several great women whose lives I had become intimately involved in. I just wanted to read more and more.

In The Great Man the great Ms. Christensen creates characters who remind us of elderly women and men we have known in real life who have endeared themselves to us in spite of their idiosyncrasies, or perhaps because of them! Ms. Christensen`s characters come alive through a seamless sequence of encounters with each other, as well as intriguing minor characters, all of whom, for one reason or another, are forced to focus on "The Great Man" five years after he has died. Each has his or her own view on the amount of greatness this man possessed while alive.

I was reading this book as I was touring alone in Canada, looking forward to communing with the characters each evening before going to sleep. After finishing the book I began to feel suddenly lonely in my travels, and I finally realized it was because my extraordinary companions were no longer part of my trip! They were now packed away in my luggage, only cherished memories, along with those from Quebec City and Montreal.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The women characters, the plot, and the writing are all very interesting and compelling. The ending was a bit anti-climactic, but besides that, this book was awesome.

Kate Christensen has written an excellent novel that is certain to entertain. She explains the intricacies that evolve out of familial conflict, artistic angst, and long-standing friendships. At the heart of her novel is a dead artist, whose contested brilliance and unkind interpersonal manner continue to taint his world well after his demise. Two biographers try and parse the artist's life through those who were closet to him and the results are often damaging. The narrative is, however, engrossing. My only issue with Christensen's efforts is her sometimes stilted language where metaphors are a bit of a stretch and her love of description sometimes gets the best of her. Overall, this a good summer read.