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The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque: A Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author) "MUCH TO my unease, Mrs. Reed positioned herself, all evening, beneath or immediately to either side of her new portrait..." (more)
Key Phrases: optical magnifier, monkey arm, crying blood, New York, Long Island, Fifth Avenue (more...)
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ford expertly created a surreal alternate landscape in his acclaimed fantasies The Physiognomy and Memoranda; here, in his fourth novel, sepia-colored old New York is the fever-dream world. Piero Piambo is the portraitist of choice among New York's nouveau riche in 1893, but his career fills him with self-loathing. When a blind man with uncannily white eyes offers him "a job like no other" painting the mysterious Mrs. Charbuque Piambo quickly accepts, as the hefty commission will allow him to abandon society portraiture. But the terms of the deal are very strange: Mrs. Charbuque insists that she will hide behind a screen; to divine what she looks like, Piambo may ask her questions, but not about her appearance. It soon becomes clear that she will not be interrogated; instead, like a possibly "unhinged" Scheherazade, she mesmerizes Piambo with her story of growing up convinced she possessed psychic powers conferred on her by twin snowflakes. Piambo's opium-addicted friend Shenz convinces him to investigate his mysterious model, leading them to interview a deranged "turdologist" who sheds light on her past. But then Piambo is assaulted by a man identifying himself as Mr. Charbuque, demanding to know why the artist is "seeing my wife." And there are other dangers about, as the city is under attack by a parasite that eats "the soft tissue of the eye" and causes its victims to weep blood. Add dangerously unstable characters speaking with delicious floridity, unexpected bursts of macabre humor and violence, and a gender-bending subplot that subtly picks up steam, and you have a standout literary thriller.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-A true literary thriller. In New York City at the turn of the 20th century, Piambo is a young artist earning his bread painting "corrective" portraits of plain society wives, beautifying them for the canvas and their husbands. He has a crisis of conscience when one woman, standing under her portrait, leans close and whispers, "I hope you die." As he restlessly wanders the streets that night, a blind man approaches, claiming to know him by his dishonest smell, and offers him the commission of a lifetime: paint a portrait of his employer and receive compensation so grand that he will never have to paint another wife. The catch? Piambo will not be permitted to see Mrs. Charbuque. She will sit behind a screen, and he may ask her questions; from the answers he is to divine her essence. If he captures her likeness, compensation will triple. From this irresistible premise, Ford devilishly spins his story in prose so controlled-yet so dark with underlying fever and inevitability-that it calls to mind Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The philosophical and psychological aspects loom large, and Mrs. Charbuque is a near-masterpiece-part sphinx, part hydra, the stuff of the most potent myths. A subplot involving a possible plague adds some hardcore spookiness and, of course, points back to Mrs. Charbuque. This book is smart, spellbinding, and sure to knock any teen's favorite suspense/horror tale from top place to second.
Emily Lloyd, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial (May 27, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060936177
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060936174
  • Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #312,024 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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More About the Author

Jeffrey Ford
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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
MUCH TO my unease, Mrs. Reed positioned herself, all evening, beneath or immediately to either side of her new portrait. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
optical magnifier, monkey arm, crying blood
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Long Island, Fifth Avenue, Academy of Design, Father Loomis, John Sills, Tears of Carthage, Malcolm Ossiak, Moret Charbuque, Seventh Avenue, Francis Borne, Albert Pinkham Ryder, Derim Lourde, Hell's Kitchen, Madam Sibyl, Player's Club
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This book cites 15 books:
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25 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Lushly written story of old NYand a painter's obsession, April 26, 2003
By Richard R. Horton (Webster Groves, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque: A Novel (Hardcover)
Jeffrey Ford's new novel is The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque, something of a departure from his previous novels, though it does share some of the same obsessions and tropes, and of course it features Ford's easily recognizable prose, lush and at times overheated, but enjoyable and effective for the most part. But his earlier novels were set in exotic fantasy landscapes -- this book is set in turn of the 20th Century New York -- though Ford makes it seem exotic enough!

Mrs. Charbuque is a mysterious woman who engages the services of the novel's narrator, Piero Piambo, a portrait painter who wishes he could be something better. Mrs. Charbuque offers to pay him enough money to allow him to pursue his dream, but on one condition: he must attempt to paint her without ever seeing her. Much of the novel is given to Mrs. Charbuque's stories of her strange life: a father who predicted the future by reading snowflakes, an unfaithful mother, her later life telling fortunes, and her unusual relationship with her husband, who is allowed to see her no more than any other person. Piambo's struggles to paint his mysterious patron are complicated by the growing jealousy of both his lover, and of the apparently estranged Mr. Charbuque. At the same time his old friend Shenz, another portrait painter, offers to track down clues to Mrs. Charbuque's identity. And finally a mysterious plague is infesting New York: women are found bleeding to death through their eyes.

The resolution is striking and oddly pulpish. The novel is great fun, mixing outlandish mysteries with sensitive philosophical speculation, and garish adventure with concerns about the character of the artist. These perhaps disparate elements in the end work together quite well: this is a quite satisfying book.

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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Nice Little Mystery and a Trip Back in Time, April 26, 2004
By Jon M Altbergs (Epping, NH) - See all my reviews
I bought "The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque" not knowing quite what to expect, but was quickly captivated by both its premise and its style. I'm not frequently a reader of mystery novels, nor do I read historical fiction very often. I've delved into Dan Brown, Caleb Carr, and Mark Frost--and in all cases I've ultimately come away disappointed. When reading these books I'd felt either that the author thought I was stupid or that he thought his characters were stupid.

Here Ford treats both his readers and his creations with respect. His plot does not rely on amazing coincidence or amazing ineptitude to propel it along; nor does he treat his novel as an opportunity to impress the reader with his research on 19th century New York City or the art of portraiture. Instead, both provide a rich, but not overwrought, backdrop for a satisfying nugget of mystery.

If you're looking for the next great American novel, this is not it. However, if you are looking for a little guilt-free escapist fun that is more substantive than most of what populates the best-seller list, then "The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque" is well worth your time.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars He has to Paint a Portrait of a Woman he Can't See, November 11, 2005
It's 1893 and Piero Piambo makes his living painting the portraits of the wealthy. He's talented and thinks he has what it takes to be a great artist, but he needs money, so he can't resist when he's offered a small fortune to paint the Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque. But he may not, under any circumstances, see her, and he cannot ask her any questions about her appearance. She speaks to him from behind a screen for an hour a day and he must figure out what she looks like by their conversation alone, however he's not allowed to ask her what she looks like.

She tells him unbelievable stories of her life from behind that screen as he sketches, spinning stories within stories as his work progresses. Then people start dying mysteriously in the city seemingly by illness, but he can't help thinking that Mrs. Charburque is somehow connected.

"The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque" is a novel that will keep your imagination working overtime and one you won't soon forget. I know, because it's been a couple months since I've read it and I'm still thinking about it. This book made me laugh and it scared me a little too, plus there was that little revenge bit. I do so love a story about revenge.

Reviewed by Stephanie Sane
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great writer
I went to grad school with this man. He was one of my favorite short story writers and now ... these novels are fantastic! John Gardner would've been so proud.
Published 22 months ago by Arlene Herring

5.0 out of 5 stars A mysterious comission
In New York of 1893, painter Piambo is suffocating. He's forced to paint society portraits of the nouveaux riches in order to make a living. Read more
Published on October 7, 2007 by Mikko Saari

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent mystery
The lush writing is a bit overdone at times, and the author admits his historicity isn't supposed to be accurate; but the mystery is fun, though the plot gets out of hand now and... Read more
Published on July 13, 2006 by Compleat Reader

4.0 out of 5 stars It kept me guessing
The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque is an original, fast-moving mix of mystery, historical fiction, and psychological thriller. Read more
Published on March 23, 2006 by Rich Gubitosi

5.0 out of 5 stars Jeffrey Ford is a master
Jeffrey Ford is one of the few true originals working in the field of fantastic literature.
With his multilayered, clean, smooth, metaphorical prose peppered with irony and... Read more
Published on January 31, 2005 by R. Benardes

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent historical mystery
This novel is for thinking people. It's haunting, poignant and beautifully written. I tried to make it last longer, but I couldn't stop reading it. Read more
Published on August 9, 2004 by Vidalia11

2.0 out of 5 stars Not really "Hitchcockian suspense"
Piero Piambotto, "Piambo", is one of the most sought after portraitists in New York in the middle of the 19th century. Read more
Published on July 30, 2004 by Philippe Horak

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book!
The style of Mr. Ford's writing and the intriguing story he tells make this book an absolute pleasure to read. Read more
Published on November 16, 2003

4.0 out of 5 stars Ford is quite clever!
This book has a nifty idea, and well imagined setting, excellent characters (I especially liked the hero's girlfriend and his opium addicted painting pal - Ford portrays them as... Read more
Published on July 12, 2003 by Arthur Enyedy

3.0 out of 5 stars 2/3 of a good book
This is almost an amazing book.

The concept is intriguing, and through most of it just the enigma of Mrs. Charbuque kept me reading. Read more

Published on June 6, 2003 by Rachel E. Pollock

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