Claire Thomas has an Honours degree in Art History from Melbourne University. She has written about something she knows intimately with convincing clarity and depth. Although it is a work of fiction, this is almost biographical in style. The story traces the path of a panel painting with a rare lapis lazuli pigment brought to an art conservator for restoration. The setting moves back and forth from Melbourne, where it begins, to Venice, in fluid transition. Revealed are the lives of the former owners of the painting and there is a strong sense of historical time and place presented through the beautifully descriptive passages. The slow restoration of the picture, the uncovering of its origins and its journey through time, are juxtaposed with the disintegration of the conservator’s relationship and the reasons for its breakdown. Both are poignant revelations of human frailties and the evolution of the heart. This is a well-written book with excellent characters. Its interesting subject matter has been intelligently interwoven within a multi-layered story of love lost, past and present, and the endurance of art. It will appeal to an unlimited range of readers, in particular those with a preference for art, and historical fiction.

Anastasia Gonis is a former bookseller, freelance reviewer and monthly contributor to Buzz Words and Good Reading magazine

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

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