The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque (Perennial)

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

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. If you liked John Fowles "The Magus," you will like this book.

A bizarre mystery full of intriguing characters! I was mesmerized by this book and had trouble putting it down, just as Piambo was intrigued by the enigmatic Mrs. Charbuque. Even though the ending was not quite as potent as the rest of the novel, Mr. Ford deserves five stars for a brilliantly conceived fantasy novel.

This novel sparked my imagination from its first pages. As the painter, Mr Piambo, laboured to capture the likeness of his invisible patron, Mrs Charbuque, I found myself urgently making my own mental portraits of her, as if to beat Piambo to the goal. Ford writes cleverly without being pretentious, and maintains real suspense throughout the book. I couldn't put it down - and will never be able to smell nutmeg without fond memories.

Rich, complex, and often hilarious, The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque is Ford's finest novel to date. The story is imbued with a dreamlike logic that remains utterly convincing even as it veers into some very strange territory (including a fortune teller who reads the future in excrement, a thief who picks locks with his fingernails, and a parasite that causes its victims to weep blood). Great characters, a marvelous premise, and Ford's unique imagination make this the best novel I've read so far this year.