x dismiss this message
Did you know you can edit this page?
-
Sign Into Shelfari
-
Choose something to edit
-
Save your contributions
see page history
Description edit
Two mysterious deaths unlock one man's past and another's future in this moving tale of art, love, and history When the wife of renowned art critic Daniel Lichtmann plunges to her death, she is not alone. Lying next to her is her suspected lover, Benjamin Wind, the very artist Daniel most... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
Daniel uncovers the family history of the man who died with his wife in an apparent double suicide. He is guided along the way by Max who claims to be Benjamin's grandfather. Daniel traces Benjamin's father and starts to question Max's manipulations. He travels to various parts of the U.S... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters/People edit
- Daniel: New York Art Critic. Complex, sensitive man who has a history of difficult relationships with women. Two women have struggled to bear his children. His second wife dies-the police say it is a double suicide. He loved the work of the man who died with her. He feels lost- Is he a cuckhold? He reacts passionately to art and people. He meets an old man who claims to be the grandfather of his wife's lover. He begins a journey to uncover the artist's life. He traces their history back to 1930's Vienna and finds new love and meaning.
- Josef Pick: Add a description of this character.
- Herman Wind
- Aleksandra
- Max Wiener
- Benjamin Wind: Very talented artist whose life ends with suicide. Perhaps we will never know why.
- Carmen: Max's beautiful caretaker who also takes Daniel's eye.
- Hannah Engländer: Max's wife, or is she? Is she alive or dead...Max is very slow to tell us. Hermann's mother.
- Francine
- Mr. Lichtmann
- Clifford Fatheree: Inmate of a New York prison where unclaimed bodies are sent to a common gravesite maintained by the prisonners.
- Patrick Carrigan
- Herr Pick
- Emil
- Hitler
- Barbara
- Herr Wiener
- Prater
- Hart Island
- Herr Hörler
- Shirley Molotnik
Quotes edit
-
“In the greatest matters---Love and death, sex too--our minds are rarely in concert with our hearts.”
-
“Would you believe I have no idea where my youth went-- I ony know that I miss it. Not because I miss all the young I knew then, but because I miss the old. When you are my age, there are no old. There are just more of you. This is what else is terrible about aging---there becomes no more mystery about other people! As you age the difference in years between you and the oldest living persons decreases--until you are the odlest living person, and the only difference of age to speak of is between you and the young. And the young, well you have been them! The truth is I don't even know how my great day came and went--where was its sunrise?”
-
“Why do you think my grandson's last sculptures were like this--holding the hands? They were already dead, these people in the sculptures, you see? They were holding hands too late. This was the irony that my grandson, my young, young grandson saw. It is how I know his heart was broke when he built these sculptures.”
First Sentence edit
Falling, in her final moments, Daniel's wife carries in her chest a heart burdened by the weight of her love for another man.
Authors & Contributors edit
- Andrew Winer (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: Add the language.
Publisher: Add the publisher.
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: 2010
ISBN: Add the ISBN.
Page Count: Add the page count.
Publisher: Add the publisher.
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: 2010
ISBN: Add the ISBN.
Page Count: Add the page count.
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 813.6
Subjects edit
Popular Tags
We’re hiding the errata, movie connections, books that influenced this book, books influenced by this book, books that cite this book and books cited by this book sections. If you would like to add content to them, you must first make them visible.
