Review: 'Painting Time' by Maylis de Kerangal, trans. by Jessica Moore

 As a child I found it difficult to stand still and truly see something. I would race through zoos and museums, jumping from one exhibit or animal to the next, rabid for more. It wasn't until my father sat me down in front of an animal enclosure and told me to wait and see that I first truly saw and connected. Now, whenever I am in a museum I try to actually see the details, the way brush strokes evoke waves, how chiaroscuro guides the eye, how movement is created in stillness. It was only by standing still that I began to see the "always more" I had been looking for. Reading Painting Time similarly felt like rushing along while standing perfectly still, like taking everything in by looking at one thing in particular. Thanks to Quercus Books, Maclehose Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. 

Pub. Date: 5/13/2021
Publisher: Quercus Books; Maclehose Press

Behind the ornate doors of 30, rue du Métal in Brussels, twenty students begin their apprenticeship in the art of decorative painting - that art of tricksters and counterfeiters, where each knot in a plank of wood hides a secret and every vein in a slab of marble tells a story.

Among these students are Kate, Jonas and Paula Karst. Together, during a relentless year of study, they will learn the techniques of reproducing materials in paint, and the intensity of their experience - the long hours in the studio, the late nights, the conversations, arguments, parties, romances - will cement a friendship that lasts long after their formal studies end.

For Paula, her initiation into the art of trompe l'œil will take her back through time, from her own childhood memories, to the ancient formations of the materials whose depiction she strives to master. And from the institute in Brussels where her studies begin, to her work on the film sets of Cinecittà, and finally the prehistoric caves of Lascaux, her experiences will transcend art, gradually revealing something of her own inner world, and the secret, unreachable desires of her heart.

A coming-of-age novel like no other: an atmospheric and highly aesthetic portrayal of love, art and craftsmanship from the acclaimed author of Birth of a Bridge and Mend the Living.

Art is at the heart of Painting Time, a novel that takes the coming-of-age theme and runs wild with it. I recalled a childhood experience of finally sitting down in front of an exhibit above because Painting Time is rife with memories. Memories of moments, touches, glances, feelings; it all comes to the surface as Paula connects with art and with the world around her. It is this layering of experience that completely drew me in to the novel, as it also draws me into art. It is about the story-telling, in the end. What is a tree ring if not a story of years passed? In order to reproduce it, Paula has to understand this process and as she becomes a painter, she becomes a storyteller. She takes the reader across Europe, is disappointed, frustrated, triumphant, always exhausted, but, at least for me, there is always a touch of the divine in her work. The jargon of the field, the listing of colours, of brushes, the slow, methodical work of painting becomes almost soothing in de Kerangal's writing. As the reader you slow down, completely absorbed as you follow Paula's eyes taking in the minutest detail and the grandest revelations about ourselves and about time.

Painting Time begins with a reunion between Kate, Jonas and Paula Karst, friends and previous students at the Institut Supérieur de Peinture in Brussels. From there we jump back to the beginning, the moment when Paula first enters the Institut and turns from a disaffected and slightly lost teenager into a determined and slightly disconnected adult. It is here she learns the art of trompe l'oeil, a technique that creates optical illusions, that makes you believe something is there even when you know it isn't. Paula begins to see the life in stone and wood, and so slowly comes to see the world around her, and herself, in a new, sharper light. She begins to know their stories, to see the history in their finest details, and with that knowledge is released back into the wild. Hopping from job to job across Europe, Paula works on the villas of the rich, the film sets of Cinecittà, and a neighbour's ceiling, all the while slowly finding answers to her own self, the nature of her work, and the larger questions of life. It is when she reaches the book's final destination, however, the Cave of Lascaux, that Painting Time reaches a new level. Confronted with this prehistoric cradle of art, history, memory and storytelling come together for Paula.

This was my first time reading Maylis de Kerangal and she blew me away from the first page. de Kerangal truly inhabits the field she writes about, making every moment a chance to highlight details in a painterly, masterful way. The way Paula's hair falls, how Kate's fish tattoos move over her muscles, the way the light falls through the windows of the Institut, each moment is elevated through de Kerangal's writing. Jargon becomes poetry and the heavy burden of growing into yourself becomes a Hero's Journey that requires, finally, a descent into the dark, the primeval. I often stood still at particular phrases, that suddenly cut through all the visual beauty and revealed hard, stark truths. The quote below is one I think will resonate with many. When describing the art of painting, and perhaps the art of living itself, Paula realizes it is nothing more:

'than an aptitude for failure, a consent to the fall, and a desire to start over'.

Much praise should also be laid at the feet of Jessica Moore , who does a brilliant and beautiful job at translating de Kerangal's prose. A novelist herself, she manages to retain de Kerangal's rapid fluidity as well as herhyper-focus, the way in which thoughts heap on top of thoughts, the stunning detail that she mines out of every moment. Painting Time surprised me with how quickly it settled within my mind, with how quickly it made me want to take a closer look at things, to learn the stories of the objects and beings around me. Especially in these times, when so many of us have been stuck within the same four walls, it was restorative to be exposed to so many different sensations, stories and views.

I give this novel...

5 Universes!

Painting Time is a beautiful book, both a meditation on an art form as well as a slow revelation of all the layers of storytelling that make up a human and a work of art. Whether you're looking for a novel that will soothe and take you somewhere else, or a novel that will invigorate and shake you awake, Painting Time can offer you both.

I am also very pleased to be able to be a part of the Blog Blast for Painting Time today! Do look up all the lovely people below on Twitter and see their thoughts on this stunning book as well!