
There are actually two narratives here, each one playing off on the other. The apparent one is that of Wexler's initial protagonist, artist Jacob Lerner. It is in the Lerner narrative that Wexler reveals his unique tone and most likely whom most readers will sympathize with. The other narrative is the journal of Philip Schuyler and here Wexler employs a more conventional epistolary format. There's a slow build-up to events and whereas the Lerner story is more complacent, the conflict feels more lethal in the Schuyler journals. Two distinct styles are at play here and Wexler competently weaves them both together although Schuyler's could have stood on its own.
What I appreciated is how Wexler seeds the theme of his novel and this becomes a recurring topic in the book. It culminates to the pay-off at the end and avoids the one-sidedness of many fictionalized conflicts. There's a distinct agenda to the book and this isn't just a simple get the character from Point A to Point B type of narrative.
Wexler conjures an unfamiliar but welcome atmosphere as well as combining elements of literary fiction with genre. There's a layer of sophistication and complexity in The Painting and the City but at the same time, one can simply enjoy it on the most basic of levels.
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