The Triumph of Love: And Other Paintings: A Novel

When promising young pastiche painter Alyx notices picturesque art historian Joel at a Paris intersection, runs a red light and mows down four papillon dogs, it's love at first crunch and the beginning (Westlake fans won't be surprised to learn) of a metafictional work-in-progress. By the time wedding bells ring, the erudite three-time Booker nominee (Imaginary Women, etc.) has treated us to both romance and witty meditations on the structure of romance, not to mention reflections on postmodernism, art theory and an intricate plot--including various diagrams explaining its intricacy--narrated by a dozen famous paintings (reproductions included) who suspect that one among their number is a fake. The book, however, never becomes more than a fictional game--fun and impressive, but an interdisciplinary bagatelle. There is no denying Westlake's comic intelligence, however, or his sheer, contagious pleasure in the paintings he brings--at least part of the way--to life. Too clever by half (and too long by a third), this is nevertheless a bravura performance from one of Britain's most nimble virtuosos. 22 linecuts; illustrated endsheets in full color. (Sept.)