I really enjoyed this book. Very unusual plot which kept me transfixed.

I do love this aurthor. Although the story wasnt what i expected. Its a story about piecing togetger the psychotic delusion and mental break down of a painter through the women in his life and his psychiatrist. It did feel pretty romatized seeing the point of veiw of the women. And the historical second story took a long time to coinside with the ongoing one. But it was good especially for an artist and psychology enthusist. It just had more of an everyday tone to it.

This book is simply awful. The reviews on this website are biased in favor of the author. Go to amazon.com and read the numerous reviews posted there for more objectivity. The characters are insecure, boring and downright whiny - none of them are very interesting. The main character is never developed. He is a talented artist who has a physical presence that's about the development of his character. The present day female characters are whiny and insecure. In one passage a character vomits repeatedly for no apparent reason and this passes for action in this novel. In another passage a character compares bodily fluids to the stages of life. As if the present day characters were not bad enough; there is subplot that features characters from the 1800s. Ironically this story line has more action than the present day story line. The author is a master of description. She will describe minute details ad nauseum.The book is too heavy on description and too light on action.