Paint it Black

Janet Fitch
Little, Brown and Company (2006)
ISBN 0316182745
Reviewed by April Sullivan for Reader Views (9/06)

“Paint it Black” is a story centralized around the suicide of a young man.  Set in LA in the early 80s, rich kid Michael Faraday has dropped out of Harvard to become an art student and takes up with punk girl and art model, Josie Tyrell.  Josie is from the opposite side of the tracks, and Michael’s mother, Meredith Loewy, a famous concert pianist, is outraged by his new lifestyle.  When Michael kills himself, Meredith and Josie become entwined in a relationship born out of grief, guilt, and love for this dead young man. 

Although the topic is one of death and sadness, the overall message is love.  I would recommend this book to any reader.  The characters are so well-written.  It feels as though the author has lived in each of their shoes.  She captures their emotions beautifully. 

Josie has only known Michael for a little over a year before his death.  We see her move from love to anger to grief and back.  The smell of his laundry; the feel of sitting in his chair by the window; the sound of his favorite song or poem; the taste of the mint from the garden that they grew together; the look of Meredith’s eyelashes on her cheek that resembles her son’s.  Fitch utilizes all of the senses in her descriptions.

Josie’s relationship with Meredith was one of mutual disdain when Michael was alive.  His death brings up many questions and they can only get the answers from each other.  As they experience glimpses of each other’s worlds, they become drawn to one another in a vain attempt to keep the memory of Michael alive.

“Paint it Black” is Janet Fitch’s second novel.  Her first novel, “White Oleander,” received worldwide acclaim, was an Oprah Book Club selection, and made into a movie.  “White Oleander” is a hard act to follow, but Janet pulls it off with writing that rivals her first novel.  If Janet Fitch is going to write something, she is going to write it well.  Not a single word is unnecessary.  Every sentence in this book was written with clarity and care.  Every paragraph is its own poetic experience.  Each page is a work of art.

 

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