The Crimson Portrait

Jody Shields
Little Brown & Company (2006)
ISBN 0316785288
Reviewed by Beverly Pechin for Reader Views (11/06)

It's 1915 and Catherine finds herself like one of many women, a young widow.  Heartbroken and lost, she decides to honor her late husband’s wishes to allow the troops to use their beautiful, sprawling mansion as a make-shift hospital.  Little does she know how much her decision will change the rest of her life.

As she watches her home become an absence of her former life, she slowly finds herself grasping for comfort in the dream of her dead husband.  As she begins to take part in helping at the hospital, formerly her home, she sees a chance at literally being able to recreate her dead husband's image in a soldier who must undergo surgeries to restore his face. 

She finds herself torn between making the choice that will forever change not only her life, but the life of Julian, a young soldier who is having his face reconstructed after losing it in battle.  Will she make the right choice?  And will she be able to live with the choice she's made?

Deep and intricate webs of deception begin to be woven as not only Catherine deals with her decision to betray the young man his right to recreating his own face again but as Anna, the artist who creates drawings of the soldiers, feels a sense of loneliness as her own husband is off in battle.  Will Anna allow her feelings for a foreign doctor take her over or will she continue to try to ignore her feelings? 

Secrets kept amongst themselves, the doctors all seem to have something to hide that creates an inner turmoil within each of them.  As they triumph in huge leaps in the area of reconstructive surgery, an area formerly left untouched by 'modern medicine', they suffer huge setbacks as their minds deal with images of horror as they repair young soldiers from the front. 

Shields creates characters of such depth that you realize you may never complete unpeeling their layers as you find more and more out about them throughout the novel.  As your heart aches for all involved, you will find yourself questioning how strong you could be in a situation similar and learn to love each and every one of the characters, despite their flaws.

An excellent story line that reads so easily you will find you've finished reading long before you're ready to close the book.  With characters of such depth and reality you will continue to wonder where they went with their lives even after you close the pages.  Absolutely awesome!  You will want more!

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