The Crimson Portrait: A Novel (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
It's 1915 and Catherine finds herself like one of many women, a young widow. Heartbroken and lost, she decides to honor her late husbands 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 that was 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 are dealt with images of horror every day 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!
A strangely absorbing read. I guess when you are a bit of a history buff anything in that vein absorbs, so I'm glad I didn't take on board all the Goodreads reviews and give up at the first hurdle.The book is loosely based on two actual historical figures, Anna Coleman Ladd, and Varaztad Kazanjian. Both worked in the treatment of the wounded in the First World War, where facial wounding was very common. Apparently, not a lot was known in this field, and Kazanjian improvised a lot with his treatments, and Anna was an artist who drew the casualties for historical record. She also created 'masks' for those whose faces were severely disfigured once their initial surgery and healing was complete. It is hard to imagine in this day and age when plastic surgery is able to accomplish so much, that men had to wear a mask to re-enter the public arena, and the images I found of her work online are fascinating.An interesting and informative read.
What do You think about The Crimson Portrait: A Novel (2006)?
This had to have been one of the worst books I have ever read. There were 6 characters and none of them were developed to my satisfaction. If she would have just taken one or two and developed them, it would have been great. The plot - WWl at a hospital where the Drs. were trying to save the faces of patients - is a good plot, but it never went anywhere. Even the ending was lacking. I wanted to quit in the middle, but I always try to finish what I start, so I did. Learning about WWl and the plastic surgery that was starting is compelling, but this book lacked depth.
—Kimberly Van De Graaff
if you have nothing better to do - read this book - a woman looses her husband and sees his ghost everywhere on their estate, the war explodes and her residence is converted into a hospital where the most horribly injured soldiers are brought. They all have terrible facial wounds......there is a doctor who tires to reconstruct their faces so they can assimilate back into society - great part of the book. but you have to ask - is this to help the soldiers look "normal" or will they still end up not being accepted? or is it an ego boost for the Dr? What is disgusting is the woman makes the doctor reconstruct the face of a soldier that reminds her of her dead husband without his knowledge. so now he has husbands face but..... creepy! This book hints of the advancements of Craniofacial surgery and what was learned during the war to help future patients maimed by war, disease, accidents and birth defects. that is why it gets 2 stars!
—Denise
Pre-finished review below. Only thing I have to add now that I'm done is that it didn't get any better. At the end, she is so artistic in her writing that it is actually unclear what happened to all the main characters. A disaster of a novel. I strongly recommend NOT reading this book, and I hope that Shields' other novel(s) were at least remotely less self-consciously "literary". I haven't finished this book yet, but want to record my current impression so I don't forget it - the prose is posed. That is to say, I feel as if Shields is trying incredibly hard to make me FEEL the art of this story and in the process all I feel is that she's trying to push me into emotion and interest rather than carrying me into them effortlessly. The book is in art about a woman who is making portraits of wounded men, in part about a widow, in part about doctors attempting to excel at their craft of repairing the unrepairable - all set during the first world war. It all sounds a recipe for an epic story. If only the author wasn't also so convinced that she's forcing it into a stylized "portrait" that feels very contrived to me. I'm going to finish it, but my verdict is 2 stars at this point.
—Cari
