Exposed by Jean-Philippe Blondel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read this in one sitting. Thank heaven for a writer who tells the story he wants to tell, in as many words as he feels is necessary, and a publisher who isn’t afraid to publish it that way. I admire New Vessel Press for providing us Anglophones with this lovely book.
Louis Claret is an aging schoolteacher, divorced, attached – if awkwardly – to his two adult daughters and ex-wife. An unexpected invitation to an art exhibit brings him back in touch with a student from decades ago, one he only vaguely remembers, who is now a rising star as a painter. The two men cautiously reconnect, as the painter asks to paint the older man’s portrait – and a slow, hesitant intimacy develops. The painter’s exploration of the teacher leads the teacher to rediscover aspects of himself he had avoided, suppressed or forgotten – both traumatic and joyous. The painter exposes himself as well, groping along a path toward a leap forward in his art, and revealing just how much the teacher had meant to him years ago.
A deeply poignant and thoughtful exploration of aging, memory, love, art, teaching, and connection.
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