The Icon Painter — Derek Beaven

A major new novel, eight years in the making, from the critically acclaimed author of IF THE INVADER COMES and ACTS OF MUTINY. What is the truth of the ‘left hand paintings' produced by the artist, Owen Davy? Why -- now that he has moved to a Greek island in order to paint -- is his own self-portrait proving so problematic? And what, if cultural and linguistic barriers can be overcome, is to be learned from the local painter of Greek Orthodox icons whom he meets by chance? Owen, writing emails to his gallery owner and friend, Theo, starts to address these questions, looking back on his youth -- particularly to an affair with a married woman, Julia, and his subsequent tragicomic exile on the streets of Paris -- and to his childhood, with its dark iconography. What emerges is of profound spiritual and artistic consequence, as, with new arrivals on the island and new friendships forged, the novel becomes a remarkable exploration of love. THE ICON PAINTER offers a fierce critique of numerous cultural orthodoxies, whilst probing the very roots of art, memory and relationship in strange and moving ways.