The Mosaic Artist

by Jane Ward

Overview

THE MOSAIC ARTIST tells the story of the break up of a family and the unorthodox ways in which two siblings hold themselves and others together in order to live their lives in the aftermath of messy divorce.

Lives that had been torn apart and carefully reconstructed in the past are on the verge of shattering again, but Jack's decision to leave his children the house just might help them all remake their lives one more time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781453860045
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	03/22/2011
Pages:	356
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.74(d)

About the Author

Jane Ward is the author of HUNGER (Forge, 2001) and THE MOSAIC ARTIST.

Jane graduated from Simmons College in 1983 with a degree in English Literature, the desire to write novels, and an aptitude for and love of cooking. Upon graduation, she began working almost immediately in the food and hospitality industry, trying her hand at catering, planning corporate parties, and baking. After years of long days and late nights at both Creative Gourmets in Boston and The 95th Restaurant in Chicago, food - which had led Jane to so many wonderful work experiences - would take her to one more unexpected place. She found herself in a world filled with stories waiting to be told.

For her first novel, HUNGER, Jane drew on her years of work experience to take a sensual and heartbreaking look at marriage, emotional hunger, appetite for life, and the myriad pleasures of a good meal well served. The story of THE MOSAIC ARTIST took shape after Jane's stint as weekend baker at the Quebrada Bakery in Arlington, MA. Over the morning's scones, muffins, and bread, Jane had many lively conversations with the bakery's cake decorator, a talented and accomplished mosaicist, and soon mosaic art found its outlet in one of the novel's main characters.

Jane is currently at work on her third novel, THE WELCOME HOME; her weekly blog, FOOD AND FICTION (www.authorjaneward.com); and a food memoir entitled TATTOOED WITH FOOD. She is also a contributing writer to the online regional food magazine, Local In Season (www.localinseason.com) and occasional host of cooking videos for an internet recipe resource found on some Eagle-Tribune newspapers (food.gloucestertimes.com).

Since 1983 Jane has lived in Chicago, Washington State, and Iceland before settling back in her home state of Massachusetts in 1999, where she now lives on its north shore with her husband, two children, and dog, Spy.

Editorial Reviews

When Jack Manoli was a young man, he left his wife—and two children, Shelley and Mark—to marry his secretary, Sylvie. Years later, when Jack dies of cancer, Shelley has managed to find peace with her father, while Mark still clings to anger and abandonment. Further complicating matters, Jack bequeaths his and widowed Sylvie's summer home to Shelley and Mark. Now Sylvie, Mark, and Shelley must struggle to come to terms with one another and the past. This is an exceptionally well-crafted novel, a delicate story, and a fine exploration of divorce, forgiveness, happiness, and loss. The relationships between the characters are thoughtfully constructed, and Ward's decision to alternate among points of view provides an invaluable window to character growth and evolution. Perhaps the only underdeveloped character is Sylvie, who remains more an object (of love or resentment) than a fully realized individual. This is unfortunate, because it's her perspective that many readers will find most intriguing.

Publishers Weekly

A vibrant landscape of a family shattered by divorce, letting time and choices bring the pieces back together in moving on or letting go. Ward's (Hunger, 2001) second novel begins from the perspective of Jack Manoli, lying on his deathbed in the condo he shares with his much younger second wife, Sylvie. His love for Sylvie, his former-secretary-turned-business-partner-and-wife, is absorbing and passionate enough to have caused Jack to start up an affair many years ago and leave his children, Mark and Shelley, with their unstable mother. Upon Jack's death, his now-adult children are left to decide what is to become of the Rockport lake house that was Sylvie and Jack's sanctuary, the foundation where their affair solidified into a life together and the site full of bad memories for Mark, as it was where father and son's relationship broke apart. For Mark, a pot-smoking mosaic artist, art imitates life; his anger is dangerously bottled up, destroying his relationship with his live-in girlfriend just as he shatters ceramic and glass for his mosaic landscapes. Shelley is a teacher working tirelessly to protect her younger brother and create the family life she never had for her husband and two daughters. She hopes to help Mark find a balance "somewhere in between perfection and devastation" creating a reality "where all the many pieces of us—the pleasant and painful—can be reconfigured into an imperfect but solid-enough life"— something their father also strived to create in choosing Sylvie. Ward fashions characters with rich detail, allowing each to leave a distinct impression. While not always likable (Sylvie comes off as a selfish stepmother at times), they are nonetheless genuine. Building layer upon layer of each family member's story, Ward shows the complexity of divorce from all sides, even revisiting Jack's thoughts throughout the book. Mark and Shelley are faced with what to do with the lake house and whether to shed the hurt caused by their father's choices by making new choices for themselves to gain happiness, peace and, ultimately, freedom. A rich, complex novel that mixes art and life into a story about the decisions that lead to healing or hurt.

Kirkus Reviews