Jane Urquhart's The Underpainter is a very modern novel preoccupied with the power of the past. Austin Fraser, born in 1894, is a modernist who relentlessly paints over his canvases, much as he tries to eradicate people from his life. Though he insists that he has forgone emotion and love, when he receives news of a women he once knew, he can no longer stop memories from encroaching. Urquhart's novel ranges from late-century Rochester, New York, on to Ontario then Paris and New York City. Not since Patrick White's The Vivisector have there been such disturbing scenes of the painter in action: "I believed that I was drawing-- literally drawing--everything out of her, that his act of making art filled the space around me so completely there would be no other impressions possible beyond the ones I controlled." Intriguingly, by exposing Fraser's emptiness, Urquhart makes us pity him. Though she has said that she was "quite angry with Austin" while writing The Underpainter, the author's language incises his reluctant humanity and turns his life into a work of art.

The Underpainter, 19 Mar 2006
The Underpainter is a riveting novel about an artist, whose defining trait, is to wash overtop what he originally painted, and paint over that, leaving only faint images, of what had been. In this novel, Jane Urquahart has painted the picture of an artist who is obsessed with painting,to the point of destroying both himself and those who care about him. I could not put this book down.

Moving,compulsive and well-written, 17 Jun 2001
It's been a wet Saturday which gave me a good excuse to read this beautiful novel in one sitting.I'd never heard of Jane Urquhart but am now eager to read more of her work.Her landscapes and characters are vividly portrayed as their story draws us in.A novel which is absorbing,thought-provoking and a real page-turner.

Beautiful writing, tragic story, fabulous book, 13 Jun 2001
I simply couldn't believe how good this novel was. The quality of the writing, the spellbinding story, and the subject matter itself - so different from anything I've read before. It made me want to savour every word. Set in Canada and the northern USA in the decades between 1910 and 1940, it is told through the eyes of "the underpainter", a man who has squandered his opportunities for happiness and personal fulfilment - one could hardly call him the hero of the story. If the book has a hero, it is his friend, George, who paints pictures of quite a different kind.

The Underpainter, 19 Mar 2006
The Underpainter is a riveting novel about an artist, whose defining trait, is to wash overtop what he originally painted, and paint over that, leaving only faint images, of what had been. In this novel, Jane Urquahart has painted the picture of an artist who is obsessed with painting,to the point of destroying both himself and those who care about him. I could not put this book down.

Moving,compulsive and well-written, 17 Jun 2001
It's been a wet Saturday which gave me a good excuse to read this beautiful novel in one sitting.I'd never heard of Jane Urquhart but am now eager to read more of her work.Her landscapes and characters are vividly portrayed as their story draws us in.A novel which is absorbing,thought-provoking and a real page-turner.

Beautiful writing, tragic story, fabulous book, 13 Jun 2001
I simply couldn't believe how good this novel was. The quality of the writing, the spellbinding story, and the subject matter itself - so different from anything I've read before. It made me want to savour every word. Set in Canada and the northern USA in the decades between 1910 and 1940, it is told through the eyes of "the underpainter", a man who has squandered his opportunities for happiness and personal fulfilment - one could hardly call him the hero of the story. If the book has a hero, it is his friend, George, who paints pictures of quite a different kind.

Lyrical Boredom, 09 Jun 1999
Jane Uquhart's novel Away, is about Mary and Eileen, a mother, daughter duo who have their lives changed by romantic, yet tragic encounters, at different times. The novel begins in Ireland, where Mary is possessed by the spirit of a sailor who dies in her arms on Rathlin island. People of the island believed that Mary was possessed by a deamon lover, who took her away from herself, society and her family. After staring death in the face, from the potato famine, Mary and her realistic husband, Brian, migrated to Canada. Even though Mary had left her country, her deamon followed and took her away, forever, leaving behind her son Liam and her daughter, Eileen. After being told the story of her families abandonment by Exodus Crow and former landlord, Osbert, Eileen falls passionately in love with the fiery Irish patriot dancer, Aiden. Uquharts novel is full of the political and spiritual drama of Ireland, and the Irish people. Jane Uquhart is blessed with the ability to write with such magic and lyrical composition, that at times she make the interesting, even more interesting, and consequently the tedious even more tedious. Jane Uquhart's melodious language is both her greatest asset and worst liability.

incomparable, 28 Feb 1999
A single sentence in this book encompasses the highest of art and spirit that the muse of writing holds out before all writers. Many produce volumes over a lifetime and never achieve the beauty, elegance and balance of Urguhart's writing. It may be a tale but it is the writing, the exquisite telling of the tale that matters here. This is a treasure.

Very captivating read full of intriguing language, 24 Aug 1998
This book was recommended to me by an English major. With the skepticism of a non English student, I read on and found myself engrossed in the books characters and story. The story involves the women of successive generations of a single family starting on the shores of Ireland and ending up in the ever-urbanizing world of just outside Toronto. The women of the family and their respective passions are explored in a greatly interesting manner. I fully recommend this text. It greatly surprised me...Thks eddy

Disappointing., 17 Jun 1998
The lyrical prose and language of Away is its best and worst feature. Urquhart's rich, magical prose, especially in the novel's opening with Mary and her lover from the sea, is wonderful. However, the language is not enough to sustain interest. Urquhart's prose dilapitates into a passive, lazy drawl (which DOES NOT convincingly pass for style) as the "magical" parts tests the reader's patience. Disappointing.

Away brings the lost spirits of Ireland to your heart., 05 Sep 1997
The troubles in Ireland have the roots in centuries of turmoil. The Irish spirituality is innate and as the author weaves a story Irish pain she shares the strength of the Irish. As a third generation Canadian of Irish descent, I needed to know about the Irish soul and why I am the way I am. A fictional account of historic truth.

Jane Urquhart's The Underpainter is a very modern novel preoccupied with the power of the past. Austin Fraser, born in 1894, is a modernist who relentlessly paints over his canvases, much as he tries to eradicate people from his life. Though he insists that he has forgone emotion and love, when he receives news of a women he once knew, he can no longer stop memories from encroaching. Urquhart's novel ranges from late-century Rochester, New York, on to Ontario then Paris and New York City. Not since Patrick White's The Vivisector have there been such disturbing scenes of the painter in action: "I believed that I was drawing-- literally drawing--everything out of her, that his act of making art filled the space around me so completely there would be no other impressions possible beyond the ones I controlled." Intriguingly, by exposing Fraser's emptiness, Urquhart makes us pity him. Though she has said that she was "quite angry with Austin" while writing The Underpainter, the author's language incises his reluctant humanity and turns his life into a work of art.

The Underpainter, 19 Mar 2006
The Underpainter is a riveting novel about an artist, whose defining trait, is to wash overtop what he originally painted, and paint over that, leaving only faint images, of what had been. In this novel, Jane Urquahart has painted the picture of an artist who is obsessed with painting,to the point of destroying both himself and those who care about him. I could not put this book down.

Moving,compulsive and well-written, 17 Jun 2001
It's been a wet Saturday which gave me a good excuse to read this beautiful novel in one sitting.I'd never heard of Jane Urquhart but am now eager to read more of her work.Her landscapes and characters are vividly portrayed as their story draws us in.A novel which is absorbing,thought-provoking and a real page-turner.

Beautiful writing, tragic story, fabulous book, 13 Jun 2001
I simply couldn't believe how good this novel was. The quality of the writing, the spellbinding story, and the subject matter itself - so different from anything I've read before. It made me want to savour every word. Set in Canada and the northern USA in the decades between 1910 and 1940, it is told through the eyes of "the underpainter", a man who has squandered his opportunities for happiness and personal fulfilment - one could hardly call him the hero of the story. If the book has a hero, it is his friend, George, who paints pictures of quite a different kind.

Lyrical Boredom, 09 Jun 1999
Jane Uquhart's novel Away, is about Mary and Eileen, a mother, daughter duo who have their lives changed by romantic, yet tragic encounters, at different times. The novel begins in Ireland, where Mary is possessed by the spirit of a sailor who dies in her arms on Rathlin island. People of the island believed that Mary was possessed by a deamon lover, who took her away from herself, society and her family. After staring death in the face, from the potato famine, Mary and her realistic husband, Brian, migrated to Canada. Even though Mary had left her country, her deamon followed and took her away, forever, leaving behind her son Liam and her daughter, Eileen. After being told the story of her families abandonment by Exodus Crow and former landlord, Osbert, Eileen falls passionately in love with the fiery Irish patriot dancer, Aiden. Uquharts novel is full of the political and spiritual drama of Ireland, and the Irish people. Jane Uquhart is blessed with the ability to write with such magic and lyrical composition, that at times she make the interesting, even more interesting, and consequently the tedious even more tedious. Jane Uquhart's melodious language is both her greatest asset and worst liability.

incomparable, 28 Feb 1999
A single sentence in this book encompasses the highest of art and spirit that the muse of writing holds out before all writers. Many produce volumes over a lifetime and never achieve the beauty, elegance and balance of Urguhart's writing. It may be a tale but it is the writing, the exquisite telling of the tale that matters here. This is a treasure.

Very captivating read full of intriguing language, 24 Aug 1998
This book was recommended to me by an English major. With the skepticism of a non English student, I read on and found myself engrossed in the books characters and story. The story involves the women of successive generations of a single family starting on the shores of Ireland and ending up in the ever-urbanizing world of just outside Toronto. The women of the family and their respective passions are explored in a greatly interesting manner. I fully recommend this text. It greatly surprised me...Thks eddy

Disappointing., 17 Jun 1998
The lyrical prose and language of Away is its best and worst feature. Urquhart's rich, magical prose, especially in the novel's opening with Mary and her lover from the sea, is wonderful. However, the language is not enough to sustain interest. Urquhart's prose dilapitates into a passive, lazy drawl (which DOES NOT convincingly pass for style) as the "magical" parts tests the reader's patience. Disappointing.

Away brings the lost spirits of Ireland to your heart., 05 Sep 1997
The troubles in Ireland have the roots in centuries of turmoil. The Irish spirituality is innate and as the author weaves a story Irish pain she shares the strength of the Irish. As a third generation Canadian of Irish descent, I needed to know about the Irish soul and why I am the way I am. A fictional account of historic truth.

The Underpainter, 19 Mar 2006
The Underpainter is a riveting novel about an artist, whose defining trait, is to wash overtop what he originally painted, and paint over that, leaving only faint images, of what had been. In this novel, Jane Urquahart has painted the picture of an artist who is obsessed with painting,to the point of destroying both himself and those who care about him. I could not put this book down.

Moving,compulsive and well-written, 17 Jun 2001
It's been a wet Saturday which gave me a good excuse to read this beautiful novel in one sitting.I'd never heard of Jane Urquhart but am now eager to read more of her work.Her landscapes and characters are vividly portrayed as their story draws us in.A novel which is absorbing,thought-provoking and a real page-turner.

Beautiful writing, tragic story, fabulous book, 13 Jun 2001
I simply couldn't believe how good this novel was. The quality of the writing, the spellbinding story, and the subject matter itself - so different from anything I've read before. It made me want to savour every word. Set in Canada and the northern USA in the decades between 1910 and 1940, it is told through the eyes of "the underpainter", a man who has squandered his opportunities for happiness and personal fulfilment - one could hardly call him the hero of the story. If the book has a hero, it is his friend, George, who paints pictures of quite a different kind.

The Underpainter, 19 Mar 2006
The Underpainter is a riveting novel about an artist, whose defining trait, is to wash overtop what he originally painted, and paint over that, leaving only faint images, of what had been. In this novel, Jane Urquahart has painted the picture of an artist who is obsessed with painting,to the point of destroying both himself and those who care about him. I could not put this book down.

Moving,compulsive and well-written, 17 Jun 2001
It's been a wet Saturday which gave me a good excuse to read this beautiful novel in one sitting.I'd never heard of Jane Urquhart but am now eager to read more of her work.Her landscapes and characters are vividly portrayed as their story draws us in.A novel which is absorbing,thought-provoking and a real page-turner.

Beautiful writing, tragic story, fabulous book, 13 Jun 2001
I simply couldn't believe how good this novel was. The quality of the writing, the spellbinding story, and the subject matter itself - so different from anything I've read before. It made me want to savour every word. Set in Canada and the northern USA in the decades between 1910 and 1940, it is told through the eyes of "the underpainter", a man who has squandered his opportunities for happiness and personal fulfilment - one could hardly call him the hero of the story. If the book has a hero, it is his friend, George, who paints pictures of quite a different kind.

Lyrical Boredom, 09 Jun 1999
Jane Uquhart's novel Away, is about Mary and Eileen, a mother, daughter duo who have their lives changed by romantic, yet tragic encounters, at different times. The novel begins in Ireland, where Mary is possessed by the spirit of a sailor who dies in her arms on Rathlin island. People of the island believed that Mary was possessed by a deamon lover, who took her away from herself, society and her family. After staring death in the face, from the potato famine, Mary and her realistic husband, Brian, migrated to Canada. Even though Mary had left her country, her deamon followed and took her away, forever, leaving behind her son Liam and her daughter, Eileen. After being told the story of her families abandonment by Exodus Crow and former landlord, Osbert, Eileen falls passionately in love with the fiery Irish patriot dancer, Aiden. Uquharts novel is full of the political and spiritual drama of Ireland, and the Irish people. Jane Uquhart is blessed with the ability to write with such magic and lyrical composition, that at times she make the interesting, even more interesting, and consequently the tedious even more tedious. Jane Uquhart's melodious language is both her greatest asset and worst liability.

incomparable, 28 Feb 1999
A single sentence in this book encompasses the highest of art and spirit that the muse of writing holds out before all writers. Many produce volumes over a lifetime and never achieve the beauty, elegance and balance of Urguhart's writing. It may be a tale but it is the writing, the exquisite telling of the tale that matters here. This is a treasure.

Very captivating read full of intriguing language, 24 Aug 1998
This book was recommended to me by an English major. With the skepticism of a non English student, I read on and found myself engrossed in the books characters and story. The story involves the women of successive generations of a single family starting on the shores of Ireland and ending up in the ever-urbanizing world of just outside Toronto. The women of the family and their respective passions are explored in a greatly interesting manner. I fully recommend this text. It greatly surprised me...Thks eddy

Disappointing., 17 Jun 1998
The lyrical prose and language of Away is its best and worst feature. Urquhart's rich, magical prose, especially in the novel's opening with Mary and her lover from the sea, is wonderful. However, the language is not enough to sustain interest. Urquhart's prose dilapitates into a passive, lazy drawl (which DOES NOT convincingly pass for style) as the "magical" parts tests the reader's patience. Disappointing.

Away brings the lost spirits of Ireland to your heart., 05 Sep 1997
The troubles in Ireland have the roots in centuries of turmoil. The Irish spirituality is innate and as the author weaves a story Irish pain she shares the strength of the Irish. As a third generation Canadian of Irish descent, I needed to know about the Irish soul and why I am the way I am. A fictional account of historic truth.

The Underpainter, 19 Mar 2006
The Underpainter is a riveting novel about an artist, whose defining trait, is to wash overtop what he originally painted, and paint over that, leaving only faint images, of what had been. In this novel, Jane Urquahart has painted the picture of an artist who is obsessed with painting,to the point of destroying both himself and those who care about him. I could not put this book down.

Moving,compulsive and well-written, 17 Jun 2001
It's been a wet Saturday which gave me a good excuse to read this beautiful novel in one sitting.I'd never heard of Jane Urquhart but am now eager to read more of her work.Her landscapes and characters are vividly portrayed as their story draws us in.A novel which is absorbing,thought-provoking and a real page-turner.

Beautiful writing, tragic story, fabulous book, 13 Jun 2001
I simply couldn't believe how good this novel was. The quality of the writing, the spellbinding story, and the subject matter itself - so different from anything I've read before. It made me want to savour every word. Set in Canada and the northern USA in the decades between 1910 and 1940, it is told through the eyes of "the underpainter", a man who has squandered his opportunities for happiness and personal fulfilment - one could hardly call him the hero of the story. If the book has a hero, it is his friend, George, who paints pictures of quite a different kind.

Lyrical Boredom, 09 Jun 1999
Jane Uquhart's novel Away, is about Mary and Eileen, a mother, daughter duo who have their lives changed by romantic, yet tragic encounters, at different times. The novel begins in Ireland, where Mary is possessed by the spirit of a sailor who dies in her arms on Rathlin island. People of the island believed that Mary was possessed by a deamon lover, who took her away from herself, society and her family. After staring death in the face, from the potato famine, Mary and her realistic husband, Brian, migrated to Canada. Even though Mary had left her country, her deamon followed and took her away, forever, leaving behind her son Liam and her daughter, Eileen. After being told the story of her families abandonment by Exodus Crow and former landlord, Osbert, Eileen falls passionately in love with the fiery Irish patriot dancer, Aiden. Uquharts novel is full of the political and spiritual drama of Ireland, and the Irish people. Jane Uquhart is blessed with the ability to write with such magic and lyrical composition, that at times she make the interesting, even more interesting, and consequently the tedious even more tedious. Jane Uquhart's melodious language is both her greatest asset and worst liability.

incomparable, 28 Feb 1999
A single sentence in this book encompasses the highest of art and spirit that the muse of writing holds out before all writers. Many produce volumes over a lifetime and never achieve the beauty, elegance and balance of Urguhart's writing. It may be a tale but it is the writing, the exquisite telling of the tale that matters here. This is a treasure.

Very captivating read full of intriguing language, 24 Aug 1998
This book was recommended to me by an English major. With the skepticism of a non English student, I read on and found myself engrossed in the books characters and story. The story involves the women of successive generations of a single family starting on the shores of Ireland and ending up in the ever-urbanizing world of just outside Toronto. The women of the family and their respective passions are explored in a greatly interesting manner. I fully recommend this text. It greatly surprised me...Thks eddy

Disappointing., 17 Jun 1998
The lyrical prose and language of Away is its best and worst feature. Urquhart's rich, magical prose, especially in the novel's opening with Mary and her lover from the sea, is wonderful. However, the language is not enough to sustain interest. Urquhart's prose dilapitates into a passive, lazy drawl (which DOES NOT convincingly pass for style) as the "magical" parts tests the reader's patience. Disappointing.

Away brings the lost spirits of Ireland to your heart., 05 Sep 1997
The troubles in Ireland have the roots in centuries of turmoil. The Irish spirituality is innate and as the author weaves a story Irish pain she shares the strength of the Irish. As a third generation Canadian of Irish descent, I needed to know about the Irish soul and why I am the way I am. A fictional account of historic truth.