Published: 1st April 2015
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Pages: 247
Format: Book
Genre: Young Adult
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars
A rock chick.
An artist with attitude.
A girl with a past.
A party animal.
Four lives collide when one of the world’s most famous paintings is stolen. It’s a mystery that has the nation talking, but while Picasso’s Weeping Woman might be absent from the walls of the National Gallery, in other parts of Melbourne the controversial painting’s presence is being felt by Guy, Rafi, Luke and Penny for four very different reasons.
Life, love, art and one giant party intersect in this offbeat comedy about good intentions, unexpected consequences and the irresistible force of true love.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this story. It was a great story already and Williams tells it in a way that engages you and intrigues you, especially with so many characters and their agendas to work around. It was a different story than the kind I had been reading and it definitely stood out.
Set in the 80s and based on true events, there is a great history woven into this narrative. It brings the story and characters to life as Williams puts us inside her character’s minds. I’m not sure whether it was because I knew this was based off true events, or whether Williams created such unique and fleshed out characters, but each of them felt real. We’re inside their heads, we see so many different points of view we get to know them all individually, not through the eyes of one character. I could picture them so easily, I was there with them, I understood their motives and I loved it. Different voices also contribute to the different points of view, Williams making them each stand out and distinctive.
I could not put this down once I had started, I was engaged and invested in these characters and even though it was history it felt like it could have been fictional. One thing I found clever was how Williams has overlapped events, the same moment through the eyes of different characters. It adds another layer of style and creativity, plus form a storytelling aspect gives you another point of view to the same moment.
The fact that you don’t know what is happening is good, and the fact you are trying to piece it all together is great, especially as you are unaware if there even is anything to understand.
The theft takes place in the 80s, but Williams has thankfully not shoved the 80s into our faces. Enough to set a place and a time but not overloaded so nostalgia and a need to remind people of the era takes away from the story.
I was impressed by the ending and I think Williams has wrapped up this story allowing the real events to play out, but also round out each of the characters we have come to know.
You can purchase The Guy, The Girl, The Artist and the Ex via the following
QBD | Booktopia | Book Depository
Angus and Robinson | Dymocks | Wordery
Fishpond | Amazon Aust | Amazon
As I was tallying up my reads/reviews I realised I am one review short of meeting the goal! I am so annoyed with myself, I should have paid more attention, I could have written a quick review if I noticed earlier, I could have won! But alas, twas not meant to be. I will try again for 2018. I would have loved to have read more Aussie women, I read less than I did last year which is also annoying. I read 142 books this year so surely I could muster up more than 25 but apparently not. Shame on me. Again, goal for next year. It was productive nevertheless, I finally got around to starting some books I’d had on my TBR list for a while, I also finally started reading Liane Moriarty and I’m working my way through her back catalogue, I’m also actively reading more books on my own bookshelves that are crying out to be read.
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Schoolteacher Natalie has always been a city girl. She has a handsome boyfriend and a family who give her only the best. But she craves her own space, and her own classroom, before settling down into the life she is expected to lead.
Lost in a Good Book 