Cover Image: All the Colour in the World

All the Colour in the World

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Member Reviews

This is an historical fiction novel about Henry who was orphaned as a young boy with a younger sister, and brought up by their loving grandmother in Toronto, Canada. Henry was given a coloured pencil set through which he learned about colour and art and found his life passion. This story takes the reader with Henry through his studies, his time as a soldier in World War II, his losses and other aspects of his life. Personally, I found it a little broken up for me to really connect with the characters, but there is interesting art history woven through.

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The description for All the Colour in the World had me intrigued because it featured references to art, however I was disappointed in the execution. I felt like this book was targeted toward art historians or people who are well-versed in specific paintings rather than a casual fan of art.

I found myself confused by the majority of the references being made. The format was also confusing to wrap my head around since it seemed to jump from multiple topics without any real development to the plot.

Overall, I had tried to enjoy this book but in the end, it wasn't for me.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and Netgalley for giving me this arc in exchange for an honest review!

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This is historical fiction at its finest; sprawling, expansive, lyrical, transportive. So much was conveyed and captured throughout the various decades explored here, especially from the perspective of an art historian. A stunning novel.

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Amazing story and good storytelling. I wish I had read the physical version as I think it would have been even more poignant in that format verses on my phone.

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Title: All the Colour in the World
Author: C.S. Richardson
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: January 17, 2023

I received complimentary eARC copy of this book from Penguin Random House Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad

T H R E E • W O R D S

Precise • Distinctive • Colourful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Henry, born 1916, thin-as-sticks, nearsighted, is an obsessive doodler—copying illustrations from his Boy’s Own magazines. Left in the care of a nurturing, Shakespeare-quoting grandmother, eight-year-old Henry receives as a gift his first set of colouring pencils (and a pocket knife for the sharpening). As he commits these colours to memory—cadmium yellow; burnt ochre; deep scarlet red—a passion for art, colour, and the stories of the great artists takes hold, and becomes Henry’s unique way of seeing the world. It is a passion that will both haunt and sustain him on his journey through the century: from boyhood dreams on a summer beach to the hothouse of art academia and a love cut short by tragedy; from the psychological wounds of war to the redemption of unexpected love.

💭 T H O U G H T S

All the Colour in the World had piqued my interest when I saw it featured on a list of upcoming Canadian titles at the beginning of 2023. However, it wasn't until it was shortlisted for the 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize earlier this month that I moved it to the top of my TBR. Anything I'd originally read about it was long forgotten, so I decided to go in completely blind.

What this incredibly beautiful book delivers is guided tour of 20th century art and history in a poetic and sparse nature through one man's perspective. Henry bares witness to tragedy, love, and war and as a reader I got to bare witness to his growth. The writing style is so unique, reminiscent of touring a museum. And while I typically like more depth to my stories, this distinctive approach worked flawlessly in this case. In fact, the more I read, the more I kept wanting to read, and then it was over, and I was left feeling a wave of emotion I didn't quite comprehend.

My appreciation of art isn't to the same level of some, therefore many of the art references went over my head. And I'd suspect anyone with a keen interest and understanding of the art world would relish the beauty of C.S. Richardson's word even more so. Colour plays such a powerful role throughout the narrative, and I thought this was such a clever tool to use. In a world where so much colour has been removed, as a person I don't think I take the time to appreciate the beauty of it enough.

Overall, All the Colour in the World wasn't at all what I was expecting. Yet, it delivered something so much more. It isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but at a slim 208 pages I was able to read it in one sitting and come away feeling richer for having picked it up. So far it is the only Giller Prize contender I have read, so I will be interested in seeing how it fares.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Giller Prize devotees
• art enthusiasts
• readers looking for something they can read in one sitting

⚠️ CW: death, death of partner, grief, war, pregnancy, cursing, car accident, suicidal thoughts, vomit

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Everyone deserves a place."

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It’s an artsy book literally and I loved the descriptions of time, place and colour. As both a history and art lover I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found it to be a quick read and felt like the story was told in fast forward although it jumps around in time and place. In my edition at least there were no chapters and there are no natural breaks to the story.

It’s a story of art, history, love, family and war and the descriptions of historical Toronto and the European front and Italy are wonderful.
A good quick read if you’re looking for something with substance. Likely to be a literary award nominee imo.

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I found this book to be a challenging read. Art historians would love it, but it was too much for me I'm afraid!

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As the First World War is coming to an end Henry is born. Henry ends up being raised by his maternal grandmother a lover of Shakespeare. From a young age henry loved to draw. His grandmother encouraged Henry’s passion for art and gave him his first set of colouring pencils.
ALL THE COLOUR IN THE WORLD is told in short chapters never longer than a page.
Within Henry’s story the novel includes a great deal of information about the art world.
I enjoyed reading this novel and the style it was written in.
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for allowing me access to an advanced digital edition of this book.

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An experimental literary voice that absolutely painted a part of Toronto history not explored often enough in fiction--- indeed that was what drew me to this story ! The writing style took me awhile to get used to and I would suggest readers go into this knowing that they will have to keep their focus. Very stream of consciousness and painted with some truly fascinating little known facts.

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I think this book is targeted towards art historians. Every time I got into the story the author dipped into another art description which went over my head. I was excited to read it as it alluded to a Canadian war story but a lot of that may have been described as are pieces. All in all it wasn’t for me

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This book has challenged my idea of what constitutes a novel. The book is large written in a poetic form with short chapters, some only one paragraph long. The language is beautiful but I found the prose somewhat distracting at times.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Fascinating structure. Richardson’s chapters are short, often just a paragraph long. Henry was born in the 1910s. He was raised by his grandmother and given a package of coloured pencils at an early age. The colours and art became the focus of his lonely life. Each chapter represents a thought or piece of art. Mostly set in Toronto, Henry teaches art history. He serves in Italy during the war. This novel could be called stream of consciousness, if I knew enough about the genre to classify it. Richardson’s first book The End of the Alphabet was a similar structure with each chapter representing a letter of the alphabet.

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I will start by saying the story was great. It was interesting and kept me intrigued throughout, however, I was not at all a fan of the format of this book.

While the style was very unique and artistic, it wasn’t quite the right book style for me. I do appreciate all of the imagery the author presented through their words though. I was able to visualize the story so clearly.

Overall, this book had a good plot, however I would only recommend it to someone who enjoys poetry style story books. I will be giving this author another try though!

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All the Colour in the World is not your ordinary novel. Richardson prose is beautiful and takes getting used to. His paragraphs are short but full of information. He uses many references to colour, portraits, and artists over centuries, as well as very explicit details that paint your minds with amazingly precise imagery.
There is great art history and lovely colour descriptions to be learnt in this book.
At times I felt this would a great book for school and certainly a Book Club book lots of discussion to be had.


Thank You to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read this ARC.

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4.5/5 Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story is written almost in bullet points. The author writes with short spare prose. Richardson gives just enough and then leaves the reader to fill in a lot of blanks. Paragraphs are almost like the little descriptor plaques one would find beside displays in a museum.

There’s some great art history and lovely colour descriptions.

Before reading this book, I wouldn’t have thought that it was possible to tell an interesting story in this manner; but Richardson really made it work. It took a little getting into; but then it just flowed. I read this in less than 24 hours. I do recommend reading this book!

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I liked the idea of all the colors being in book. The world expressed in color was an interesting idea, but, I feel that the story got lost in the colors.

I had to walk away and come back to this book several times needing to look up paintings mentioned. This book is heavy on color names and paintings.

Thank you Net Galley and the author for an ARC. This is my honest review.

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This historical coming-of-age story was a really stunning look at how we immortalize those who have passed on, how we learn to cope with loss, and how our experiences and choices can colourize—or monochromize—our world. It's a deeply intimate look at the power of the mind and both willing and unwilling imaginations. Richardson uses a stream of consciousness style that gives us great interiority. He uses many references to colour and portraits and artists over centuries, and very sharp, specific details that paint our minds with incredibly precise imagery. There's subtle humour woven in, and it covers a long passage of time in a quick manner. It's written in true second-person POV, it's voice-y yet intentionally monotone (which serves the character well), and captures the character's experiences with love of art and colour, expression, first love, marriage, unexpected loss and grief, war, and guilt. This is a great example of quotation mark-less dialogue, as well. The character's world is brilliantly coloured until it turns colourless, painted in shades of grief. This story deals in an interesting way with the souls we refuse to let go of and the memories our minds can conjure and change as a coping mechanism..

It was a very different book for me, but interesting and a quick read.

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A week after reading, I still can't really figure out what to say about this book. If you love art and prose and poetry, you'll likely love it.

It's interesting and at minimum a very quick read. I didn't ever really get drawn in though. Was a vague story told over many years through many locations and in small bits. I'm just more of a literal story lover, so wasn't really for me. But others may enjoy, if you like something abstract and unique. Definitely goes over a number of interesting topics and well written, best likely as something literary to think about and study.

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I was initially quite intrigued by the synopsis of All the Colour in the World. Interesting Art history facts and literary references are woven throughout the story. As a Canadian, from the Toronto area, I found the Toronto historical references of interest. The writing is wonderfully executed but the book’s peculiar setup caused me to struggle to persevere to the end.
Thank You to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read this ARC.

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rounded up 3.5 stars
Can you like a book and give it 3.5 stars even though you know that you didn't 'get' it all? Yes, I can. This is a story told in the most interesting way, the historical and the personal, separately and together. The stuff found in textbooks and the feelings found in the heart.
Henry is lovely man, who sees and feels with colour. And if you stick with the unusual way of telling his story, you too will see and feel his thoughts. I am someone who likes paint and colour, who likes the precision of the well-chosen word. And how marvelous to see CS Richardson choose carefully between cadmium yellow and marigold, cerulean and sapphire. Because it is not just yellow and blue.
Through peace and war, Henry shares his life with the reader, through the loss of a loved one, and by walking the streets of historical Toronto and in the trenches. It sent me to a search engine many times to clarify pieces of history, and to see some of the art that was referred to. It was a book to ‘do’ and that made it worthwhile.
This books warrants a second read, it is short and it is fast and I suspect that I might find some of the missing pieces from my first attempt.
Thank you #NetGalley and #PenguinRandomHouseCanada for this early copy in exchange for my review. Proud to be a #Canadian. I have added Richardson’s previous The End of the Alphabet to my reading list.
For more thoughts on this book, see my blog https://morethanlettersonalinetoday.blogspot.com/2023/01/all-colour-in-world-book-review.html.

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