Negative Space

Negative Space tells the story of a provocative Los Angeles painter named Max Higgins, on the verge of local fame. The secret to his work's haunting allure? He collects photos of missing persons and incorporates them into his paintings, giving the often melancholy faces, as he puts it, a "home in his work."

Hmm. Well, not what I was expecting thats for sure. A slightly odd one this, in a good way - I think. Where I was expecting a mystery based on missing people I instead got a story about Max, his half sister and a rather weird and wonderful journey to find their Father, with some hint of something not so nice over the horizon.

Mike Robinson has an interesting turn of phrase to say the least - and really this book was pretty much metaphorical, perhaps overly so. Set during the Rodney King trial the tension of that is added to the story, but I fancy that for me a lot of the nuances of the story may have been lost in translation...it didnt really seem to go anywhere that it hinted that it might. I can't really put it better than that.

Beautiful writing to be sure. I think this one might be for readers of a more "deep thinking" nature than I tend to be (although I have my moments!) yet I did love some of the characters - Karen particularly. All the characters including Max himself were well drawn but I felt some were not really required - Norman Ritter, who writes about Artists for example, seemed out of place.

Overall I can't really be sure what I thought of this one...I would recommend it if you are looking for something a bit different, from an author who knows his craft and uses words to perfection. A haunting tale. Worth the journey.

Thank you to the publisher, author and netgalley.

Happy Reading Folks!

Riveting, imaginative, wild: a heart- in-throat breath-catching novel.