The Painter of Battles is Faulques, a veteran war photographer who had spent thirty years on the wastelands of humanity all over the world. He has now put the camera away and paints instead. He has isolated himself to a tower near a little village by the Mediterranean where he paints a mural around the inside of the round tower. It is to be the picture he never managed (or never could have) to photograph.

One day one of Faulques' past works comes alive: a soldier from one of his award winning pictures visits the tower. The man, Ivo Markovic, tells the Painter that the photograph that had made him famous also had turned his life into hell. He also says that he has come to kill Faulques.

Markovic does not, however, want to kill the Painter straightaway. He wants to talk, he wants to learn and understand. And he wants Faulques to learn and understand.

And they sure talk, they talk about the mural, about photography and photographs, art, life and deaths, causes and effects, and what they were and what they are, and about the last picture Faulques took during the Balkans' war.

Beside the converstations there are a few sections that are Faulques' memories of his career.

In the end all three things converge: Faulques' memories, the conversations with Markovic and the painting.

"...I don't know if it is good, but it sure makes one think", says Markovic about the mural the Painter of Battles is working on. Same could be said about the book, though it is good. Maybe not a masterwork, but good.

I could point out a few shortcomings in the book if I wanted to make my point being critical. But I don't feel like that now. Find them out yourself. Read the book, I think it makes good to anyone who has even once seen a war photograph. Or any journalistic photograph for that matter.

I don't know if Faulques is based on any real-life photographer, but there are lots of real painters and paintings mentioned that Faulques had used as his learning material and models. I didn't check the all but all that I decided to look up could be found on the net. Seeing them was rewarding in itself---I don't know art history very well so they were mostly new to me---but also helped me to "see" the Faulques' mural more clearly. It enhanced my reading experience, they made a point.

I mostly talk about the food-for-thought -point of view above, but don't let that make you think The Painter of Battles is just that. It is a well enough written and constucted story to be enjoyed that way too: just reading it. ( )

Arturo Perez-Reverte's The Painter of Battles is quite a different book from his others. It reminded me very much of Iain Pears' The Portrait (my review), in that it's told from rather a strange perspective and deals with the whole issue of an artist's relationship with their subjects.

War photographer-turned-painter Faulques just wishes to be left alone, but when the man from one of his most famous photographs shows up unannounced and declares he's there to kill, things take a meditative turn. There is much discussion of war and death, art and responsibility, power and the impact of events on those involved with them.

What there is not, for the most part, is much of anything happening. If you're looking for a rollicking read, don't look here. But this is a fascinating examination of some heady issues. It is not my favorite Perez-Reverte (I'm a Club Dumas partisan), but the writing is lovely and the book will certainly make you think.

http://philobiblos.blogspot.com/2009/... ( )

He has written some good books.

With "The Painter of Battles," Arturo Perez-Reverte, offers a complete change-of-pace from what he usually provides his readers. Rather than another of the action packed thriller/mystery/war stories for which he is so well known, he has written a rather introspective novel that relies on a several-day-long conversation between two men to engage his readers in a story of slowly building suspense and intrigue. Longtime fans of Mr. Perez-Reverte might be surprised and even a bit put off, by the style and plot of "The Painter of Battles," but those who stay with the story will be well-rewarded for their efforts.

Falques, an award-winning war photographer, has retired to an isolated tower in which he is painting a huge mural around one of its circular walls. The mural is intended to be both a presentation of everything he witnessed during his career and his understanding of what it is in the human psyche that allows ordinary men to destroy each other with such obvious relish. Falques, who has isolated himself from the community and surrounded himself with art books, is generally satisfied with the quality and progress of his efforts.

Everything changes, however, when Ivo Markovic appears from nowhere one day to announce very confidently that he is there to kill Falques – eventually. Before that happens, though, Markovic wants Falques to understand some things and there are things he wants to learn from Falques. Falques, of course, is at first startled by the intruder and his death threat but, after Markovic identifies himself, his appearance begins to make a certain kind of sense.

Markovic and Falques first crossed paths in one of the many wars Falques spent his lifetime recording when Markovic, in the midst of retreat with a handful of fellow battle survivors, is captured on film by Falques in a picture striking enough to add to the photographer’s fame. Unfortunately for Markovic, the photograph ends up having consequences neither man could have foreseen.

Falques, despite his aversion to sharing his thoughts with others, finds himself in a philosophical discussion of warfare, those who fight wars or take advantage of them, art history, and human nature that evolves over several days. The conversation is one between equals and both are somewhat surprised at what they learn from the other as the ultimate confrontation draws nearer and nearer.

"The Painter of Battles" is a literary novel that will have readers questioning their own attitudes toward warriors and warfare. It is so well written, in fact, that readers will likely find it difficult to determine which of the two men, if either, is the good guy and which the bad. Perez-Reverte provides a satisfying ending that allows each of us to decide for ourselves. ( )

The events which take place in 'The Painter of Battles' revolve around a watchtower overlooking the sea. It is inhabited by a man who has in the past been a war photographer,who in his time has taken many famous and horrific images of conflict throughout the world. He is now,for reasons which become clear in the course of the book, painting a huge mural around the interior of the tower. With this mural he is attempting to paint something of war,which were missing from his photographs.
One day a stranger from his past arrives at the tower and tells him that at an unspecified date and time he will kill him.
The rest of the book consists of the discussions between these two characters on the immorality of war,in which many interesting points are raised. Some of the descriptions of events during these wars are truly terrible.
Fine writing from Arturo Perez-Reverte make this a true anti-war novel. ( )