Name: The Suicide of Claire Bishop
ISBN: 9781938103087

Carmiel Banasky

In 1959 Claire Bishop sits for a portrait, only to discover that what the artist has actually depicted is her suicide. Haunted by the painting, Claire starts to question whether it is a premonition. In 2004, a schizophrenic young man is obsessed with a painting he encounters in a gallery: a mysterious image of a woman's suicide. Convinced the painting is a message to him, he becomes submerged in an elaborate delusion. When the two characters finally meet in the present, the young man's delusion is shattered, only to be replaced by a reality even more strange.

The Suicide of Claire Bishop

Mary Makarious

** spoiler alert **
           (3.5 stars) 
I'm conflicted when it comes to this book... because I found the combined themes of mental illness, dementia, art theft, and female liberation so very intriguing, and adored the first chapter of the book only to think it was very confusing and ended so unsatisfactorily.

The book is told from the perspectives of Claire Bishop and West. Claire had her portrait commissioned, only to be horrified that the painting was actually depicting her suicide. Nicolette, the artist, is nowhere to be found after Claire dismisses both her and the portrait - and somehow the rest of the book circles around this painting and perhaps even more so the enigma that is Nicolette, the artist. West, obsessed with Nicolette and has schizophrenia, had his portraits done by Nicolette a long time ago, also depicting unpleasant things. West comes across the portrait at an art gallery, and it prompts his delusion that Nicolette must be a time traveler and he, through this painting and Claire, can find her again.

The writing is gorgeous, but the plot itself was weak and muddled. I don't know how much of that can be attributed to dementia and schizophrenia if the author was trying to show that lines blur with these conditions. I struggled to finish this book, mostly because I felt like the ending would be so exciting and shocking and found myself frustrated (still am) that it ended without any answers at all.

The true reward of this book is the gradual descent to madness, exasperated by a jarring and incohesive timeline, which shows that no two people walk through life the same way, even interpret things the same way, yet we are all connected and propelled forward.

Amy Maddess

** spoiler alert **
           -	I’m a little confused overall, and I feel like the ending lacked resolution. Was Nicolette in fact a time traveller? Did she exist in the fifties as well as in 2004? Was this an elaborate delusion?
-	The ending was very picturesque, with the water rushing through the hospital. This was great imagery, but I wish it symbolized more for me.
-	I’m not sure how I feel about the depiction of West and his mental health. I feel as though having him as romantically driven manic character who pisses himself at the theatre may serve to perpetuate the negative stereotypes and stigmas felt by those individuals who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, especially those who happen to read this novel. I feel like it was very risky to portray a character with a mental illness when the writer does not have personal experience with this themselves. The result can come off as extremely offensive. (I am reminded here of ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime’). Having said that, I do still enjoy the parts of the novel that have West in them and do find his love for Nicolette interesting to read about. Heartbreaking to picture certain imagery involving their relationship. I kind of liked how Nicolette seemed like a time traveller that West was trying to locate. This was a little reminiscent of ‘The Time Traveller’s Wife’ for me.
-	This also reminds me of ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ because of the painting and the way it portrays evil and travels through people’s stories with them.
-	Initially, I liked the depths of Claire’s scenes and of her personality, but this seemed to somewhat taper off. As did the distinction in style and voice between the two different stories.
-	This was a library book that I grabbed randomly even though I usually only take out books that have already been approved and placed on my TBR. Rarely am this spontaneous when choosing a book, as there are so many to read in such little time that one must be careful, but I was not disappointed this time.

The Suicide of Claire Bishop

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