The Vanitas & Other Tales of Art and Obsession

Jake Kendall

Publication Date: 22/2/24

Publisher: Neem Tree Press

SYNOPSIS

Spanning 300 years of art history and weaving art styles including Cubism, Surrealism, and the Baroque into his prose, Jake Kendall’s collection tells the stories of those with an obsession for creation – artists who sacrifice friendships, careers, romance, and even their own happiness in pursuit of a vision.

How far would you go for the sake of art?

In these 8 illustrated short stories, Monet, Van Gogh, Géricault and others navigate the boundary between art and experience through masterfully written prose that reflects each artist’s style. The collection culminates with “The Vanitas”, where Sandro Signorelli’s philosophy that a lifetime of faith and toil shall receive its just reward is challenged by the emergence of a new artist. Across town, Michelangelo Merisi is making seismic waves. The city of Rome cannot help but be captivated by this explosive eruption of talent, swagger, seduction, and violence, while Sandro’s life is plunged into crisis by a rival who does not even know his name.

MY REVIEW

Oh I do like to read something a bit different and this has ticked that box with a satisfyingly big tick. An unusually written book of two halves. First half is a superb collection of 7 short stories, and the second half is one much longer story, just as enjoyable and brilliantly written..

There is a wonderful drawing at the beginning of each story and the story is based around that drawing. Each story revolves around artists and obsessions, personal struggles and achievements, some to the detriment of relationships, friends and family, and some to the artist themselves.

In ‘Medusa’ we meet a painter so determined to paint a raft full of people from a shipwreck he fills his studio with wood and men to set the scene for him to paint. We hear from first hand experience how horrific that experience at sea was.

In ‘Composition’ we meet a young man who is just to say surviving on his paltry income working a summer job when he is befriended by a famous artist and welcomed into her home.

The longer story ‘The Vanitas’ follows Sandro, a painter from Rome who is desperately trying to sell his new painting but struggling as there is a new painter in town. We follow Sandro as he strives to better his work at the same time as teaching a younger boy and trying to provide for his family.

An absolutely fantastic book I thoroughly enjoyed and I hope to read a lot more from this talented author.

Huge thanks to Dave at The Write Reads for inviting me onto the blog tour and introducing me to this author’s work.

BLOG TOUR HOSTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jake Kendall is a writer of fiction and articles based in the city of Edinburgh, where he completed his MSc in Creative Writing. His work has been published in a variety of UK and US literary journals and magazines, and he is pleased to share some links with you here.

A debut collection of short stories, titled The Vanitas & Other Tales of Art and Obsession released in February 2024.