Paint Your Wife

Long ago, when the men were away at the war, Alma began painting the women of the town. They sat for him in lieu of payment for his work catching rats. Alice, his favourite, returned his attentions, and when her husband, George, came homefrom the war, he set out to prove his love and reclaim his wife by moving a hill - wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow - for her.Now, decades later, Alma's 'in lieu of' payment is revived, and the townspeople, looking to escape various corners of despair, turn to drawing classes. For when you draw, the only thing that matters is what lies before you.Paint Your Wife is a colourful, sensual novel, brimming with rich stories and even richer characters.Lloyd Jones's best-known novel is Mister Pip, which won the 2007 Commonwealth Writers' Prize, the 2008 Kiriyama Prize Fiction Category and the 2008 Montana Fiction Award. It was also shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and has been made into a major feature...