Muralist

By: B. A. Shapiro

Narrated by: Xe Sands

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Alizée Benoit, an American painter working for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), vanishes in New York City in 1940 amid personal and political turmoil. No one knows what happened to her. Not her Jewish family living in German-occupied France. Not her artistic patron and political compatriot, Eleanor Roosevelt. Not her close-knit group of friends, including Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, and Lee Krasner. And, some 70 years later, not her great-niece, Danielle Abrams, who, while working at Christie's auction house, uncovers enigmatic paintings hidden behind recently found works by those now famous abstract expressionist artists. Do they hold answers to the questions surrounding her missing aunt?

Entwining the lives of both historical and fictional characters and moving between the past and the present, The Muralist plunges listeners into the divisiveness of prewar politics and the largely forgotten plight of European refugees refused entrance to the United States. It captures both the inner workings of today's New York art scene and the beginnings of the vibrant and quintessentially American school of abstract expressionism.

B. A. Shapiro is a master at telling a gripping story while exploring provocative themes. In Alizée and Danielle, she has created two unforgettable women, artists both, who compel us to ask, What happens when luminous talent collides with inexorable historical forces? Does great art have the power to change the world? And to what lengths should a person go to thwart evil?

©2015 B.A. Shapiro (P)2015 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"B. A. Shapiro once again pens the art world into vivid, sensual life. Set during World War II and the dawn of Abstract Expressionism, The Muralist is an intriguing story masterfully imagined about art, war, family, truth, and freedom. If you liked The Art Forger, you're going to love The Muralist!" (Lisa Genova, author of Love, Anthony)

"B. A. Shapiro's The Muralist is an expertly constructed, riveting tale of art, politics, love, and consequences in the Depression Era. I admire so much the way she vividly brings to life this passionate world of the past - it rings with originality and authenticity. What a compelling read!" (Jami Attenberg, author of The Middlesteins)

"I am a great fan of B. A. Shapiro, especially her new novel The Muralist. It is a tantalizing mystery, as well as an involving meditation on the meaning of art over time." (Scott Turow, author of Identical)

Needs a much better narrator.

Would you try another book from B. A. Shapiro and/or Xe Sands?

Only if I had nothing better to listen to. The narrator speaks much too fast and much too casual. Swallows her words. This was the worst part of the project.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending was fine.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Xe Sands?

I do not know--just not her.

Was Muralist worth the listening time?

There were good things about it. Interesting characters, and a good idea for a plot.

The Flaws are What Kept Me Reading

Sadly, I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would. I picked it up due to my friend Jan's recommendation, and her recommendations are usually spot-on for me.

It is a fascinating story - an artist, Danielle, goes searching for her family history, including that of her great-aunt Alizée Benoit, a WPA artist who disappeared after the war. However, what kept me reading, more than the weaving in of prominent historical figures, was the way Danielle's personality (and that of her family) operated at so many different levels; Aunt Alizée, for example, was mature enough to interrupt a meeting between Eleanor Roosevelt and the owners of the WPA project she is working on, with a goal of getting the current work of her and her contemporaries (the founders, pretty much, of abstract expressionism) included in WPA projects and exhibitions, despite the rule that all WPA art had to be representational rather than abstract. In other areas of her life, Alizée has trouble being quite so forthright. She is also a bit naive regarding getting her relatives out of what is becoming Vichy France. Even as officials are telling her, one after another, that she will not be able to obtain the needed visas, she still keeps attempting the same methods to try and rescue her family, much the way Danielle keeps searching for her great-aunt despite being thwarted at every turn.

It's not a bad book, and it's possible that it was just a bit triggery for me - a Russian/Roumanian/Galician Jew whose ancestors emigrated to America in the lead-up years to World War II. It is definitely worth reading, not least for the way real historical figures are woven into the story (the one thing from the times she seems to have missed is the story about Marc Chagall locking his paintings into a Paris attic before evacuating during the war and expecting to find them still there when he went back after the war (they were stolen while he was gone, in fact), but for the multiple layers of maturity Shapiro's characters show as they move through their lives. These are complex people, with many fears, motivations, and agendas, and that is what kept me reading through a book I might otherwise have put down.

WWII, art, and history to boot!

I really enjoyed this book. WWII historical fiction tends to be a favorite genre of mine and I really enjoyed learning about art during that time as well as the refugee struggles.

Art, history, love ... enjoyable.

I listened to this book over several long road trips and enjoyed the listen. For me it was the perfect audio book, involving art history, history, New York, and more. I think I preferred listening to this more than I would reading it.
It's a good story.

Fun read about the WPA era

I did my college thesis on a mural sketch by Lee Krasner, so it was fun to read a book that was grounded in that era. I found that exploring the war, the depression, politics, modern art, mental illness, the Holocaust and family history added a lot of depth to the story. Art and history lovers will enjoy this book.

You will feel all their emotions

Shapiro writes with such depth and emotion that you will see, hear and feel each character.

You are not left to wonder about much as events are well rounded. I do love this style of writing which encompasses history, as well as, what life held for each person and their connections
A very pleasant, justified and joyful tears ending! 6 stars

Excellent performer; engaging story

Thoroughly enjoyed the story and wish it were a memoir instead of a novel. I’d like it to be true. History has been artfully woven into the story to add authenticity. Loved it!

Dreary

All the way through, the books sounds familiar, but I can't find any record of buying it or reviewing it before. There's a sense of bad things coming from the start, and it continues all the way through. Not a happy-ending book. Not the worst I've heard.

Surprisingly excellent!

OK, maybe my title is odd - why would I get this book if I didn't expect to enjoy it? Well, I did expect to enjoy it, or at least hope to enjoy it, but was nevertheless somewhat skeptical. I enjoyed The Art Forger very much - which is why I decided to try this book, but wasn't totally keen on the narrator. She was OK in The Art Forger, but not amazing. I would still say she was not amazing in this book, but she did do a quite good job with the accents, the different voices, and yeah, the male voices are still not her strongest point, but over all she carries it off well. The story itself is excellent. At first I was skeptical - can Shapiro really do another art story with a mystery? As I listened to the beginning, I first felt that she won't be able to pull off another book that is as good. And doing a novel that involves the Holocaust takes a particularly good author - this is a topic that has been exploited by some, understated by others, and also requires an angle that is different. By focusing on Roosevelt's failure in admitting refugees and his allowing his Assistant Secretary of State to operate as he did, the story relates an aspect of American history that is not so well known, and that is very relevant, even if the situation in war-torn zones today is different from the Nazi agenda and what occupied Europe was like. As it turned out, the story was very well done, the artist characters are certainly colorful, the setting of the WPA project a good one, and I heartily recommend this book.

a gripping tale of emotion

This tale of art and passion, of intrigue and truth speaks to the human drive to not only survive, but also to thrive. The scary part of the story is its relevance today as many people parrot the same isolationist ideologies which promote xenophobia once again in this country.