Burnt Umber
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Burnt Umber Details
Burnt Umber portrays Europe on the brink of World War I and the shattering of social, intellectual and artistic conventions. Franz Marc abandons his bourgeois wife on her wedding night. His tortured relationship with his lover, Marguerite, a lesbian and early feminist, and his artistic collaboration with fellow artist, Kandinsky, illustrate the disintegrating Nineteenth Century social order. Marc enlists in the German Army and experiences the nihilistic chaos of modern war. The two artist's lives intersect when an American GI, Harry Baer, finds Marc's sketchbook in an abandoned farmhouse during World War Two. Harry Baer is based on the life and art of Harold Paris. In Paris, France after the war, Harry marries Aurora, an intellectual who helps launch his artistic career. Moving to Berkeley, California to teach, he encounters Karine, the African-American activist who loves him but won't live in his shadow, and Darah, the daughter of a Congressman. Both women embody the independence and strength of the feminist generation. The novel depicts Berkeley during the society- changing, Viet Nam era.
Reviews
Burnt Umber is an intriguing and unique read. It raises questions about choice in how one lives life. It is a bit like two books linked by one character, like paintings by the same artist, hanging side by side which compliment and are yet the settings are starkly different.The first part of the book gives the reader a glimpse into life in German and French Europe in WWI. The story hangs on the character Harry Baer who faces the vicissitudes of war. Existential themes weave their questions throughout the book. Paradox pervades. War destroys and creates. The artist Marc dies in a shelling and yet he lives on in the book, the found sketchbook acquired by Baer. The artist creates in his private space to be acclaimed when he publicly shows his work.The second part of the novel centers around Baer's life in Berkeley as a Professor at UC. This is a more ordinary life, although art remains his first love. The focus here is on his relationship with his work and with his family. A serious heart attack slows him a bit but passion and desire trump playing it safe. He continues doing what he loves, and pursues a former love relationship, knowing it would likely end his marriage. He dies in the process and one only imagines what might have happened. It is a pleasant read and like his other novel, weaves interesting questions for the reader to ponder. Ultimately, Baer is neither a dastardly character nor a hero. He's an ordinary talented human, who continuously makes decisions about how to live his life in the face of mortality.