Saturday, July 19, 2008
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The Painted Portal
Blog Archive
Most recent review of my novel The Painted Portal
The Painted Portal is the first novel
by Christine Croyden and it is certainly
an impressive debut. It begins
as what seems to be a simple coming
of age tale based on a young
and somewhat immature Australian
girl who travels to London as part of
a student exchange program. She
lives in a world of art and daydreams
and is uncomfortable in the
world around her. When she
reaches London, she finds herself
isolated from other students and her
only friend, Marion, is an elderly eccentric
art restorer. She becomes
obsessed by a painting of Lady Jane
Grey, but all it not as it seems as
slowly the dreamlike world in which
Sara lives begins to become real.
Through the painting she enters a
ghostly world where the spirits of the
death move between paintings, pictures
and physical locales to continue
their earth bound existence,
obsessed with the failures and successes
of their lives and struggling
to find portals to return to the physical
world.
The Painted Portal is a beautifully
executed tale, combining historical
drama, a love of art and a fantasy
story of earthbound spirits whose
sole desire is to return to the living.
Each of these motifs are intertwined
into the life of a young girl who is
coming of age and dissatisfied by
where she is and yet unsure where
she has to go. Together these elements
create a novel which keeps
you intrigued right to its fascinating
conclusion, has many twists and
turns and is written with a light,
dreamlike quality which is both engaging
and seductive.
J U N E 2 0 0 8
T E AR S H E E T
S Y N E R G Y M A G A Z I N E
PO Box 492
Armidale NSW 2350
Australia
Email: synergymag@austarnet.com.au
The Painted Portal
Christine Croyden
Equilibrium Books
Web: http://www.equilibriumbooks.com
T E AR S H E E T
©
COPYRIGHT
June 2008
Synergy Magazine
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Review can be used for publicity purposes by as long as Synergy Magazine is quoted as the source.
by Christine Croyden and it is certainly
an impressive debut. It begins
as what seems to be a simple coming
of age tale based on a young
and somewhat immature Australian
girl who travels to London as part of
a student exchange program. She
lives in a world of art and daydreams
and is uncomfortable in the
world around her. When she
reaches London, she finds herself
isolated from other students and her
only friend, Marion, is an elderly eccentric
art restorer. She becomes
obsessed by a painting of Lady Jane
Grey, but all it not as it seems as
slowly the dreamlike world in which
Sara lives begins to become real.
Through the painting she enters a
ghostly world where the spirits of the
death move between paintings, pictures
and physical locales to continue
their earth bound existence,
obsessed with the failures and successes
of their lives and struggling
to find portals to return to the physical
world.
The Painted Portal is a beautifully
executed tale, combining historical
drama, a love of art and a fantasy
story of earthbound spirits whose
sole desire is to return to the living.
Each of these motifs are intertwined
into the life of a young girl who is
coming of age and dissatisfied by
where she is and yet unsure where
she has to go. Together these elements
create a novel which keeps
you intrigued right to its fascinating
conclusion, has many twists and
turns and is written with a light,
dreamlike quality which is both engaging
and seductive.
J U N E 2 0 0 8
T E AR S H E E T
S Y N E R G Y M A G A Z I N E
PO Box 492
Armidale NSW 2350
Australia
Email: synergymag@austarnet.com.au
The Painted Portal
Christine Croyden
Equilibrium Books
Web: http://www.equilibriumbooks.com
T E AR S H E E T
©
COPYRIGHT
June 2008
Synergy Magazine
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Review can be used for publicity purposes by as long as Synergy Magazine is quoted as the source.
2 comments:
My teenage daughter recommended this book to me and I fully enjoyed the the way the novel weaves historical facts and characters through a very imaginative and intriguing storyline.
It's a great read.
Harriet MacIver
Williamstown
Melbourne
Thanks Harriet I am so glad you both enjoyed it.
best C
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