Life Drawing by Robin Black

Life Drawing is an intricate tale about marriage, infidelity, and death. Robin Black takes a risk with this novel by informing the reader in the first sentence that the narrator’s (Augusta, Gus, Augie) husband (Owen) is dead, and then allows the rest of the book to chart the course of his demise. There are no hints at first as to whether his death is natural, at his own hands or from violence, and it seems as though their new neighbor, Alison, is somehow involved, but that is also unclear. So why keep reading if you know how it ends? This is no mystery novel, but instead an intimate look at a marriage and the effects of infidelity and betrayal on it. Halfway through you might even forget that Owen, a novelist, is going to die at some point, but then the tension begins to build and build until he does, and it’s hard to put the book down. Gus is a painter, and Black herself draws (haha) you into the detailed world she’s painted (hahaha) with excellent writing and compelling characters. There is no fairy tale ending here, but many memorable passages like this one:

 “There are often two conversations going on in a marriage. The one that you’re having and the one you’re not. Sometimes you don’t even know when that second, silent one has begun.”