Paint Your Wife - Softcover

"A delightful read, moving and uplifting, and loaded with gorgeous prose . . . Highly recommended."—BookMooch

"A gentle, whimsical book . . . Jones's writing is easy and sophisticated, reminding me of Steinbeck at his humorous best . . . the whole fanciful sprawl is a delight."—The Age

"Jones is a daring writer who can be relied on to ignore expectation, and is becoming one of the most interesting, honest and thought-provoking novelists working today."—The Guardian

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 favorite, returned his attentions. When her husband George came home from the war, he set out to prove his love and reclaim his wife by moving a hill—wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow—for her.

Decades later 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 colorful, sensual novel, brimming with rich stories and even richer characters.

Lloyd Jones was born in New Zealand in 1955. His best-known works include Mister Pip, winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize; The Book of Fame, winner of numerous literary awards; Hand Me Down World; and his acclaimed memoir A History of Silence. Jones lives in Wellington, New Zealand.