Quite enjoyed reading this novella.
Had the same effect on me as “The Phantom of Opera” and “The Historian” (By E Kostova) ( )

(41) I did not like this as much as ‘The Woman in Black.’ Her novels are essentially novellas - fairly well-written ghost stories to tell around a campfire. In this one, a professor and amateur art collector comes into possession of an oil painting of a carnival scene in Venice. The painting seems to draw viewers in, waking them from sleep to peer at newly noticed creepy details. Someone wanted this painting very badly and one dark night over drinks, this professor tells one of his old students the whole story. A jealous lover, a vengeful curse - are there new people going missing who seem to pop up in the picture with looks of abject terror on their faces? Surely not, as the painting was made in the 1700’s…

There was rather heavy foreshadowing which at times is an effective way to generate psychological tension, but in this case seems to make the story too predictable. I was a tad freaked by ‘Woman in Black,’ but not this one. Honestly, at times despite the brevity, I was ready for the punchline.

I won’t hurry to get another one of her novellas. I wish she would write a nice thick gothic haunting tale. These stories beg for more contextual detail and characterization. Overall though, a quickly read vacation read, but don’t expect to be scared. ( )

A story within a story, within a story, that turns out, IT'S WITHIN A STORY!

Evil bitter women, blameless men, more women as side-casualties and folks enjoying narrating stuff.

Read it before identifying Susan Hill's tropes (talked about here) so I didn't much mind the portrayal of women because I saw it as an analogy for other things and didn't quite place them within the saint/witch classic sexist dichotomy she loves using in her other novels as well. I loved the idea of an evil painting sucking men in, and would have liked to learn more about its origins and creation. It reminded me a lot of a duMaurier story of a newlywed couple that goes on a European country for their honeymoon and end up also having ghostly problems. But then again Hill is clearly influenced by Daphne and maybe that's why I love them both, sexist tropes and all. ( )

Susan Hill (The Woman In Black) has delivered another wholly satisfying, eerie tale in the vein of M. R. James -- who is the most chilling writer I've encountered thus far. ( )

Quick, spooky, creepy, little tale. Good for a rainy afternoon if you're in the mood. Told from the perspective of four narrators, it centers on a painting of a carnival in Venice and its disastrous effects on those whose hands it passes through. Interesting premise, if a little predictable. Enjoyable regardless. ( )

Another excellent spooky ghost story, this one reminiscent of M.R. James' wonderful "The Mezzotint." Read straight through with barely a pause. ( )

On a particularly bitter January evening, Oliver visits his former tutor, Dr. Theo Parmitter. As the two men sit by the fireside in the professor's rooms at Cambridge - sipping brandy and reminiscing - Oliver notices an unusual painting hanging on the wall. The seventeenth-century oil painting of masked revellers at a masquerade in Venice draws his eye and utterly fascinates him. Although Oliver asks about the painting, Theo seems extremely reticent about revealing too much about the strange picture.

In order to satisfy his former student's profound curiosity, the elderly professor decides to reveal the painting's dark secret. It seems that the ominously dark art of the Venitian scene - instead of imitating life - has the power to entrap it. In fact, the picture is capable of such malevolence, that Dr. Parmitter feels the need to issue a stern warning.

According to his esteemed former tutor, Oliver is dabbling in something he doesn't understand. Indeed, to even stare at the picture for a prolonged period of time is to court danger. Staring into the painting can be viewed as an invitation to all manner of unseen demons, and to become a victim of the painting's enthralling and macabre beauty.

This is actually the second book by Susan Hill that I have read. I must say that as much as I sincerely enjoyed reading The Woman in Black: A Ghost Story, I also enjoyed reading this book just as much. In my opinion, Ms. Hill is a tremendous writer. She creates such a wonderfully eerie atmosphere with her writing style; I found the plot to be intricately woven and chillingly satisfying. I give this book a definite A+! ( )

Now, it was the last week of the vacation and the college was quiet. We had eaten a good dinner, drunk a bottle of good claret, and we were stretched out comfortably in our chairs before a good fire. But the winter wind, coming as always straight off the Fens, howled round and occasionally a burst of hail rattled against the glass

After dinner with his former tutor Theo Parmitter in his rooms at Cambridge, Oliver agrees to listen to a strange story about a painting of the Venice Carnival hanging on Theo's wall, and the scene is set for a very Jamesian ghost story. It's a pity that nobody has the sense to burn the picture. Even Anne, who wishes she had destroyed the parcel without opening it, seems resigned to the picture's curse continuing into the next generation. ( )

This book is a nice ghost story to pick up. It combines ideas in art, mystery, thriller, and an eerie sense of being watched from portraits you have. But still, with all the good, there was some places that lagged because of too much back story talk and not enough action. I liked the main characters and the overall flow. The ending, although standard, was a nice open one that all ghost stories need. ( )

I'm not one for horror, but this sounded interesting and I gave it a try. Well, it's terrific: psychological horror with a bit of the supernatural in it. Chilling. ( )

Full review coming soon on my blog ( )

A Cursed Painting Brings Tragedy To Any Man Who Owns It.

_*_

Oliver is on a holiday visit to his old college stomping grounds when he decides to visit one of his favorite professors, Theo. They talk about the old times and catch up on the new. During these conversations Theo talks about his time as a moderately successful buyer and seller of paintings.

One of these stories concerns the auction of a ordinary but compelling picture of a carnival and the strange story of the woman who wanted back at any price, even though Theo refused. Oliver and the Professor laugh off the strange chill that seems to come from the painting as they discuss it's strange history. Soon after a tragic series events places the painting in Oliver's possession. Little does Oliver know that hatred is timeless and ever in search of a new victim....

This is a short book that grabbed my attention and didn't let go until I finished it. In one sitting. When I started it I knew something bad was coming and the story builds it up bit by bit until there is, I won't say shocking, but definitely a bit chilling climax that leaves you wondering if the painting and the person behind it were finally thwarted.

Saying much more would give away a great ghost / suspense story. So if you like ghost, suspense, mystery stories that build up the dread slowly and leave you wondering a little bit at the end I would definitely give this one a read. m.a.c ( )

This is another gripping short ghostly novel from this author, based around a mysterious painting of a masked ball in Venice. Really creepy, and as usual from this author, with a twist at the end. If I wanted to be picky, I could question why some of the characters make or accede to decisions that seem bound to (and do) lead to dire consequences, but that moves the drama on. ( )

Pleasing enough but rather too predictable to be truly enjoyable: the tension felt overstretched in places. ( )

This book is part of the Favorite Book of 2011 Roundabout. LilyKlip's favorite.

I liked this book :-) It had a lot of things I like: a bit of mystery, a good story teller, a bit of doom & faith.
How all male possessors of a painting are doomed, and thus their relatives, because of something that has happened in the days that the narrator of the story, Theo, an old college professor, was still young.
I think it is a good story. Told with as many words and elaborations neccessary. Maybe not a ghost story in the literal sense of the word, but it is weird, eerie, unsettling.

I'll see if there are more stories by Susan Hill that I might pick up. This was a good appetizer. ( )

It isn't hard to imagine that the spirits of Edgar Allan Poe and Oscar Wilde were present when Susan Hill was putting pen to paper with "The Man in the Picture." This masterful novella drew this reader in as powerfully as the mysterious, eerily malevolent painting referred to in the title drew in those unlucky enough to hang it on their walls. Highly recommended for reading on a dark and stormy night. ( )

My blog post about this book is at this link.
( )

An extraordinary ghost story from a modern master, published just in time for Halloween. In the apartment of Oliver's old professor at Cambridge, there is a painting on the wall, a mysterious depiction of masked revelers at the Venice carnival. On this cold winter's night, the old professor has decided to reveal the painting's eerie secret. The dark art of the Venetian scene, instead of imitating life, has the power to entrap it. To stare into the painting is to play dangerously with the unseen demons it hides, and become the victim of its macabre beauty.


I liked this story. It is kind of a ghost story you would tell around a campfire at night. ( )

This is an interesting novella, which left me with mixed – but generally positive – feelings about it. Cambridge alumnus Oliver visits his former tutor, the elderly Theo Parmitter, and Theo starts to tell him the story of a painting hanging on his wall, which depicts a carnival scene in Venice. Overall, there are three narrators – Oliver, Theo and a Countess who used to own the painting before it came into Theo’s possession. Between them, they reveal the secret of the painting – or not so much, because it wasn’t really a secret – after about a third of the book, I guessed pretty much what was going to happen.

In less than 150 pages, Susan Hill has certainly crafted an interesting story, with plenty of atmosphere. It was very easy to read (and could easily be read in one sitting) and enjoyable overall, but the ending was no surprise, which may be why at the end of it, I was slightly bemused. Maybe I was hoping for some kind of shock denouement.

This is definitely a story where the pleasure is in the journey, not the destination. Worth reading; satisfying, but not spectacular. ( )

A damn-near perfect ghost story: Atmospheric and genuinly creepy.

It's short length is also great- no atrificial padding, no useless exposition. The language economic without being barren. A lot of popular horror writers I could mention might learn a thing or two here... It also have this timeless quality i find really appealing. It might take place last year, or thirty, or sixty years ago.In my opinion, this adds to the story rather than subtracts from it.

Susan Hill is doubtless one of the finest writers of horror alive today, taking the traditional victorian ghost story and gently ushering along into the 21st century without making much fuss about it. ( )

Susan Hill's concise writing style is a pleasure to read, and her ghost stories are a perfect balance of creepy, sinister and just about believable. She packs more story-telling into 150 pages than many novelists manage in an epic. The Man in the Picture is the third Susan Hill ghost story I’ve read and every bit as good as the others ( )

When I heard that this novella was loosely inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, possibly my favourite book of all time, I was eager to give it a try! It's my first Susan Hill, but knowing her reputation for chilling writing I reckoned I'd be in safe hands. Happily, I wasn't disappointed, and found The Man in the Picture a thoroughly absorbing little read.

It is really a story within a story within a story. The first narrator is Oliver, a Cambridge alumnus visiting his old professor Theo in his college digs. One cold night, sitting by a roaring fire, whisky in hand, Theo tells Oliver how he came to own one of the art works in his collection, a macabre painting depicting a crowded Venetian carnival scene. Within his story, in turn, is the bizarre experience of the Countess who owned the painting before him. Between these three Hill conjures a tale of menace and vengeance, peeking into the sinister corners of Venice and the history of a terrifying picture with a life of its own, the entire novella suffused with the theatricality of the Carnivale and the scent of oil paint.

This is a quick read, but a wonderfully atmospheric one that I think pays an interesting kind of homage to The Picture of Dorian Gray without trampling all over it. Hill handles her Russian doll trio of narrators beautifully, so that each is distinct from the others and I never got confused - which could easily have happened given that everything hinges on one work of art. I wouldn't say it is a surprising novella, because I could see where it was all leading, but it was still delicious to just sink into it for a day and immerse myself in the spooky story and the darker side of the masked celebrations whirling through the streets of Venice. Recommended! ( )

The Man in the Picture is a gothic-style 'ghost' story about a chilling yet mystifying painting that inexplicably changes by itself, a story very reminiscent of The Picture of Dorian Gray. I wouldn't dare say the book can compare to Wilde's novel, but there are many similarities and I would guess that many people who enjoyed his book would like Susan Hill's as well. It's not as complex, as broad, or as brilliant as the classic, but I would still consider it a nice and worthwhile little read that can be finished in a day or two. ( )

Again another short novel by Ms. Susan Hill. And again like The Woman in Black that insistent pull toward fate. There this poor young bride was, looking at her husband’s image in the picture and what could she do? Burning it came to mind. And I must say that the story was predictable. I knew where we were going even when the professor was telling us his tale. I was not surprised when the young man started talking marriage.
But let’s go to Venice? Really, you are told about this creepy picture and you convince yourself Venice is the thing to do. But of course if we didn’t go, there wouldn’t be a story. Or maybe we should have gone to Edinburgh and the man get carted away in the picture anyway. The picture could have change to Scotland and the wife could have stood there, scratching her head and saying, hey I thought for sure that was Venice…wasn’t that Venice…same frame…
Just a thought. ( )

When the former student of a college don visits him, the long held mystery of an ancient venetian painting is exposed. A mysterious depiction of masked revellers at the Venice carnival hangs in the college rooms of Oliver's old professor in Cambridge. On this cold winter's night, its eerie secret is revealed by the ageing don. The dark art of the Venetian scene, instead of imitating life, has the power to entrap it. To stare into the painting is to play dangerously with the unseen demons it hides, and become the victim of its macabre beauty.

My Thoughts:

When a story begins with two gentlemen, sitting by a fire on a cold January night drinking the finest malt you know you are going to get a ghost story.

Susan Hill is more known for her story ‘The Woman in Black’ which was creepy and this book comes up second best. A short tale which can be read in one sitting but full of gothic suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat. Not quite as crpy as I would have liked but I don’t think a Sunday afternoon is the right time to read a book like this. The best time would be either Halloween night or even Christmas eve.

4 ½ stars for not quite chilling me to the bone ( )