The Last Weynfeldt by Martin Suter

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: No Exit Press (26 April 2018)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0857301004
• ISBN-13: 978-0857301000
• Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 2.3 x 12.9 cm

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

Adrian Weynfeldt is an art expert in an international auction house, a bachelor in his mid-fifties living in a grand Zurich apartment filled with costly paintings and antiques. Always correct and well-mannered, he’s given up on love until one night entirely out of character for him Weynfeldt decides to take home a ravishing but unaccountable young woman. The next morning, he finds her outside on his balcony threatening to jump. Weynfeldt talks her down and soon finds himself falling for this damaged but alluring beauty and his buttoned up existence comes unraveled. As their two lives become entangled, Weynfeldt gets embroiled in an art forgery scheme that threatens to destroy everything he and his prominent family have stood for.

 

Review

The Last Weynfeldt is one of those wonderful books that are just a pleasure to read.  I’m never sure how much is lost in translation, this book was written in German originally, but I think the essence of the story works in any language and culture.

The title refers to the main character, Adrian Weyndfelt, who is the last in the line of his distinguished family.  Adrian is an art expert, collecting art and working for an auction house valuing and writing details in the catalogues for auctions.  He still lives in the apartment he was brought up in, the housekeeper is the same one who worked for his parents and he is still friends with many of his parents friends; he is a creature of habit.  He also has a set of younger friends, all artistic in character but apart from that they have nothing in common; they just seem to use him as an investment bank for their projects.  He also isn’t lucky in love, he hasn’t had relationship in years until, one evening he meets Lorena, the image of his previous girlfriend, and the harbinger of trouble for Adrian.  There is a sense of detachment about his character, he always seems removed from situations, shows little emotion, which could relate to his abandonment issues from childhood where his mother use to threaten to leave him if he didn’t behave and then his girlfriend walked out on him and never came back.

I will admit that it took me longer than it should have to read this book as I kept on stopping to look up some of the works mentioned (modern art has never been my forte), and I have included an image of the original cover of the book which shows the art work at the centre of the plot.  The Last Weynfeldt centres around two paintings, one original and one a copy, that are the centre piece of an auction, but which will be auctioned?  We follow Weynfeldt as he has to decide what to do, and how his friendships may influence his decision.  This opens up an interesting dialogue about the authenticity of art, and how some reproductions can be better than the original but not as valuable due to ownership and who painted it.  The pace is fairly consistent throughout and it kept my interest and attention until the end.  There are brilliant characters, all very quirky, a mixture of ages and backgrounds that show different sides of Weyndfelt.  There was even a funny ‘Pretty Woman’ moment with Lorena in an expensive boutique that brought a smile to my face.  The attention to detail of setting was beautiful, almost like a painting itself.

I found The Last Weyndfelt a wonderful and thought provoking read.  I had an empathy for Adrian, he is a generous character but others take advantage of his money and his kindness; he was not only the last Weyndfelt but probably the last of a generation where manners and appearance were important.  The art forgery mystery kept me gripped and guessing until the end, as did the relationship with Lorena.  This is an intelligent and thought provoking novel about art, the human condition and secrets and lies; a superb read.

This is an alternative cover for The Last Weynfield and has the painting at the centre of the book on the front.

 

Thank you for visiting my blog and reading my review of The Last Weynfeldt.  I hope you enjoyed my review, and may consider reading this book yourself.  I appreciate all your comments, likes and shares, and you can find me on the all social media platforms.