Paint It Black

After enjoying White Oleander by Janet Fitch so much, I wanted to explore her other works. I read Paint it Black in one sitting, flying from my hometown to visit a camp friend. I am always intoxicated by Fitch's writing, and Paint it Black did not disappoint. This novel explores the pain and emotion of loss, as the main character Josie experiences the devastating loss of her boyfriend Michael. Fitch introduces Michael's mother, Meredith, who experiences the same emotions as Josie, but handles them in a very different way. Their relationship is complicated, with themes of psychological warfare and tough love. In contrast to White Oleander, this novel focuses on two characters rather than the never-ending cycle of new people for Astrid.

"“He had everything, but it had combined inside of him like a lab experiment gone wrong. It’s festered, it grew, it took away everything good and left him with a yawning emptiness that she could have never filled” (Page 242).

Fitch's language never fails to encapsulate feeling and emotion while drawing from real-life experiences.

“Dawn tinted the darkness like watered ink…. The landscape stared back at her, obstinate in its silence, spiny and hostile as the Joshua tree stretching its twisted limbs to the slate colored sky”(Page 380).

Many of Fitch's novels reference California, and the continued mentions of the landscape and environment/setting create beautiful imagery.

3.5 Stars