The June Paintings
Table of Contents
The June Paintings
The June Paintings is the latest short story to be checked off my to be read list. It is the second in a seven part series. I love a good short story before bed at night.
Short stories are things that can be read in a single day, there is no playing the “just one more chapter” game while gambling with the amount of sleep I’ll get. It is something I can do instead of mindlessly scrolling social media, and when I take a break from working to get up and move around. That is what I love the most about short stories.
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About The June Paintings
On a remote island, an unfulfilled young female painter finds a singular kind of inspiration in this cunning short story about identity and empowerment by New York Times bestselling author Maggie Shipstead.
June Tremblay is struggling to find herself as a painter when she accepts a summer job as assistant to renowned artist Hiram Lammergeier on his private island off the Maine coast. The reclusive legend has one peculiar rule: under no circumstances is June to create any art of her own. Caught between her need to paint and her desire for Lammergeier, June rebels, and her transgression sets off a chain of retaliation that will shape the rest of her life.
Maggie Shipstead’s The June Paintings is part of Blaze, a collection of short stories about incendiary women across the decades who dare to defy convention. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.
Thoughts on The June Paintings
A young woman finds herself taking an odd job as an assistant to a reclusive artist, to cook for him, run errands, and eventually become his lover.
This is short, at a whopping 38 pages, so it won’t take long to read, which is exactly what I wanted.
The problem with super short stories like that though is character development. Sometimes it is necessary, sometimes it isn’t. In this case, I wanted more. I had absolutely no connection to any of the characters, as they didn’t have much personality, or anything to really draw me in.
For being a short story, it did its job, it told a nice, quick, and clean story. It was concise and to the point. It kept me entertained for half an hour of my day, sure. But that is about it.
I wasn’t attached to any of the characters, I felt zero emotion reading it. I read because it was quick, and gave my eyes a break from working for a bit.
I will say that if this was a full novel written in this tone and speed, it would absolutely be a do not finish for me. It worked for a short story, but would have been horrible as a novel. Which I think is part of my disappointment. One of my criteria for a great short story is that it leaves you wanting more. It feels complete, yet it could be a full novel just as easily and successful as a short story.
This was a decent short story, as there was nothing egregiously wrong with it. But it wasn’t my favorite, and it wasn’t my favorite because it wasn’t memorable.
Final Thoughts on The June Paintings
I think my favorite part was the ending of the story. It was actually interesting, and made it good. It made me think of a grandmother telling an almost unthinkable story to her grandkids, and they suddenly don’t view her as the boring old lady anymore.
I am calling this a three star read. I didn’t hate it, and I didn’t love it. It was just “meh” for me. There are times where if I didn’t have my blog to look back on, I would honestly forget that I have read some books, and this absolutely will fall into this category.
By the time I am done with the review and have moved on to other books and short stories, I will have forgotten this one. It just isn’t memorable for me. Which is why I am calling it a three star read.
Discussion
Have you read The June Paintings or any other writing from Maggie Shipstead? Are you a fan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
About the Author
Maggie Shipstead is the New York Times-bestselling author of the novels Seating Arrangements, Astonish Me, and Great Circle and the winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize and the L.A. Times Book Prize for First Fiction.
She is a graduate of Harvard and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, a former Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford, and the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Purchasing The June Paintings
If you are interested in buying the audiobook version of The June Paintings, click here.
Click here for the Kindle version.
Click here for my favorite Kindle I currently own.
More in the Blaze Series
Did you enjoy my review of The June Paintings? Ready for more in this series? Here are my favorites!
The June Paintings
The Forgotten Chapter
Fires to Come
Tune in Tomorrow
Fallen Grace
Barriers to Entry
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