The Rules of Perspective A Novel [Paperback]

On April 3, 1945, the advancing American army shells the historic town of Lohenfelde, and the Kaiser-Wilhelm museum. Within the museum's vaults, Heinrich Hoffer is hiding from the bombardment, and trying to keep a priceless Van Gogh from falling into the hands of a rogue Nazi. After the shelling, an American corporal, Neal Parry, finds a beautiful eighteenth-century oil painting in the rubble, and must confront both its beauty, and the morality of stealing it. The stories of Herr Hoffer, Parry, and their paintings unfold simultaneously in this gripping, brilliantly structured novel about art and war.

Adam Thorpe, a poet and novelist, is the author of five novels includingUlverton;his most recent poetry collection isNine Lessons from the Dark.

The Rules of Perspectiveis one of those rare novels that will make you think and feel in equal measure: it tickles the brain and batters the heart . . . Fascinating. The New York Observer

In earthy, poetic prose, Thorpe proves that art, defenseless against artillery, holds the power to bring back to life what weapons destroy. Nothing is wasted, no character less than fully formed. . . . A marvelous and affecting tale. San Francisco Chronicle

The Rules of Perspectiveresonates with empathy for the human spirit in the face of war. Booklist

The novel's ending is both technically faultless and aimed straight at the heart. The Guardian (U.K.)

Thorpe's writing is a testament to our ability and need to find beauty in the horrific, and turn a statistic into a story. San Francisco Chronicle

A beautifully wrought, profoundly meditative and highly readable work . . . Thorpe brings a fresh, well,perspectiveto his moving exploration of beauty and war. BookPage

This eloquent and moving novel succeeds in saying something new on the overworked topic of Nazi looting. Library Journal