SPENDING
by Mary Gordon
$24.00 Cloth
$13.00 Softcover
Reviewed by Charlotte Templin

Mary Gordon is one of the major novelists of our time, so a new book by her is an important event. Her recent novel, Spending, is about art, sex, and money -- in that order. Gordon tells the story of Monica Szabo, a middle-aged painter who says flippantly during a gallery talk that she would like a male muse, someone to serve the function that female muses served for centuries: model, housekeeper, cook, as well as inspiration and financial support. In one of several almost-too-good-to-be-true moments in the novel, B. (Bernard, we learn later), multi-million dollar futures trader, stands up and offers his services. He turns out to be not only rich enough to allow her to quit her teaching job and paint full time in the new studio he provides, but also wonderful in bed.

The novel proceeds with scenes of painting interspersed with scenes of lovemaking (lots of it, lovingly described) and soul-searching about what it means for the painter to be supported by the man she is sleeping with. Is she one of those bad names people call a woman who takes money from a man for sex? Gordon loves art and knows it well, as she illustrates in many affectionate and knowing descriptions of the masters as well as contemporary artists. Monica is most alive when she is painting, meditating about color and form, or studying the masters and figuring out how she can present a new take on an old theme. She is a woman painter, after all, and sees the world differently from the male masters that populate the history of art.

The novel will delight those who want to get close to the creator of art, whether painter or writer (since painting surely is a metaphor for writing).

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