Publisher's Synopsis
'He had seen one thing and thought the other. He'd made the mistake of seeing what he expected to see, what he was used to seeing.' Once, long ago when the men were away at the war, Alma began painting portraits of the women of the town in lieu of payment for catching all the rats. His special favourite was Alice, who returned his attentions. Her husband George, came home from the war, and set out to prove his love and reclaim his wife by shifting a hill to improve the view - with a wheelbarrow. Now, decades later, Alma's 'in lieu of' payment is revived so that an abandoned mother living in a depressed town can make her way. For the other townspeople looking to escape various corners of despair, Paint Your Wife is the answer. For when you draw, the only thing that matters is what lies before you. Paint your Wife is an ambitious, colourful novel. It brims with rich stories and even richer characters.
