The Great Man (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Great Man: A Novel is a 2007 novel by American author Kate Christensen
. It won the 2008 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
, beating nearly 350 other submissions and earning Christensen the $15,000 top prize. The story takes place five years after the death, at 78, of celebrated painter Oscar Feldman, the "great man" of the title. Two competing biographers, both working to document the life and times of a man who made his fortune painting nude women, turn for information to the women who had shared his life: his wife, his mistress, and his sister, who is also a painter.
Oscar Feldman was married to Abigail, the daughter of a rich Jewish family. They have a son who suffers from autism
.
For many years Oscar had an affair with Teddy. Together they have twin daughters, Ruby and Samantha. Ruby never married whereas Samantha is married and has children.
Oscar´s sister Maxine was quite successful as a painter earlier, but later was almost forgotten by the art community. Her brother had always been more famous than Maxine, which was quite ironic: Oscar became well known in the art world for a diptych
of two female nudes, Helena and Mercy. Helena was actually painted by Maxine. It was a picture of then lesbian
lover.
Kate Christensen
Kate Christensen is an American novelist. She won the 2008 PEN/Faulkner Award for her fourth novel, The Great Man, about a painter and the three women in his life. Her previous novels are In the Drink , Jeremy Thrane , and The Epicure's Lament...
. It won the 2008 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to the authors of the year's best works of fiction by living American citizens. The winner receives US $15,000 and each of four runners-up receives US $5000. The foundation brings the winner and runners-up to...
, beating nearly 350 other submissions and earning Christensen the $15,000 top prize. The story takes place five years after the death, at 78, of celebrated painter Oscar Feldman, the "great man" of the title. Two competing biographers, both working to document the life and times of a man who made his fortune painting nude women, turn for information to the women who had shared his life: his wife, his mistress, and his sister, who is also a painter.
Oscar Feldman was married to Abigail, the daughter of a rich Jewish family. They have a son who suffers from autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
.
For many years Oscar had an affair with Teddy. Together they have twin daughters, Ruby and Samantha. Ruby never married whereas Samantha is married and has children.
Oscar´s sister Maxine was quite successful as a painter earlier, but later was almost forgotten by the art community. Her brother had always been more famous than Maxine, which was quite ironic: Oscar became well known in the art world for a diptych
Diptych
A diptych di "two" + ptychē "fold") is any object with two flat plates attached at a hinge. Devices of this form were quite popular in the ancient world, wax tablets being coated with wax on inner faces, for recording notes and for measuring time and direction.In Late Antiquity, ivory diptychs with...
of two female nudes, Helena and Mercy. Helena was actually painted by Maxine. It was a picture of then lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
lover.