A review by tomhill
Self-Portrait with Boy by Rachel Lyon

3.0

3.5-The premise is impossible to resist, kind of ingenious I think, and the precipitating incident is hauntingly depicted. There are a lot of big ideas explored here: what is art's value when measured against human suffering? Art should be "pure" and thought-provoking, but at what cost? Should luck be passed off genius? A deeper exploration of characters might have been possible, but the book is very effective at exploring the questions it poses.