Paint It Black (novel)

Background

Janet Fitch's third novel was originally planned to be a lengthy historical novel. But after her publisher contacted her regarding the manuscript, Fitch was told that the project would most likely not be fulfilled. She was given approval to finish Paint it Black after her agent read about one hundred pages of the handwritten manuscript. Fitch originally considered this work a side project.

Setting

Paint it Black is set in Los Angeles, California during the 1980s punk rock scene. There are references to artists and events of that era, such as the Germs (with emphasis on their lead singer Darby Crash) and the death of John Lennon, along with insights into the art world that surrounds the protagonist, Josie.

Synopsis

From the inside cover:

Josie Tyrell, art model, teen runaway, and denizen of LA's rock scene, finds a chance at real love with art student Michael Faraday. A Harvard dropout and son of a renowned pianist, Michael introduces Josie to a world of sophistication she had never dreamed existed and to his spiritual quest for the beauty that shines through everyday experience. But when she receives a call from the Los Angeles County coroner, asking her to identify her lover's dead body, her bright dreams all turn to black. "What happens to a dream when the dreamer is gone?" This is the question Josie asks as she searches for the key to understanding Michael's death. And as she struggles to hold on to the true world he shared with her, she is both repelled by and attracted to Michael's pianist mother, Meredith, who holds Josie responsible for her son's torment. Joined by their grief, the two women are soon drawn into a twisted relationship that reflects equal parts distrust and blind need. Passionate, wounded, and fiercely alive, Josie Tyrell walks the brink of her own destruction as she fights to discover what is left of the brilliant vision of the future she and Michael once nurtured together. When the luxurious prose and fever-pitch intensity that are her hallmarks, Janet Fitch has written a spellbinding new novel about love, betrayal, and the possibility of transcendence.

Reaction

Some fans were unhappy with the final result, one reviewer saying, "If you enjoyed White Oleander, as I did, and expect more of the same in Paint It Black, you’ll be disappointed." Another was quoted as saying, "How Paint It Black holds up for readers under the scrutiny of comparison remains to be seen, but Fitch's fans should know that while the plot is very different, her new book returns to many of the same settings and themes she introduced in White Oleander, this time exploring them in an even deeper way." Karen Valby, of Entertainment Weekly, is quoted in her review as saying, "The two lash at each other's jugulars, their shared misery both a balm and a repellent. Would that Fitch had left the little punk to her vodka and speed, and zeroed in on the wicked older woman."

Fitch herself, in an Amazon.com blog dated December 4, 2007, said, "Paint It Black started as a gothic little short story, which became the emotional core of the book, like a secret windowless room at the heart of a haunted mansion. Then I built outwards from that room, into the outer life of the book, until I finally got the beginning, and then the ending, which is the doorway out, into the sun."

Adaptation

The novel was adapted into a movie of the same name in 2016 directed by Amber Tamblyn and starring Alia Shawkat as Josie.