The introduction (safe to read before the stories) makes it clear that this is the third in a series of anthologies of stories based on art and that it is somewhat different from the previous two - different authors, less restrictive choice of art. There are also some technical details about the process of assembling such an anthology - the author who bailed out in the last moment, the art piece that could not be reprinted so the author had to pivot (and in the process find an art piece that matches their story even better). The stories use the art differently - some imagine the story of the art (the good old "a story based on a picture"), some put the picture inside of the story and others just use the art as an inspiration, sometimes a very vague one. While I did not love all the stories, they all were at least competent which is usually enough for me to enjoy an anthology. It also sent me into looking up the art of some artists I had never heard of and some authors who had flown under my radar. Which is why I like anthologies in general.

Most of the stories are either crime or mystery stories or related to the genres. That's not surprising considering who Lawrence Block is. Onto the stories:

The Prairie Is My Garden by Patricia Abbott
Painting: The Prairie Is My Garden by Harvey Dunn
In 1884, a young family looks at their land in De Smet, South Dakota and considers their life. Then the story rolls back to show us how they ended up there - and there are a few surprises in there. It is a calm story which serves as a nice opening of the anthology, using the painting's imagery and giving it words.

Mother of Pearl by Charles Ardai
Painting: Broadway Boogie Woogie by Piet Mondrian
A girls goes looking for her father - and in the process finds someone else. I am not entirely sure what the connection to the paining is besides both of them being connected to New York - but the story works and even manages to pull off a somewhat surprising ending.

Superficial Injuries by Jan Burke
Painting:Detail from Thirteen Most Wanted Men by Andy Warhol
An old woman, a big inheritance, a man expecting to get it all and a surprising woman - that can never end well, can it? Burke ties the paining/artwork into the story, making it a part of the story itself and it allows for the story to go to unexpected places. As almost cliche as the premise may be, the execution helps lift the story a bit.

The Man from Hard Rock Mountain by Jerome Charyn
Painting: Twilight of Man by Rockwell Kent
A dystopian tale of a man living alone after an unnamed disaster which knocked off civilization - and a woman and a child showing up out of nowhere. I did not see the end coming - although I probably should have. The story feels more like a sketch than as a complete story but combined with the art, it actually works a lot better - they share the atmosphere of the impeding end.

Adrift Off the Diamond Shoals by Brendan DuBois
Painting: Reefing Sails Around Diamond Shoals, Cape Hatteras by Winslow Homer
It is never a good idea to meet people in secluded places just before the area is closed off after full evacuation. Especially when you are not a good person. It was clear from the start that something was bound to happen so the story played a bit predictably but it still worked out. Setting the story in the place which the paining illustrates makes it perfect for the anthology.

You're a Walking Time Bomb by Janice Eidus
Painting: Number 14 by Mark Rothko
Can I just mention that I really do not understand the appeal in Rothko's work? Or most of Mondrian's (see above) but at least with him you may squint and see things based on the title of the painting. With Rothko I just do not get it... at all. Unlike the narrator of this story who after surviving an aneurysm becomes a life coach while getting almost obsessed with Rothko's work and we get to follow a day in her life. I found the story as pointless as Rothko's painting - but then I suspect that it may make a lot more sense to someone who also appreciates the art.

Garnets by Christa Faust
Painting: Adirondacks by Helen Frankenthaler
Picking up a hitchhiker is never a safe thing to do - for either party. The driver being the narrator gives away where the story is going to lean into - and it goes there - and its length does not allow for a lot of depth.

He Came in Through the Bathroom Window by Scott Frank
Painting: Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney by Robert Henri
An island, a set of burglars and a painting (the one the story is connected to) which appears to be more than a painting. It's never quite clear if the story is speculative or if we are dealing with hallucinations but it does not matter really.

On Little Terry Road by Tom Franklin
Painting: This Much I Know by John Hull
Being awaken by the phone at 4 am is never fun. Being awaken so you can deal with some dead bodies is even less fun. As the protagonist of the story will tell you - bad days begin with phone calls.

Someday, a Revolution by Jane Hamilton
Painting: Daughters of Revolution by Grant Wood
Three women, members of the local chapter of DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) have a bit of a conversation in 1947 about what is important and what is decent. Enlightened is the last thing either of them is.

Riverfront by Barry N. Malzberg
Painting: River Front by George Bellows
A very short story about Bellows and one of the women in his painting. A vignette on history and consequences. Too short to really have an impact but readable.

Silver at Lakeside by Warren Moore
Painting: Homage to "Les Fauves" by Warren S. Moore, Jr.
In case one wonders, this is the story that was written about another painting, the one that the anthology could not get permissions for and once that happened, Moore realized that one of his father's paintings actually fits it even better. And just in case you think this was a lucky break, the story was a replacement to start with - due an author who failed to deliver their story. Both the author and the original painting remain unnamed.
The story itself is about acceptance and about choosing to be what you need to be - and being accepted for it. It is almost a counterpoint of "Someday, a Revolution" earlier in the book.

Get Him by Micah Nathan
Painting: Light at the Crossing by Daniel Morper
A hired assassin with a conscience goes around America to do his job. For a trope that every mystery/crime writer out there had tried at least once, the story still managed to sound fresh.

Baptism in Kansas by Sara Paretsky
Painting: Baptism in Kansas by John Steuart Curry
A Revival Tent, a young woman being shipped to a farm in the middle of nowhere as a punishment (or to be kept out of trouble), a small town and the rumor mill of such places. None of that is a recipe for a happy ending. And you won't get one - although it is a surprising one.

A Matter of Options by Gary Phillips
Painting: Why Not Use the "L" by Reginald Marsh
A modern day Robin Hood plays games with the wealthy. The backstory becomes the bones of a story that would have read as a caper otherwise.

Girl with an Ax by John Sandford
Painting: Hollywood by Thomas Hart Benton
A struggling musician lived next door to an aged one-time Hollywood starlet - the one who posed for Benton's painting in fact - and is being friendly enough for the old woman to decide to leave her something in her will. Sandford indulges in some word-play as well - an ax/axe is a used as a word for a guitar (one I had never heard of but once I figured that out, finding the reason for it was interesting).

The Way We See the World by Lawrence Block
Painting: Office Girls by Raphael Soyer
Two strangers meet in front of a painting (not the one the story is based on) and end up meeting again and discussing art (some of the paintings in this anthology included) while trying to think of another painting (the one the story is connected to). It is a love story - written a bit weirdly but a love story indeed. It is also the second replacement story in the volume (or the first if you want to count which one was produced and decided on first) - but not in the same way - it was always supposed to be by Block, it was just a different story initially - one that did not work out.

At the end, none of the stories were really memorable. Some worked better, some less so but none of them was unreadable. Which is more than can be said about a lot of anthologies. But if you like art and have some free time, it is a nice enough anthology. ( )

Out of the seventeen stories, I enjoyed about four of them. Some of the stories seemed to correlate with the painting providing inspiration very little. My favorites were "Silver at Lakeside" by Warren Moore, "On Little Terry Road" by Tom Franklin, "A Matter of Options" by Gary Phillips, and "Baptism in Kansas" by Sara Paretsky. ( )

A great read, perhaps my favorite of the 3 art-themed anthologies LB has edited. And I'm in the second one! ( )