The Kleptomaniac

Paris, November 1823. The days of Théodore Géricault, artistepeintre, are numbered. His caière, launched with much bravado and impetuosity, has been crushed by all-pervading neoclassicism; his pre-romantic canvases full of death, madness and old age find little recognition. From his deathbed, Géricault writes feverish, hurried letters to his friend John Constable. They are penetrating passages in which his tumultuous past comes to life again. These letters are alternated with fragments from the life of Theo Depoorter, a nurse in a retirement home. His wife has left him and prevents all contact with his daughter. Every day he is confronted with decline, old age and dementia. Theo seeks oblivion and company in the café 'De Gouden Carlos'... Both storylines are woven together in a refined way in this cleverly constructed, compelling book. The Kleptomaniac is an original double story about lost illusion. A master