Renato!

Mirabelli (The Passion of Terri Heart) has revised three previously published novels, all of which chronicle the life and times of the painter Renato Stillamare, for a blazing magnum opus. In Book One, still titled “The Goddess in Love with a Horse,” baby Renato is left swaddled in a map of Sicily on the doorstep of the Cavallù family in 1860s Boston, a clan descended from Sicilian centaurs and goddesses. This dreamy narrative is a love letter to the people and customs of Sicily, “where Demeter, the warm-breasted goddess... had her daughter Persephone stolen from her.” In Book Two, “Renato, the Painter,” the artist looks back from his 70s on a long, satisfying marriage with Alba, his many children, and a few lovers, while trying to secure his artistic legacy by landing one last gallery exhibition. He’s moved into his studio to paint, while Alba stays in their apartment and plays host to a strange young woman and her son, whom Renato suspects is descended from a fallen angel. Well into his 80s in Book Three, “After Alba,” Renato finds he’s a poor match for fighting despair after Alba’s death. The author swings back and forth through time and memories, and entertains fantasy and philosophy with captivating if occasionally long-winded results. Mirabelli’s impassioned cycle succeeds at capturing an artist’s longing to be remembered. (Oct.)