An Exquisite Corpse: Death in Surrealist New York

Set in 1943 New York City, this intriguing if uneven first in a trilogy from art historian Harrison (Such Desperate Joy: Imagining Jackson Pollack) focuses on the fictional murder of Afro-Cuban Chinese artist Wilfredo Lam, a surrealist who actually died in Paris in 1982. Lam’s body is staged in his Greenwich Village apartment according to the principles of a surrealist party game called Exquisite Corpse, which points the finger at members of the art community, but are they being framed? The cops are stumped as they dig into Lam’s complex heritage to solve the mystery. The cast includes such real-life figures as Peggy Guggenheim and Lee Krasner, but the sheer number of characters can make the story difficult to follow. As a result, original characters like Cuban American police officer Juanita Diaz are underserved as the novel takes the reader on a twisty ride through various New York immigrant communities. Harrison is at her best depicting the New York art world at a precarious time and its dependence on wealthy patrons for survival. That alone is worth the price of admission. (July)