In the recently published novel, “Asunder” by Chloe Aridjis (Mariner Books), Marie, the main character, is a guard in the National Gallery in London where her great-grandfather had been a guard. As the novel progresses, Marie becomes increasingly fascinated by the craquelure in the paintings’ surfaces. Are people in general more attracted to the damaged work of art than to the perfect and whole?
The allure of the damaged
