Martin and his wife
and baby daughter have arrived at their country home so Martin, a philosopher,
can work on his book. But, when he visits the neighbors and sees that they have
recently purchased some old paintings at a rummage sale, he convinces himself
that they have unknowingly purchased the missing work of an old master. Rather
than inform the neighbors of this possibility, he plots and connives to get the
painting for himself. Avarice takes control of his life. His obsession causes
him to neglect his book and aggravate his wife (an actual art historian). To
prove his own hypothesis, he delves deeply into the study of the paintings of
Pieter Brueghel, a Dutch painter of the sixteenth century. And he undertakes
some ridiculous shenanigans (including the promise of an affair with the wife
of the art buyer) to acquire the painting. Just when it seems that Martin has
successfully acquired the painting, a series of disastrous events bring him
crashing (literally) back to reality.
Farcical humor makes this book uproariously funny.
