The Devil in Silver

While Emily was pregnant we lived in Amsterdam thanks to the Dutch Foundation for Literature. While there, we got to visit the Van Gogh Museum. The museum does a great job of drawing a visitor deeper into the story of Van Gogh’s life. His work is displayed in a sort of timeline, floor by floor, until by the time you’ve reached one of his last paintings, Wheat Field with Crows, it feels as if you’ve really come to know the man. Those visits inspired me to pick up Van Gogh’s letters. I practically devoured them and, soon enough, his spirit possessed this novel. I have to thank the Van Gogh Museum for being curated so damn well.

Finally, I thank Vincent Van Gogh aka Big Vince aka the Red Tornado. If there is an afterlife, I hope you finally got to see how much you’ve meant to so many.

VLV

March 15, 2012

For Gloria Loomis,

who I love like family

ALSO BY VICTOR LAVALLE

Slapboxing with Jesus

The Ecstatic

Big Machine

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

VICTOR LAVALLE is the author of Slapboxing with Jesus, The Ecstatic, and Big Machine. He’s been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Shirley Jackson Award, the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, and a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship. He teaches at Columbia University. He lives in New York with his wife and son.