The Impressionist is a well written, but eventually disappointing book. Hari Kunzru is so pre-occupied with creating set-pieces that he fails to give adequate attention to the structure of the plot. As a result the novel tends to skim the surface and some of the chapters have rather hurried endings. Nevertheless, considering that this is a debut novel, Kunzru deserves to be complimented for a refreshing use of language and a tragic-comic take on the theme of racial identity.