The Muse

Product Information

Film rights for the book are currently being negotiated by Paramount Pictures and Appian Way Productions. [1] Synopsis [ edit ] So, so true, and that’s something many artists struggle with. If someone doesn’t like your work, it doesn’t mean they think you’re a terrible person, but at times this is difficult to believe.

This book is about inspiration and the process of creation. About working in anonymity for the sole purpose of working vs. creating for acclaim or compensation, and about the freedom the former brings.Verdict: Slightly compelling yet extremely emotional and romantic story laced with history, love and passion for art. No sophomore jinx in her second effort, and no understudy role either. With The Muse Jessie Burton shows quite decisively that she has arrived as a literary force, a star, and almost certainly, an inspiration for others.

There are two timelines here. One is London in 1967 and the other is in Spain in 1936 at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. This is an exploration of the relationship between art and artists and indeed the role of the muse. It also considers the afterlife of a painting. Burton explores the way men and women are treated differently as artists and there is a sort of artistic detective story.was a time in Spain when challenges to the elected government were becoming more brazen. The conflict between the opposing camps in many communities was shifting from loud disagreement to something more kinetic. The pressures in the political world ramp up in concert with the emotional upheavals in the Schloss household, not just as literary window-dressing, but as a crucial element in the story. Burton chooses two unusual cultures for her settings: 1960’s London, from the viewpoint of a Caribbean immigrant, and pre-Civil War Spain in 1936, also seen from an outsider’s point of view. Burton’s research is impressive, particularly with the Spanish part of the story. It adds a lot of color to the story, though it does occasionally bog down the pace. The Muse touches on social issues in both eras: the divisions in Spain that led to the civil war, as well as the more subtle racism that limits Odelle’s opportunities in London and make her grateful to get a job as a typist.

So many novelists over these last few years, it seems are telling stories from dual time frames and if done right there can be a meaningful connection between them . I thought the story had so much promise at first. It touched on some topics that would make for interesting discussion - the view of women artists in the 1930's , who and why does the artist, painter or writer, create for - themselves, for outside praise and recognition? We glimpse civil war in Spain and it also touches on racial issues in the 1960's in England. So there is much in the way of food for thought. On top of that there is a mystery over a painting, love interests, and the hold on the reader waiting to see how Olive's life in a town in Spain in 1936 would connect with Odelle's in London in 1967 . okay, i suppose i should write a more in-depth review of the actual book and not just rely on super-sexxy hospital gown photos to do all the work for me…

The Sydney Morning Herald

this is just everything - the rhythm of the sentences, the vividness of the description, her depiction of workplace integration as startled british politeness without rancor that still manages to reference the bitter aftertaste of colonialism's legacy. it kills me. Suddenly, my thoughts were enormous in that tiny flat, because there was nobody to hear them and make them manageable, nobody cajoling me or supporting me, or holding out their arms for a hug." That’s one thing this book has in common with The Miniaturist. And it’s a reason enough to read both! Nella is desperate to save the family and maintain appearances, to find Thea a husband who will guarantee her future, and when they receive an invitation to Amsterdam’s most exclusive ball, she is overjoyed – perhaps this will set their fortunes straight. The young English woman feels inspired by Spain and paints in secret, sharing her work only with Teresa and Isaac. Harold has expressed the view that females are incapable of great art, so she is reluctant to subject her work to his blindered scrutiny. Sarah commissions Isaac to paint a portrait of her and Olive. She may have ulterior motives.

The mystery behind the painting wasn't as captivating as I hoped for. It wasn't a riddle you would enjoy solving. Raised in poverty, these illegitimate children of the local landowner revel in exploiting this wealthy Anglo-Austrian family. Insinuating themselves into the Schloss’s lives, Teresa and Isaac help Olive conceal her artistic talents with devastating consequences that will echo into the decades to come. I immensely enjoyed reading Odelle's story. Her voice, her thoughts, everything fit. She's curious, she has a lively mind and she knows that, considering that she's an immigrant and a woman she has to work harder than most people to achieve her goal: becoming a published writer. Odelle is the kind of girl I want to see in books: smart, curious, strong in a quiet but unmistakable way. Her side of the story was lovely and touching. The author, Jessie Burton, has a brilliant ability to put fancy words together in sophisticated forms and I respect her for it. Her prose game is very decent and shows the potentials and capabilities of an illustrious writer, but still not in a mind-blowing way if you get what I mean. That said, the story didn't live up to her beautified writing style although it had so many attractive elements. I remember…a feller saying to me in the shoe shop, 'your English is very good.' My English! I told him, "English is a West Indian language, sir."' ...

Spain, 1937. Olive Schloss, the daughter of a Viennese Jewish art deale Despite being the winning cards and points of strength in this book, the able use of vocabulary was distracting being aligned with a flat story. It seemed as if the author was trying too hard which doesn't look good. full review to come, but i wanted to get that out there now for people like me (although with better spines, hopefully) who may not feel drawn to this book by the synopsis alone. now you have the synopsis, an anecdote, and a quote. It's funny how Jessie Burton is able to write stories that are quite similar, but that are still able to evoke very opposing emotions in me. Some years ago, I read "The Miniaturist" and I wasn't impressed. I still appreciated the story, though, and so I decided to get "The Muse" as well and read it. I'm so happy I did! It turned out that I liked this novel a lot better, and in many ways I read it at just the perfect time of my life. The author expertly and quite beautifully weaves the two stories together, seemingly only connected by a work of art, as the novel progresses, the two stories are knitted tighter and tighter together until each and every character has their own place in both parts.