The Muse

That Difficult Second Book

Quite frankly the only difficult thing about this book is putting it down!! T’is a joyous thing to behold a writer growing into their own skin and finding their voice. If anyone believed that The Miniaturist was a flash in the pan or a one hit wonder, think again. For The Muse is another exhilarating read.

Similar themes occur, some of them paradoxical, the secrecy of art and creativity, the destruction and the preservation of art and creativity, plenty of food for thought. But whereas The Miniaturist remains in one historical period The Muse swing boats us between two different periods and two different locations. And the wonderful Marjorie Quick is the link between those two periods and locations. For me show more Marjorie Quick is one of those characters who projects such a presence on the page. as a reader you kind of know she is an unusual person and pivotal to the narrative. And we are never told the whole truth abut her but there are enough clues to understand her motivation and her sadness.

There’s plenty going on in the narrative to keep the reader entertained and curious. There are pictures painted (no pun intended) of a time gone by, of different etiquettes and protocols. Atmospheric to the extent that you have to check that you yourself are not soaked from the rain.

It’s a privilege to read a book such as this for it is everything a fiction should be. If there is a down side I think it is that The Miniaturist was so unique the expectation for The Muse might disappoint some readers. But I believe the quality of the writing, the development of the plot and sympathies of the characterisations assure Jessie Burton’s credibility as a modern novelist of some standing. show less

No sophomore slump here. I liked The Muse better than The Miniaturist overall. Instead of a single timeframe as in her first book, here we get two; 1967 (with Odelle’s life and situation in London) and 1938 (with the Schloss family’s entanglement with the Robles siblings in Spain). The 1967 section deals with the rediscovery of a ‘lost’ Issac Robles painting and the 1938 section with its creation. The mystery Odelle needs to solve isn’t one for the reader, but Burton still has a few surprises up her sleeve. None are earth shattering and they make sense. It’s a quietly moving book about the suppression of female talent, the value of art, the anguish of creation and the price of friendship and keeping secrets.

The value of art show more and creation is a quiet undercurrent in the book and Odelle embodies it quite well. She’s a writer who doesn’t write anymore because she doesn’t know why she’s doing it. She isn’t published and she isn’t producing school work anymore, so she’s stuck; feeling the urge, but having no outlet. “I appreciated the irony that just like at school at university, I was delivering a story for someone else to approve, but I had been too long inculcated with the act of writing for an audience. This time, however, I wasn't going to hinge everything on my audience’s response. If Quick didn't like it, maybe that was a good thing. It was now out of my control.”

It reminds me of a conversation I had recently with an old friend who is a painter. She’s sold a few paintings here and there and would like to do more, but she doesn’t like the idea of sitting at arts and crafts shows, behind a table with her work on display, a hopeful look on her face silently pleading to viewers to buy her art. I feel the same way about my photography. To do it for others’ approval alone would debase it in my view. I do it for me. I enjoy it. I don’t need other people’s approval and that’s not why I keep doing it. Oh sure, I have a couple of websites where I share my work, but I’m no glory hog. I’m not on every website fishing for compliments. The drive to keep looking, to keep seeing, to keep producing is for me. I love looking at my own work and the things I’ve discovered and captured. It’s a personal joy that keeps giving because it’s the work, the process that I love, not the end result or the adulation.

Anyway, the relationship between Quick and Odelle is an interesting one. They both put themselves out there and take risks with one another, knowing that they will reap rewards that might be a ways off and that neither might see the other enjoy. The mirroring friendship between Olive and Theresa is fraught with different risks, but is also subtly drawn. Both end in death, but hope lives on. show less

Whilst it didn't quite live up to the mysterious magic of The Miniaturist, Jessie Burton's second book was a very enjoyable read.

Taking inspiration yet again from the art world, this novel tells the story of the unearthing of a lost Spanish painting in London in the 1960s, and the story of love and an unbreakable bond which continues to guard the secrets of the painting 30 years on.

Set amidst the backdrop of political tension in 1930s Andalusia and a London seen through the eyes of a recent Windrush immigrant from the Caribbean, the dual narrative settings worked very well together, slowly unravelling the mystery and increasing the dramatic tension around how the two settings would eventually be linked together through the painting.

4 show more stars - a better second novel than expected from an interesting historical novelist. show less

Here's a delicious combination -- historical fiction set during the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s interwoven with a surprisingly well-crafted mystery. I simply inhaled THE MUSE. Awarded four stars on Goodreads, but 4.5 is probably more accurate.

As a fan of her previous novel, The Miniaturist, I looked forward to picking up Jessie Burton's THE MUSE. And I wasn't disappointed. This historical novel takes place in two time periods -- the late 1930s and the late 1960s. What ties the two together is a painting.

1936: A family of wealthy Austrian ex-pats (Harold, Sarah, and daughter Olive Schloss), living in Spain, meet a brother and sister (Isaac and Teresa Robles) who are sympathetic to the left-leaning forces struggling to change the show more country's right-wing government. Isaac is an amateur artist and Teresa a teenager. In need of money to live, the two are hired by the Schloss family to cook, clean, and do odd jobs. Only their involvement with the Schlosses expands quickly.

1967: Trinidad born Odelle Bastien, a fledgling writer/poet, is thrilled when she lands an entry level job at an art gallery in London. Even better, one of her bosses, Marjorie Quick, seems to take a shine to Odelle. But it turns out there may be an ulterior motive in Quick's interest. Odell also meets an attractive young man who has inherited a painting from his recently deceased mother. And what could be more natural than asking the experts at Odelle's gallery for help in assessing its value?

I won't divulge more about the plot, except you should expect romance, infidelity, betrayals, family secrets, and unexpected violence to touch all these lives. And while you try throughout to figure out how the story will be resolved, you'll be proved wrong again and again, until you arrive at the surprising end. VERY highly recommended. show less

Here's a delicious combination -- historical fiction set during the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s interwoven with a surprisingly well-crafted mystery. I simply inhaled THE MUSE. Awarded four stars on Goodreads, but 4.5 is probably more accurate.

As a fan of her previous novel, The Miniaturist, I looked forward to picking up Jessie Burton's THE MUSE. And I wasn't disappointed. This historical novel takes place in two time periods -- the late 1930s and the late 1960s. What ties the two together is a painting.

1936: A family of wealthy Austrian ex-pats (Harold, Sarah, and daughter Olive Schloss), living in Spain, meet a brother and sister (Isaac and Teresa Robles) who are sympathetic to the left-leaning forces struggling to change the show more country's right-wing government. Isaac is an amateur artist and Teresa a teenager. In need of money to live, the two are hired by the Schloss family to cook, clean, and do odd jobs. Only their involvement with the Schlosses expands quickly.

1967: Trinidad born Odelle Bastien, a fledgling writer/poet, is thrilled when she lands an entry level job at an art gallery in London. Even better, one of her bosses, Marjorie Quick, seems to take a shine to Odelle. But it turns out there may be an ulterior motive in Quick's interest. Odell also meets an attractive young man who has inherited a painting from his recently deceased mother. And what could be more natural than asking the experts at Odelle's gallery for help in assessing its value?

I won't divulge more about the plot, except you should expect romance, infidelity, betrayals, family secrets, and unexpected violence to touch all these lives. And while you try throughout to figure out how the story will be resolved, you'll be proved wrong again and again, until you arrive at the surprising end. VERY highly recommended. show less

‘’...and that’s all that matters, isn’t it? What people believe. It doesn’t matter what’s the truth; what people believe becomes the truth.’’

I finally found the time to read Jessie Burton’s sophomore novel and I am very glad to conclude a wonderful reading month with a beautiful work of Fiction. The Miniaturist is among my 10 all-time favourite novels and while The Muse wasn’t as magical and haunting, it was no less exciting and complex.

The novel opens with Odelle, a young woman from Trinidad, who tries to find a better life and a chance to follow her love for poetry in London during the swinging ‘60s. The narration is often transferred to Spain, in the area of Arazuelo during the late ‘30s, and the birthplace of show more an enigmatic painting that finds itself in the gallery where Odelle works. Through Olive’s eyes we witness the political and social upheaval in the Iberian Peninsula and a woman’s fight to find a voice and a place of her own in the world of Art.

So, the dual timeline trope is present in The Muse and is masterfully executed. The sense of time and place is tangible and precise. The depiction of London and the beautifully frenetic era of the ‘60s is so vivid you can actually ‘’see’’ the colours of the clothes and the pop-art and listen to the songs that marked one of the most fascinating eras in History. Through Odelle’s memories of Trinidad, the writing acquires a fresh, sultry and sad Caribbean aura that is quite unique and perfectly balanced with the London atmosphere. What is interesting is the way Burton manages to create a darker feeling each time the narration moves under the shadow of the Andalusian sun. Despite the sunny hills, the aroma of the fruit and the luxurious background of Olive’s terribly dysfunctional family, the threat of the civil war is present everywhere. Hypocrisy is mixed with suspicion and the chances for a woman to be acknowledged for her skills and intelligence and not for her father’s walet are slim. Even people who claim to be fighting for equality (...and act in a completely opposite manner…) look upon women as feeble creatures who only act on a whim, devoid of feelings and thoughts.

‘’Women can’t do it, you see. They haven’t got the vision, although last time I checked they had eyes and hands, and hearts and souls. I’d have lost before I’d even had a chance.’’

The lives of Odelle and Olive are interlocked and it is clear that not many things have changed through the years. Olive isn’t allowed to pursue her dream and Odelle is considered an Other, an exotic bird that only half-belongs (if at all…) in her new surroundings. Lies and obsession are two major themes in the novel because truth is dangerous. It can destroy a life’s work along with Love. The men of the story aren’t exactly exemplary creations of their sex, they’re unable to love, hiding behind the curtain of a utopian society (utopian for them and an anarchy for everyone else...) and the utter motive of personal gain. If women are naive enough, they fall into the trap and the consequences are terrible.

This brings me to my only complaint regarding The Muse. Although I try not to compare books written by the same author, it is my impression that The Muse lacked the unique characters of The Miniaturist. Odelle and Olive are quite interesting and their voice is clearly heard but they’re not heroines we haven’t seen before. I found I anticipated Odelle’s chapters more than Olive’s because the latter’s love affair with Isaac was irritating and too melodramatic for my liking. Isaac is an utterly loathsome creature, in my opinion. A brute with brutal ideas, a coward who tries to act like a revolutionary but is neck-deep in lies, deceit and views that serve savagery and anarchy. His sister is a much better character, quite enigmatic but not enough to attract my interest in the Arazuelo storyline. So, while London’s narrative was quite exciting, the action set in Spain was far less satisfying for me.

Although The Muse isn’t as atmospheric, mystical and haunting as The Miniaturist, it is an excellent work of Historical Fiction. With a number of twists and rich in beautiful imagery and evocative prose, it is one more reason -for me, at least- to anticipate that Jessie Burton will go on giving us wonderful novels for many years to come.

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com show less

Dual time periods and a fabulous painting....

I enjoyed Jessie Burton's first book, The Miniaturist, and couldn't wait to read her new novel, The Muse. Both were enjoyable reads but I did miss the magical realism element from The Miniaturist, while The Muse had a more satisfying ending.

The Muse is split between two time periods, Spain in 1936 and London in 1967.
The Spanish Civil War is brewing when teenage Olive Schloss arrives with her German art dealer father and English socialite mother. They move in to a fabulous old Spanish finca and are immediately approached by Isaac Robles and his sister, Teresa, who are searching for work. I loved these complicated characters and they effectively created a link to the approaching war.
Olive is an show more accomplished artist but her father is unaware of his daughter's talents and so it is Isaac Robles who he encourages to paint. One painting from this era finds its way into the 1960s story and to the Skelton Gallery, but its history is unknown and its provenance questionable. Is it a valuable missing gem from the past and if so, how did it find its way to the gallery??

Thirty years later, Odelle Bastien and her friend, Cynth, have left Trinidad and come to London to find work and improve their fortunes, but so far, a job in the Dolcis shoe shop is the best they have achieved. Then Odelle stumbles into a job as a typist in the Skelton Art Gallery and she realises that she has fond her niche. Her boss, Marjorie Quick is a fascinating and elusive character who Odelle longs to understand, while Quick, in her turn, takes Odelle under her wing and eventually confides in her.

The narrative weaves effortlessly between the two eras and drew me in with several unanswered questions. This is the type of book that always holds my attention, but The Muse had the added advantage of being beautifully written too.
If you enjoy dual era, historical novels I'm sure this one will be a great read for you too. show less