Memoirs of a Muse: A Novel

I think that this book is brilliant. The characterizations are spot on, and the language is so precise, clean and beautiful. Vapnyar's writing is emotionally engaging, and creates a mood that sweeps the reader into the story. I loved Tanya, the main character, and I like going back to this book, picking it up and reading randomly - getting instantly swept back into this story of a Russian immigrant living in New York City with her American boyfriend.

Tanya is an immigrant to the United States from Russia. She came as a young woman to improve her life at her mother's desire. Her family in the United States was her uncle, her aunt, her cousin, her cousin's husband and their young son. All her life, Tanya was engrossed in learning about the life and women of of the great Russian writer Dostoyevsky.

Considering Polina to be Dostoyevsky's greatest love and muse, Tanya decided that she, too, wanted to be come a muse. She finds a man who reminds her of Dostoyevsky, and she attempts to be come that man's muse. Tanya turned out to be a muse two times over, but not in the way that she would have predicted.

I liked this novel although I was puzzled by what it was trying to tell me. I could see show more the protagonist struggling in her new American life, but I could not figure out where the relationship with her boyfriend would take her.

I liked the ending of the novel the best because it made the most sense. It showed how she did become a muse and how her life resolved after an odd relationship with her Dostoyevsky-like boyfriend. show less

A book about preconceived notions of your future and the feelings that come with trying to make that real while accepting the reality that you're meant for something different.

I had looked forward to reading this one for awhile. Sadly, I should have left it on Mt. TBR. A major disappointment. I did not expect something quite so chick lit-ish. I cared nothing at all about what happened to the main character, who came off as just a silly girl.

Ugh....The female "protagonist" of this book does nothing but whine and settle for a crappy relationship in which she is treated as a vapid piece of not particularly attractive arm candy. The whole book was maddening.

A delightful read - Russian theme.

Told from the point of view of the novelist’s source of inspiration, a Russian girl who is still learning how to best fill her role as Muse.