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The Muse

Jessie Burton

Start date: October 12, 2016

Finish date: October 31, 2016

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What Members Thought

Aug 22, 2016 Andrea rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: library, fiction-mystery, read-sorted, topic-art-heists, fiction-historical

I did not care for The Muse very much. Don't get me wrong, the writing was well-crafted, but I just couldn't connect with the story and the characters. When it comes to the plot, you'd think that a mystery involving two generations, lost art, feminist undertones, and Spanish Civil War would create a perfect narrative, but alas it failed to excite me. The characters that were supposed to glue this narrative only dragged it down with their illogical behaviors and shallow exteriors. The two protago I did not care for The Muse very much. Don't get me wrong, the writing was well-crafted, but I just couldn't connect with the story and the characters. When it comes to the plot, you'd think that a mystery involving two generations, lost art, feminist undertones, and Spanish Civil War would create a perfect narrative, but alas it failed to excite me. The characters that were supposed to glue this narrative only dragged it down with their illogical behaviors and shallow exteriors. The two protagonists suffered a lot of what I like to call a "tripple S"- "Special Snowflake Syndrome". Let's take a look a bit closer.

Odelle is a young woman originally from Trinidad, trying to make a living in London beyond selling shoes to people wealthier than her. She apparently has a talent for writing. You know how I know? The author told me. That poem she was embarrassed to read at her friend's wedding brought the room to a hush and the verge of tears. That first short story she had ever written and given to her boss for a critique miraculously made its way to London Review to glowing praises. Who knew it was so easy to become a writer? Doesn't it take years to polish your skill? I mean Margaret "frickin'" Mitchell was rejected 38 times before Gone with the Wind was published!

But, everyone singles out Odelle as this special girl in their lives for no reason. While love is blind, and I am willing to assume that Lawrie's instant affection for her was all in the hormones, why would Quick single her out from all other employees and make her a close confidant out of the blue? Not only that, but to go so far as to pass on her most closely guarded secret to Odelle and even leave her inheritance? Such an unbelievable turn of events. Why? I was the only one who’d ever been willing to find out Quick’s true story. A little presumptuous, are we?

And, why did she have to be a Trinidadian? There is seriously no reason, beyond trying too hard to insert a "poc" into your book. I wish Trinidad or at least its culture were somehow involved in the story. Odelle might have been a born Londoner of Caribbean descent to the same effect. She could have been a Caucasian or a Martian for all the good it had done. There is writing an ethnically diverse cast of characters, and there is being a Disney PC machine.

When it came to Olive, she became insufferable very quickly. She blamed misogyny for being unable to pursue art in her own right, but it seemed that her sole motivation was to stick it to her father. It was a game for her - a giant farce, and it really bothered me. Her, hanging all her ability for outstanding art on a man, who clearly couldn't give a crap about her, bothered me. She chose to be a victim to be some kind of martyr, and that is not the story I want to hear. And of course, I was not inclined to believe into yet another prodigy residing in this book.

Not a terrible novel, but I could not care less for it, even if I tried.

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