The Muse: A Novel

I'm a tough critic. So it's saying something that I liked this book. The writing is good, a definite plus. The characters were good without being overdrawn. They are quirky, interesting people, one of the two main characters trying to subvert the bias against female painters. It took me a few chapters to get to the "I have to know what's going to happen" stage, but I would definitely recommend this book for the story, the characters, and what it has to say. I just wish writers of literary novels would NOT spend the last ten pages tying up all the loose ends. Tie things up with elegant brevity

The Muse explores how life and relationships both inspire and disrupt artists in practicing their craft. It also highlights the fallibility of historical and other records, particularly as a result of human fallibility.I really enjoyed traveling through time and space in this book, visiting a home in Trinidad, traveling with a Trinidadian immigrant to a shoe store and then the art scene in London, traveling back to a Spain on the brink of civil war, and allusions to Hitler's violence in Austria and France. The ties between these places and events were really interesting and well executed, and I enjoyed that the author didn't try to fill in every scene of the story, leaving the edges a little blurry but deepening the color of the central characters, their conflicts and bonds, their secrets.There were a few plot points that felt unnecessary and that I didn't really understand the purpose of in the end.

I enjoyed reading this novel immensely. The language is exquisite, the characters deep and psychologically complex. In addition the story dramatizes the mystery of art itself and the artist's reasons for doing it, even at the expense of personal loss. The author, Jessie Burton, has her finger on art's attraction and power, as well as its tendency to be overwhelmed by the forces of history and psychology.

This is a departure from the two Miniaturist books and surprisingly as absorbing.Beautifully written, intriguing topic, page turner. Enjoy it.

THE MINIATURIST, Jessie Burton's first novel, related the tale of a 17th century indigent farm girl, married off to an older Amsterdam merchant. The book contains beautifully written descriptive passages, sections of simple dialogue and multiple plot twists making it a real page turner. THE MUSE is more complicated, perhaps too complicated. The story is set in two different time periods: 1967 England and 1936 Andalusia. The modern heroine is an emigre from Trinidad who speaks with an accent on occasion. The other heroine is an English artist who frequently speaks Spanish with local residents. The onset of the Spanish Civil War adds tension to that part of the story. Burton connects the time periods through the creation, ownership and sale of an artist's oil paintings. The descriptive passages are at times too lengthy and the dialogues frequently seem artificial. The love stories also seem contrived. Burton is a gifted writer. This reader looks forward to her next novel where it is hoped that she chooses to relate less with less.

This is my first Jessie Burton novel, and it won't be my last. I really enjoyed The Muse and was so impressed with the fearlessness of the writing. Burton goes to dark places, and they are riveting corners. This book is so different - I wondered how she came up with such a fascinating story. Complex female characters that I was very invested in. Normally I am not the hugest fan of books that go back in time or switch narrators, but Odelle, Olive and Theresa had me hooked. If you want a read that has substance but moves pretty quickly - look no further. Well done, Ms. Burton.

Even though The Muse has one literary element that has gone stale for me ( a then-and-now construct where a young current-day character unravels a mystery revealed from the past), I found this to be a good read. Burton's characters, although flawed, are likeable and believable. The setting of pre-revolutionary Spain seen through the eyes of a female artist is intriguing; however, the narrative of modern-day Odelle's insecurities and triumphs seems to lack the detail and vitality of 1930s Olive and Teresa. Although not as mesmerizing as Donna Tartt's "The Goldfinch," "The Muse" is worth reading.

I’m not eloquent enough to write a review that expresses how good this book it, how good the writing is. This is the most I’ve enjoyed a book in years. The struggles these women go through is so beautifully conveyed. I was completely enraptured and couldn’t pull away. Their personalities are so different as well as their loves and struggles I’m sure every woman will identify with one of them if not a bit of all them. Yet I can’t imagine the difficulty of the times this is set. Such a breathtakingly beautiful read that I’m certain I will read again one day.