1 of 1 copy available
National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree • “Captures the ache-inducing quality of art and desire . . . a deeply relatable and profoundly enjoyable read, one drenched in prismatic color and light.”—Kristen Arnett, New York Times bestselling author of With Teeth
FINALIST FOR THE MINNESOTA BOOK AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Glamour, PopSugar, Debutiful
It’s 2011: America is in a deep recession and Occupy Wall Street is escalating. But at the elite Wrynn College of Art, students paint and sculpt in a rarefied bubble. Louisa Arceneaux is a thoughtful, observant nineteen-year-old when she transfers to Wrynn as a scholarship student, but she soon finds herself adrift in an environment that prizes novelty over beauty. Complicating matters is Louisa’s unexpected attraction to her charismatic roommate, Karina Piontek, the preternaturally gifted but mercurial daughter of wealthy art collectors. Gradually, Louisa and Karina are drawn into an intense sensual and artistic relationship, one that forces them to confront their deepest desires and fears. But Karina also can’t shake her fascination with Preston Utley, a senior and anti-capitalist Internet provocateur, who is publicly feuding with visiting professor and political painter Robert Berger—a once-controversial figurehead seeking to regain relevance.
When Preston concocts an explosive hoax, the fates of all four artists are upended as each is unexpectedly thrust into the cutthroat New York art world. Now all must struggle to find new identities in art, in society, and among each other. In the process, they must find either their most authentic terms of life—of success, failure, and joy—or risk losing themselves altogether.
With a canny, critical eye, Sirens & Muses overturns notions of class, money, art, youth, and a generation’s fight to own their future.
-
Creators
-
Publisher
-
Release date
July 12, 2022 -
Formats
-
OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593587720
- File size: 384215 KB
- Duration: 13:20:26
-
-
Languages
- English
-
Reviews
-
Starred review from May 16, 2022
A quartet of artists negotiate love, ambition, and politics during the 2011 Occupy movement in Angress’s winning debut. Nineteen-year-old Louisa Arceneaux is a new transfer student at the fictional Wrynn College in New England, arriving from her native Louisiana. Her roommate, the icy and beautiful Karina Piontek, is everything Louisa is not: worldly, wealthy, and confident. Preston Utley, a senior, questions the school’s relevance in the modern age. The yin to Utley’s yang is Robert Berger, a teacher whose own art career, once white-hot, has atrophied. Angress nimbly embodies each of her characters, allowing her exceptional storytelling abilities to shine. When Louisa asks Karina to pose for a painting, the initial reticence between the two fades, and something more volatile emerges. Preston and Karina begin a romantic relationship on unequal footing, while Preston, a member of the school’s Occupy group, antagonizes an increasingly desperate Robert by excoriating his work in Artforum, and the novel’s first part ends with a major rupture. In part two, set over the following year, the characters have left Wrynn’s bubble for New York City, where Preston and Karina prepare for a joint debut show at Robert’s former gallery, and Angress sweeps everything toward a wonderfully complex conclusion. This is a standout. Agent: Marya Spence, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. -
June 10, 2024
Far from home at an elite New England art school, Louisa Arceneaux finds comfort and inspiration in her roommate, Karina Piontek. Karina, the scion of wealthy art dealers, feels the mutual attraction as she models for Louisa but responds still to overtures from senior Preston Utley. If Karina's parents ever met the anticapitalist conceptual artist, they'd hate him. Wrynn College's visiting professor Robert Burgess made his name with political paintings but hasn't produced a significant work in decades. As Occupy Wall Street builds momentum, the four are forced from ivory tower to New York skyline, where making rent trumps making art, though they're compelled to try. Angress's debut novel is an absorbing, intelligent drama made irresistible in audio. Narrator Rebecca Lowman reads precisely and seriously, but with fluent breaks for character-specific dialogue, dipping into a palette of emotions that completes the already vivid personalities on display. Louisa's faint Cajun accent, stronger when she visits family, perfectly exemplifies this attention to auditory detail. VERDICT Superb narration adds to the impact of this populist, yet personal take on a rarefied set. Highly recommended.--Lauren Kage
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
-