Book Review – The Muse

by Jessie Burton (Picador) ISBN 978-1-4472-5094-4

It is June 1967 in London. Odelle Bastien is an aspiring writer. She comes to England from the Caribbean Islands to work at the prestigious Skelton Institute. Her employer at this art gallery is the enigmatic Marjorie Quick.

The Muse begins with Odelle sharing her story – her origins, aspirations, and the liberation of the 1960s. It’s written in the first-person, past-tense. When Odelle meets a suitor who brings an artwork for evaluation, Quick’s reaction suggests secrets. In subsequent chapters, a third-person narrates Quick’s and others’ stories. We’re transposed to Spain in 1937. We meet English ex-patriots Sarah and Harold Schloss, and their daughter, Olive. They meet locals Isaac and Teresa. A complex web of relationships emerge.

The Muse is these stories from 1937 – 1967 against a backdrop of art. It is a masterful novel by the author of the million-bestselling The Miniaturist.

The novel is rich in historical and artistic detail, and acutely observant of human nature. Its blurb states “a picture hides a thousand
words” – and this may be its theme – but its opening quotation, “never again will a single story be told as if it is only one”, is what makes it
exceptional.

Deborah Minors
4.5/5

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