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In Case I'm Brilliant
Art needs honesty. It also needs a few lies.
Leaving a strait-laced upbringing in southern Norway, Juliane enters San Francisco’s vibrant Beat art world in 1954. With Selma, a free-spirited, unflinching friend who teaches her to question every belief, she creates art, tests loyalty, and discovers how easily truth can slip toward deception.
Surrounded by a circle of brilliant, uncompromising Bohemians, Juliane is drawn into a world where artistic freedom and personal reinvention come at a cost. Torn between ambition, friendship, love, motherhood, and family, she must decide what kind of freedom is worth fighting for as Cold War anxieties and cultural upheaval reshape America.
Spanning the years between the conservative 1950s and the dawn of the counterculture, In Case I'm Brilliant is a richly textured literary novel about art, identity, friendship, and the difficult choices that shape a life. A story of moral complexity, self-invention, and the courage required to live according to one's own convictions.
Leaving a strait-laced upbringing in southern Norway, Juliane enters San Francisco’s vibrant Beat art world in 1954. With Selma, a free-spirited, unflinching friend who teaches her to question every belief, she creates art, tests loyalty, and discovers how easily truth can slip toward deception.
Surrounded by a circle of brilliant, uncompromising Bohemians, Juliane is drawn into a world where artistic freedom and personal reinvention come at a cost. Torn between ambition, friendship, love, motherhood, and family, she must decide what kind of freedom is worth fighting for as Cold War anxieties and cultural upheaval reshape America.
Spanning the years between the conservative 1950s and the dawn of the counterculture, In Case I'm Brilliant is a richly textured literary novel about art, identity, friendship, and the difficult choices that shape a life. A story of moral complexity, self-invention, and the courage required to live according to one's own convictions.
458 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 26, 2026
About the author
Maren Engelschiøn
2 books13 followersReader, author, artist, and incurable collector of ideas.
I'm the author of In Case I'm Brilliant, a literary novel mostly set in San Francisco's Beat art scene, and of the Norwegian novel En del av meg published by Cappelen Damm.
As both a reader and author, I'm drawn to psychologically rich, voice-driven fiction with moral ambiguity and layered questions about identity, loyalty, deception, freedom, responsibility, and the choices that shape a life.
I'm fascinated by questions such as: How is a life shaped? How can one person become the catalyst for another person's choices? Why is it so difficult to balance freedom and authenticity with responsibility and kindness? Why do people sometimes hurt those they love despite the best intentions? And how does the past continue to shape the present?
Some of my favorite authors include Ann Patchett, Jonathan Franzen, Nathan Hill and Joyce Carol Oates.
I enjoy intellectually challenging novels such as The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt and The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing, but I also love stories that make me eager to turn the next page.
When I'm not writing, you'll usually find me painting, reading, or disappearing down research rabbit holes about art, history, and human nature.
Review copies of In Case I'm Brilliant are now available on NetGalley:
https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/boo...
I'm the author of In Case I'm Brilliant, a literary novel mostly set in San Francisco's Beat art scene, and of the Norwegian novel En del av meg published by Cappelen Damm.
As both a reader and author, I'm drawn to psychologically rich, voice-driven fiction with moral ambiguity and layered questions about identity, loyalty, deception, freedom, responsibility, and the choices that shape a life.
I'm fascinated by questions such as: How is a life shaped? How can one person become the catalyst for another person's choices? Why is it so difficult to balance freedom and authenticity with responsibility and kindness? Why do people sometimes hurt those they love despite the best intentions? And how does the past continue to shape the present?
Some of my favorite authors include Ann Patchett, Jonathan Franzen, Nathan Hill and Joyce Carol Oates.
I enjoy intellectually challenging novels such as The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt and The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing, but I also love stories that make me eager to turn the next page.
When I'm not writing, you'll usually find me painting, reading, or disappearing down research rabbit holes about art, history, and human nature.
Review copies of In Case I'm Brilliant are now available on NetGalley:
https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/boo...
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 28, 2026
What a fascinating read!
The San Francisco art scene of the 1950s and 60s comes alive through Juliane's experiences as a young artist trying to find her voice. The atmosphere feels authentic, vibrant, and full of possibility, while still acknowledging the personal and social costs of living outside the mainstream.
One thing that surprised me was how interesting the novel made art itself. Through Juliane's work, I gained a better understanding of both the creative process and the social issues that shaped the period. Themes such as nuclear testing, DDT spraying, and the emergence of environmental awareness are woven naturally into the story.
But this is much more than a historical novel. It's a story about creativity, friendship, ambition, love, and the courage required to build a life that feels true to yourself.
What stayed with me most, however, was the complexity of the relationships. The novel explores how our identities are shaped by the people we love, admire, resist, disappoint—and ultimately betray.
Juliane's relationship with her father is especially moving, while her friendship with Selma is one of the most compelling literary friendships I've encountered in a long time.
The San Francisco art scene of the 1950s and 60s comes alive through Juliane's experiences as a young artist trying to find her voice. The atmosphere feels authentic, vibrant, and full of possibility, while still acknowledging the personal and social costs of living outside the mainstream.
One thing that surprised me was how interesting the novel made art itself. Through Juliane's work, I gained a better understanding of both the creative process and the social issues that shaped the period. Themes such as nuclear testing, DDT spraying, and the emergence of environmental awareness are woven naturally into the story.
But this is much more than a historical novel. It's a story about creativity, friendship, ambition, love, and the courage required to build a life that feels true to yourself.
What stayed with me most, however, was the complexity of the relationships. The novel explores how our identities are shaped by the people we love, admire, resist, disappoint—and ultimately betray.
Juliane's relationship with her father is especially moving, while her friendship with Selma is one of the most compelling literary friendships I've encountered in a long time.
June 30, 2026
I loved "In case I'm brilliant" because I was drawn into the story and it kept me turning the pages.
This is a story about Juliane's journey towards becoming her own person, and her struggle for independence and authenticity moved me.
Nineteen-year-old Juliane leaves conservative Norway for America in 1954 and dreams of becoming a great artist. Her life changes when she meets Selma, a charismatic and rebellious woman whose fearless approach to life pulls them both into San Francisco's Beat art scene.
Selma is one of the most memorable characters in the novel. Her fierce independence and refusal to follow convention are both inspiring and destructive, making her impossible to trust and impossible to forget. More than anyone else, she acts as the catalyst for Juliane’s artistic awakening, encouraging her to pursue her talent without compromise and imagine a life beyond the limits others have set for her.
The novel explores how difficult authenticity can be in practice, especially when personal freedom collides with love, family, loyalty, and responsibility.
This is much more than a novel about an immigrant artist in the 1950s and 1960s. It's a thoughtful and engaging story about identity, self-creation, and the courage it takes to choose your own path. I especially recommend it to readers who enjoy emotionally rich literary fiction with complex characters and a story that kept me turning the pages.
This is a story about Juliane's journey towards becoming her own person, and her struggle for independence and authenticity moved me.
Nineteen-year-old Juliane leaves conservative Norway for America in 1954 and dreams of becoming a great artist. Her life changes when she meets Selma, a charismatic and rebellious woman whose fearless approach to life pulls them both into San Francisco's Beat art scene.
Selma is one of the most memorable characters in the novel. Her fierce independence and refusal to follow convention are both inspiring and destructive, making her impossible to trust and impossible to forget. More than anyone else, she acts as the catalyst for Juliane’s artistic awakening, encouraging her to pursue her talent without compromise and imagine a life beyond the limits others have set for her.
The novel explores how difficult authenticity can be in practice, especially when personal freedom collides with love, family, loyalty, and responsibility.
This is much more than a novel about an immigrant artist in the 1950s and 1960s. It's a thoughtful and engaging story about identity, self-creation, and the courage it takes to choose your own path. I especially recommend it to readers who enjoy emotionally rich literary fiction with complex characters and a story that kept me turning the pages.
June 28, 2026
I enjoyed this! The novel's main character, Juliane, arrives in 1950s Brooklyn from Norway carrying a strong belief in her artistic potential. Then she meets Selma—charismatic, unpredictable, and determined to challenge every convention. Together they eventually make their way to San Francisco, where their friendship becomes one of the most compelling aspects of the story.
The characters feel complex and real. Selma constantly surprised me, yet I always found her believable. If I could meet one character from the novel, it would be her, but I would not dare to have her as a close friend.
What impressed me most was how vividly the author recreates the cultural and political atmosphere of the 1950s and 60s. The historical backdrop never feels like a history lesson; instead, it becomes an organic part of Juliane's journey as an artist and a woman trying to define herself.
In Case I’m Brilliant is an intelligent, character-driven novel about identity, freedom, creativity, and the consequences of our choices. Thought-provoking, moving, and beautifully written. A rewarding read for anyone interested in art, literature, and cultural history, as well as anyone looking for a page-turner with literary depth.
The characters feel complex and real. Selma constantly surprised me, yet I always found her believable. If I could meet one character from the novel, it would be her, but I would not dare to have her as a close friend.
What impressed me most was how vividly the author recreates the cultural and political atmosphere of the 1950s and 60s. The historical backdrop never feels like a history lesson; instead, it becomes an organic part of Juliane's journey as an artist and a woman trying to define herself.
In Case I’m Brilliant is an intelligent, character-driven novel about identity, freedom, creativity, and the consequences of our choices. Thought-provoking, moving, and beautifully written. A rewarding read for anyone interested in art, literature, and cultural history, as well as anyone looking for a page-turner with literary depth.
June 30, 2026
As someone who is deeply interested in authenticity and personal growth, this novel resonated with me on many levels.
At its heart, In Case I'm Brilliant is about the search for an authentic self. Throughout the story, Juliane experiments with different identities: the somewhat dutiful daughter, the rebellious beat artist, the ambitious artist, the lover, the mother. Watching her navigate these roles felt both relatable and deeply human.
The characters are far from perfect, and that's exactly what makes them feel real. They make questionable decisions, hurt each other, lie and struggle to understand themselves as much as they struggle to understand those around them.
What I appreciated most is that the novel doesn't offer easy answers. The characters embody different ideas of freedom, and Juliane is constantly forced to ask herself what kind of life she actually wants to live. She wants freedom. But what is freedom to her?
This is a thoughtful and emotionally intelligent novel that explores identity, relationships, creativity, and self-discovery with nuance and honesty. It stayed with me long after I finished reading.
At its heart, In Case I'm Brilliant is about the search for an authentic self. Throughout the story, Juliane experiments with different identities: the somewhat dutiful daughter, the rebellious beat artist, the ambitious artist, the lover, the mother. Watching her navigate these roles felt both relatable and deeply human.
The characters are far from perfect, and that's exactly what makes them feel real. They make questionable decisions, hurt each other, lie and struggle to understand themselves as much as they struggle to understand those around them.
What I appreciated most is that the novel doesn't offer easy answers. The characters embody different ideas of freedom, and Juliane is constantly forced to ask herself what kind of life she actually wants to live. She wants freedom. But what is freedom to her?
This is a thoughtful and emotionally intelligent novel that explores identity, relationships, creativity, and self-discovery with nuance and honesty. It stayed with me long after I finished reading.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews