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Mortal Love
Swirling between eras and continents, Mortal Love is an intense novel of unforgettable characters caught in a whirlwind of art, love, and intrigue. Mercurial Larkin Meade may hold the key to lost artistic masterpieces, and to secrets too devastating to imagine. Is there an undying moment? An immortal muse? Is there ... an angel of death?
386 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 29, 2004
24 people are currently reading
1722 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Hand
186 books1,312 followersA New York Times notable and multiple award– winning author, Elizabeth Hand has written seven novels, including the cult classic Waking the Moon, and short-story collections. She is a longtime contributor to numerous publications, including the Washington Post Book World and the Village Voice Literary Supplement. She and her two children divide their time between the coast of Maine and North London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
June 9, 2010
I keep having this feeling that the *next* book I read by Elizabeth Hand will be one of my favorite books of all time. But she keeps not-quite-getting-there, for me.
I did really like this book, however - it may be her best yet. (And, can't beat the cover art! [a Rossetti painting]).
The plot is complex and twisting, encompassing times frames from the Victorian to today, all dealing with the intersection of Faerie and our world, all featuring a woman of Faerie, powerful, beautiful and compelling, artists' muse, lover, femme fatale, who inspires the men she touches to artistic genius, but leaves them mentally broken, obsessed, literally 'burned.' Here, transcendence is always touched by the impure...
I did really like this book, however - it may be her best yet. (And, can't beat the cover art! [a Rossetti painting]).
The plot is complex and twisting, encompassing times frames from the Victorian to today, all dealing with the intersection of Faerie and our world, all featuring a woman of Faerie, powerful, beautiful and compelling, artists' muse, lover, femme fatale, who inspires the men she touches to artistic genius, but leaves them mentally broken, obsessed, literally 'burned.' Here, transcendence is always touched by the impure...
Read
March 14, 2017An absolutely superb book. Crafted like a lace doily made of razor blades, it explores the inherent danger in both faeries and art. Both can be fatal. Readers will be entranced, writers will be jealous and perhaps discouraged, because this is a rare thing a work of art and an intricate piece of craftsmanship. I can't say enough good about it - get a copy.
I enjoyed it even more the second time.
I enjoyed it even more the second time.
January 6, 2009
I'm giving this four stars instead of three because I believe that all the hype I heard about the book led me to except too much from the book. Hand does have a wonderful writing style, and the book does weave three separate stories together very well. The ending, however, seemed a little sudden though I like how everything was entirely and fully explained (if you know your myths and legends, you'll figure it out). Hand did a good job of making Larkin as mysterious for the reader as she was for the men in the book. I would say that some of the narrative voice needs to be stronger. Part of the book is told in first person, but doesn't read any different from the third person point of view.
August 6, 2007
I think, based on reviews I read before actually reading this novel, that I came to expect way too much from it. I love how Hand wove the different threads of the story together, but the foray into Fairy at the end seemed too abruptly handled -- it lacked the finesse and grace that seemed present throughout so much of the novel. However, I do see myself coming back to this one for a reread, so it's possible I may change my mind the second time around. Not as good as Possession, but then again, few novels are.
July 8, 2007
This is a highly atmospheric book involving 3 generations of men, all artistically inclined. The theme of the book is a female succubi-like character who acts as muse to all of them. Though not all of the mysteries of the book are ever completely wrapped up, and the author expects you to know things about Pre-Raphaelite art and Celtic Mythology, it's so easy to get swept up into the writing...very immersive.
September 8, 2016
What a beautiful novel. Gorgeous incandescent writing spiralling through three storylines spanning two decades and two generations. Two connecting storylines involve mad painters haunted by elusive fey women but are they the same woman? Within this four part novel, you enter into the world of Victorian England just as American born painter Radborne Comstock meets Evienne Upstone a woman who has modeled most recently for some of the painters in the much talked about Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Her reputation includes driving fellow painter Jacobus Candell into a state of madness by which there is no return.
When we meet Radborne's grandson, Valentine Comstock, a half century later, the reader soon discovers the connecting thread between the lives of grandfather and grandson and this theme of erotic dreams of a woman who may or may not exist if only in their mind. It seems grandfather Radborne painted some very erotic paintings of Evienne that grandson Valentine keeps in his possession much like another young man we meet in another storyline taking place in the current day. For instance, in contemporary London an American writer, Daniel Rowlands is researching the legend of Tristan and Isolde resulting in his meeting Larkin Meade but is she real and does she exist anywhere besides inside his erotic dreams? The reader will have to wait until the end for answers to these artistic questions.
'Mortal Love' contains traces of the eleventh and twelfth century poem/medieval tale of the tragic love story between knight Tristan and princess Isolde. Author, Elizabeth Hand, deftly incorporates the struggles of artists haunted by the desire to capture the elements of beauty and art within their muses. They become so obsessed that their muses, fey women, lovers, drive them to madness because capturing their essence on canvas is never enough to bring them true peace within themselves.
I highly recommend 'Mortal Love' to anyone who enjoys painter/muse love story novels. What makes Mortal Love original in context and nature is how Elizabeth Hand weaves fairy tale elements of myth and Celtic lore juxtaposed against an almost science fiction novel. The Victorian England storyline contains real life Pre-Raphaelite poet, Algernon Swinburne whose reputation definitely preceeded him. He was elfin, drunken funny man who comes off likable when he could have easily been a character whom the reader dislikes and feels sorry for. Also, I loved the mentions of paintings by Sir Edwarde Burne-Jones and poetry excerpts by Yeats and others.
When we meet Radborne's grandson, Valentine Comstock, a half century later, the reader soon discovers the connecting thread between the lives of grandfather and grandson and this theme of erotic dreams of a woman who may or may not exist if only in their mind. It seems grandfather Radborne painted some very erotic paintings of Evienne that grandson Valentine keeps in his possession much like another young man we meet in another storyline taking place in the current day. For instance, in contemporary London an American writer, Daniel Rowlands is researching the legend of Tristan and Isolde resulting in his meeting Larkin Meade but is she real and does she exist anywhere besides inside his erotic dreams? The reader will have to wait until the end for answers to these artistic questions.
'Mortal Love' contains traces of the eleventh and twelfth century poem/medieval tale of the tragic love story between knight Tristan and princess Isolde. Author, Elizabeth Hand, deftly incorporates the struggles of artists haunted by the desire to capture the elements of beauty and art within their muses. They become so obsessed that their muses, fey women, lovers, drive them to madness because capturing their essence on canvas is never enough to bring them true peace within themselves.
I highly recommend 'Mortal Love' to anyone who enjoys painter/muse love story novels. What makes Mortal Love original in context and nature is how Elizabeth Hand weaves fairy tale elements of myth and Celtic lore juxtaposed against an almost science fiction novel. The Victorian England storyline contains real life Pre-Raphaelite poet, Algernon Swinburne whose reputation definitely preceeded him. He was elfin, drunken funny man who comes off likable when he could have easily been a character whom the reader dislikes and feels sorry for. Also, I loved the mentions of paintings by Sir Edwarde Burne-Jones and poetry excerpts by Yeats and others.
July 22, 2021
As a Fine Arts major, I was easily captivated with its cover of a woman in a Renaissance-inspired oil paint effect. Set on a magnificently romantic Victorian era, it's an interesting love affair of a young and struggling painter and his muse.
It won my interest in and I enjoyed the way Elizabeth Hand narrated and depicted every painting, art material, and process in an incredibly "matter of fact" tone. Through this, it was almost effortless to imagine how each scene should seem to be. It was unquestionably a page turner as the characters of the period painter Radborne Comstock and the modern-day writer, Daniel Rowlands was unbelievably exciting.
I was both intrigued and mystified how Evienne Upstone was to Larkin Meade, and Radborne Comstock was to Daniel Rowlands connected despite more than a hundred years of time difference. I easily fell in love with the book and with the ways the narrative was as well as the details.
Unfortunately, that ended all too soon as I figured I was down to its last thirty pages and I still don't understand most parts of it. The plot became so complicated that it was impossible to end it in a matter of few pages. Actually, the plot created a plot out of the plot of another plot. I knew I wasn't going to like how it's going to end and I was right. Larkin ended up with Comstock's manic depressive descendant and for whatsoever reason it began an abrupt reroute on a portal of something. This is where I totally got lost.
It won my interest in and I enjoyed the way Elizabeth Hand narrated and depicted every painting, art material, and process in an incredibly "matter of fact" tone. Through this, it was almost effortless to imagine how each scene should seem to be. It was unquestionably a page turner as the characters of the period painter Radborne Comstock and the modern-day writer, Daniel Rowlands was unbelievably exciting.
I was both intrigued and mystified how Evienne Upstone was to Larkin Meade, and Radborne Comstock was to Daniel Rowlands connected despite more than a hundred years of time difference. I easily fell in love with the book and with the ways the narrative was as well as the details.
Unfortunately, that ended all too soon as I figured I was down to its last thirty pages and I still don't understand most parts of it. The plot became so complicated that it was impossible to end it in a matter of few pages. Actually, the plot created a plot out of the plot of another plot. I knew I wasn't going to like how it's going to end and I was right. Larkin ended up with Comstock's manic depressive descendant and for whatsoever reason it began an abrupt reroute on a portal of something. This is where I totally got lost.
February 3, 2009
Disappointing. A lot of people who usually know what's what seem to really like this. I was interested in the bits that took place in the present, but the historical bits (London, the asylum in Cornwall) were confusing and boring - not a good combination.
My biggest complaint was the familiarity. Do I read too many fantasy books? Is that why I wasn't the least bit surprised that the magnetically beautiful girl who destroys her lovers with longing is really an ancient fairy queen? Yawn. Maybe I was supposed to get caught up in the intellectual idea of creative expression being the intersection between two worlds, but it's not like that's a unique idea either.
I'm also offended by the idea that the mentally ill are in reality Special People who are subjected by the Man to a character-obscuring fog of medication in order to keep them boring and unaware of their true potential.
My biggest complaint was the familiarity. Do I read too many fantasy books? Is that why I wasn't the least bit surprised that the magnetically beautiful girl who destroys her lovers with longing is really an ancient fairy queen? Yawn. Maybe I was supposed to get caught up in the intellectual idea of creative expression being the intersection between two worlds, but it's not like that's a unique idea either.
I'm also offended by the idea that the mentally ill are in reality Special People who are subjected by the Man to a character-obscuring fog of medication in order to keep them boring and unaware of their true potential.
June 5, 2019
If you like 19th century art, creepy, creepy gothic fantasy, Dark Muse mythology, or Tristan and Iseult, this is the book for you.
July 21, 2017
Superb, ambitious, sprawling specimen of folk horror, or literary/art history, or Pre-Raphaelite legendry - call it what you will. It's a captivating, complex, multi-faceted read, and a terrific achievement.
November 20, 2022
A gorgeously written, sensual novel that will stick with me for a long time.
January 25, 2016
I am never disappointed by a Liz Hand purchase. If you're a fan of lush, complex imagery, surreal twists, and are willing to Google obscure Victorian artists and poets, then you will enjoy this novel.
Mortal Love has a braided narrative, resulting in an interesting (sometimes disorienting) mix of time periods and points of view. There are three primary narrators. There's Valentine Comstock's first-person, present-day narrative about longing for his pre-medicated days on the Maine island where he grew up. Then we have a close third-person pov from Daniel Rowlands, an middle-aged American journalist visiting London on sabbatical to write a book on the connection between Pre-Raphaelites and the Tristan and Iseult mythos. Finally, a close third-person pov follows Radborne Comstock, an American painter in Victorian England, who gets mixed up with mad painters and poets at an insane asylum in Cornwall.
What ties the lives of there three men together across time and continents is a shadowy man/immortal named Learmont and a supernatural woman with many names and faces. Learmont never ages, changing his first name and occupation every few decades. He collects the artwork (paintings, poetry, sculpture) of artists who claim to be inspired by the same muse: a woman with long red hair who smells of apples and inflames their bodies with a passion that borders on madness.
I think my limited knowledge of the Tristan and Iseult myth might be to blame for my confusion. I kept expecting the king to appear and murder the men whom the Green woman (sometimes called Evienne or Larkin) had sex with. This never happened. There was very little violence, and many hyper-sexual fantasies.
I wish the novel had explored Learmont's character more fully, because I was never clear if he was a victim or a villain. And though Val's character has an important role to fulfill in the climax of the novel, his sections were few and far between when compared to the narratives from Daniel and Radborne.
There was a lot about a dog running around and not jumping down. I still don't completely understand how Val managed to grow up in Maine nearly a hundred years after his grandfather, Radborne, magically impregnated Evienne.
This was not an easy read, but Hand's attention to detail and characterization were worth the effort. I enjoyed Mortal Love and learning about Victorian art. It also felt a bit like I was walking/riding through London with the characters; Hand's world building is THAT good!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 8, 2025
I love everything about this book, and one of the things I love I also love in Wylding Hall. It’s that she never tells you flatly what’s going on. But if you’re a student of folklore, you know. FABULOUS.
December 8, 2011
I loved Waking the Moon and eagerly hope for the same experience with each of Elizabeth Hand's other novels. I never quite get there. She excels at instilling a sense of reaching wistfulness in her readers, the sense that there's so much more to the story than what she's put down on paper, a sense of inaccessible richness to the world she creates.
That's pretty much the whole story here. We've got several different plotlines in several different timelines, each with a man (or men) obsessed by a woman they can never possess, who barely even registers that they are there even as she sleeps with them. This relates to the concept of the muse in the world of art. Eventually, I got tired of it. It seemed like a book-long tease. The writing is lovely, evocative and trippy, but the plot never seemed to go anywhere. It really was like a painting. There was all sorts of interesting stuff to envision, but no movement. It was more like observing an isolated scene than building to a sense of climax.
I got to page 200 and just got tired of spinning my wheels, plotwise. I was thinking about this one for book club but think that while there's gorgeous imagery, the story never really goes anywhere and I got annoyed eventually with the most mysterious, sexy, crazy woman EVAR. It's more magical realism than pure fantasy. You can get a hint of the other, magical world, but you never quite see it. Characters hint at what's really going on, but never actually say anything straight out. That makes me nuts, especially when I know perfectly well what's going on.
I would like to observe more pre-Raphealite works after reading this book- I like what I've seen but don't know the names of most of the players.
That's pretty much the whole story here. We've got several different plotlines in several different timelines, each with a man (or men) obsessed by a woman they can never possess, who barely even registers that they are there even as she sleeps with them. This relates to the concept of the muse in the world of art. Eventually, I got tired of it. It seemed like a book-long tease. The writing is lovely, evocative and trippy, but the plot never seemed to go anywhere. It really was like a painting. There was all sorts of interesting stuff to envision, but no movement. It was more like observing an isolated scene than building to a sense of climax.
I got to page 200 and just got tired of spinning my wheels, plotwise. I was thinking about this one for book club but think that while there's gorgeous imagery, the story never really goes anywhere and I got annoyed eventually with the most mysterious, sexy, crazy woman EVAR. It's more magical realism than pure fantasy. You can get a hint of the other, magical world, but you never quite see it. Characters hint at what's really going on, but never actually say anything straight out. That makes me nuts, especially when I know perfectly well what's going on.
I would like to observe more pre-Raphealite works after reading this book- I like what I've seen but don't know the names of most of the players.
September 5, 2012
I have to say this up front: this book is really weird. The novel takes you on a romp through English Romantic/artistic history but does so sporadically, from a reader's point of view you feel very uprooted and not in control. As the book spirals towards the ending these various perspectives all being to feed into one another to present a complete picture that has only appeared as fragments before. Yet you are still left with a lot of holes in the story that without a background in Medieval and Romantic literature, some of the dropped hints would make no sense. I took a course in undergrad on Medieval Welsh Literature and read the Mabinogion, however it is definitely not something I would expect the average person off the street to have heard about, let alone have read.
I have to admit I considered putting this book down a couple of times because it is very difficult to stay focused when the main characters are all beginning their own descents in madness. Yet I persevered because of the language. It is fractured and painful but at the same time exquisite and sensual. The details that Hand puts into simple descriptions makes it almost possible to see the story unfolding before you. Personally, it felt like the images she was conjuring resembled Mucha paintings: bright stark colors with that underlying suggestion of softness.
If you are up for the challenge of a sensual, overly sexualized faery tale then I would suggest taking a stab at it, but this book is draining. Although I loved being able to use the knowledge of Welsh literature that I stored away during my study abroad in Ireland, without a background like that this book falls flat.
I have to admit I considered putting this book down a couple of times because it is very difficult to stay focused when the main characters are all beginning their own descents in madness. Yet I persevered because of the language. It is fractured and painful but at the same time exquisite and sensual. The details that Hand puts into simple descriptions makes it almost possible to see the story unfolding before you. Personally, it felt like the images she was conjuring resembled Mucha paintings: bright stark colors with that underlying suggestion of softness.
If you are up for the challenge of a sensual, overly sexualized faery tale then I would suggest taking a stab at it, but this book is draining. Although I loved being able to use the knowledge of Welsh literature that I stored away during my study abroad in Ireland, without a background like that this book falls flat.
May 16, 2015
As I got closer and closer to the end of this novel, I started to worry. You see, Hand had done such an amazing job up to that point. First she created several disparate characters, all of whom seemed well-rounded and worthy of my attention, and then she slowly brought their stories together. On top of that, her use of descriptive language was top-notch. (I've never been to England in the spring, but I sure want to go there now!) I wanted to keep living in this world that Hand had created, and I also wanted to see all her characters get their happy endings. But the number of pages was dwindling rapidly, and I didn't see any resolution in sight. So many times I've been disappointed by a book that starts out strong and then peters out at the end, and I didn't want this to be another of those instances.
Fortunately, I was wrong in my predictions of doom and gloom. Somehow, Hand managed to bring all the pieces together to a very satisfying resolution. While I'm not 100% sure I understand all the implications of everything that happened, I think that might be due to my distracted state while reading this novel. I felt like turning back to page 1 and starting over immediately after I finished, and while I'm not actually going to do that, I'm pretty sure that I will come back to this one in a few years' time.
Fortunately, I was wrong in my predictions of doom and gloom. Somehow, Hand managed to bring all the pieces together to a very satisfying resolution. While I'm not 100% sure I understand all the implications of everything that happened, I think that might be due to my distracted state while reading this novel. I felt like turning back to page 1 and starting over immediately after I finished, and while I'm not actually going to do that, I'm pretty sure that I will come back to this one in a few years' time.
March 5, 2012
Mortal Love by Elizabeth Hand was the third of her novels I've read. It's a three in one story of three different men having obsessive relationships with a muse. The premise is like The Muse (1999) with an execution more like The Angel of Forgetfulness by Steve Stern.
One of the threads is set in a dilapidated house in Maine with an attic full of paintings. The other two take place in a flat in London in the present day. While the three different victims don't see the connections in their lives, to the reader the danger is apparent and frightening.
It's a complex novel, one that unfortunately didn't work for me. Between the different woven threads and the luscious prose, I found the book hard to follow. There weren't any characters for me to grab onto. I suppose I could have wised for the muse to just do the men in as quickly as possible but from the size of the book I could tell that wouldn't happen.
Mortal Love, then, was the point where I realized I like Hand's books but I won't automatically love every single one. Many of the reviews I'm linking to are very positive. Please read them before deciding yea or nay on the book.
One of the threads is set in a dilapidated house in Maine with an attic full of paintings. The other two take place in a flat in London in the present day. While the three different victims don't see the connections in their lives, to the reader the danger is apparent and frightening.
It's a complex novel, one that unfortunately didn't work for me. Between the different woven threads and the luscious prose, I found the book hard to follow. There weren't any characters for me to grab onto. I suppose I could have wised for the muse to just do the men in as quickly as possible but from the size of the book I could tell that wouldn't happen.
Mortal Love, then, was the point where I realized I like Hand's books but I won't automatically love every single one. Many of the reviews I'm linking to are very positive. Please read them before deciding yea or nay on the book.
December 22, 2017
This book is complex, twined and tapestry, layers and labyrinths. Names repeat across different times and contexts, art works are produced in frenzies of madness and pop up hundreds of years later. This author's works remind me of David Mitchell's, where the scope of the work boggles the mind. Descriptions are lusciously rich and sensual.
March 22, 2019
Though I found this book confusing at first, and actually through out most of it, I will say it was very well written and very detailed. I also loved the way it painted pictures in my mind, the words could be likened to colors on a canvas. Overall, I liked it and I plan to reread it at some point.
June 29, 2016
A luscious mythic story about muses and creativity.
June 27, 2019
I have to give this five stars. It is amazing in its scope, depth, and absolute awesomeness. I plan to purchase it so I can go through and highlight every mention, adjective, and metaphor for the word GREEN; my favorite color and now I have more reasons why. The book took some going back and forth for me—rereading parts I’d read to make sure I knew what was going on and who was who. It takes place in two time periods; present day and the 1880’s, with a female character present throughout. Is she a Muse? A Demon? Creative men have been drawn to her for centuries, unfortunately like moths to flame. I Googled ALOT, because I kept coming across obscure literary and British terms that were familiar to me but wasn’t sure about. Tristan and Isolde? “The Green Children” of Woolpit; A whole college class could be taught built just around all the references to famous painters, Welsh folklore, and the Victorian era. And let’s not forget about the preparation of Absinthe! Just a truly wonderful novel; so atmospheric and seductive I found myself reading aloud just to hear the words released into the world. Prose so beautiful I felt like I was reading an incantation that caused a wavering in the corner of my eyes. I hope you enjoy it too.
September 14, 2023
Mortal Love is a feast for hard core faery folklore and mythology lovers! It has the pacing of a 19th century novel rather than a fast paced urban fantasy thriller or paranormal romance. One needs to be already somewhat familiar with the fairytales and mythology of the British isles to really appreciate it. For this reason it’s definitely not a book I’d recommend to everyone. It also helps to have knowledge about the PreRaphaelites, which I don’t really, but I still appreciated it. In fact I would like to read up more on both Pre-Raphaelites and British/Irish mythology and at some point reread Mortal Love.
It’s definitely a complex book with many layers, so much so it’s not easy to summarize. Basically as the cover description says, there are three different settings, one in London in the 18 hundreds and the other two in London and Maine in the early 2000s at the time the book was written. All the settings and characters are interconnected and involved with an enigmatic woman who beguiles all the men who cross her path.
It’s one of those books where the magic is hidden under the surface and then slowly unfolds, however . A continuous theme is the idea of the artist and the muse. Over all it’s a book that leaves you thinking about it even when no longer reading it.
It’s definitely a complex book with many layers, so much so it’s not easy to summarize. Basically as the cover description says, there are three different settings, one in London in the 18 hundreds and the other two in London and Maine in the early 2000s at the time the book was written. All the settings and characters are interconnected and involved with an enigmatic woman who beguiles all the men who cross her path.
It’s one of those books where the magic is hidden under the surface and then slowly unfolds, however . A continuous theme is the idea of the artist and the muse. Over all it’s a book that leaves you thinking about it even when no longer reading it.
August 14, 2018
Beautifully written, this book flows between centuries seamlessly. Family history, friendships, myth, madness, mystery, art, romance, & symbolism abound in this book. This book is rich in lore, with such a fluid storyline that weaves back & forth so effortlessly that as you read, it captures you. The way it's written transports you almost into a waking dream state. It grabs you instantly, and will haunt you with it's sheer beauty, peppered in each section with excerpts from poems known and loved. The concept of the Fae getting somehow caught in our world, & touching certain people along the way, leaving them to be thought "mad", while their talents in painting, sketching, poetry, story telling, etc., left their marks upon the world they lived in is one that isn't usually thought of. Generally, the lore is that somehow humans find their way into the world of the Fae.
January 15, 2020
This is SO not the type of book I normally read but I enjoyed Wylding Hall so much (after also enjoying Daisy and the Six) I thought I'd give this one a try. There is so much going on in this novel, it's difficult to summarize. It's about art, the nature of inspiration, mortality, love. I think Hand must be a synesthete because her descriptions of color and scent are so lush as to be almost overwritten. And yet, as a practicing poet, I can tell you: When you're in the presence of the muse/inspiration/flow (call it what you want), the world really does feel like that - connected and vivid, ancient and wholly fresh at the same time. One of the other reviewers said this was a modern fairy tale - I agree. It was weird and wonderful.
March 25, 2022
The beautiful , intelligent , and clever writing was worth the read. The Gothic atmosphere put it over the top. It reminded me a little of “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” and “Possession” by Byatt. Also some Wilkie Collins. The reader moves back and forth from the late 1800s to current day.
There are romantic poets and artists (embarrassingly, some I did not know) and current day artists who are obsessed with a woman. Is she a muse? A demon? And what does she want?
I was unsurprised by the story’s turns, being so familiar with the mythology behind it. However, I love these myths and the themes of art, immortality, sanity, inspiration, and love.
There are romantic poets and artists (embarrassingly, some I did not know) and current day artists who are obsessed with a woman. Is she a muse? A demon? And what does she want?
I was unsurprised by the story’s turns, being so familiar with the mythology behind it. However, I love these myths and the themes of art, immortality, sanity, inspiration, and love.
February 17, 2020
It wasn't what I expected. I thought, that since it was marketed with an actual Pre-Raphaelite portrait on the cover that this would have something to do with the Pre-Raphaelites. They are in the book, but far on the periphery. I think Hand was going more for an atmosphere and to make comments on love and obsession. The story resonates with the drama of their lives without direct comment. Hand's books always have a fantastical element in them. There's a clue in the title what the guest bogey is.
June 30, 2017
If you accept the premise that Art is made by Geniuses, and Genius is akin to Madness, and that every Artist must have a Muse (preferably a sexy, and certainly a female, one) who will enthral and then probably destroy him, then this book is quite good and very interesting; maybe it even feels profound at times. But if you don't, then this book is a goofy romp that slips at times into overwrought silliness.
February 19, 2022
I had a bad start as I was very confused by all the timelines and all the characters being thrown at me from the first pages. I kept reading but nothing happened. The plot is basically spoiled from the start, the "big mystery" that the characters piece together and the coincidences are so obvious and cliché it hurts. The sensual moments are Barjavel copycat. At least there are no inconsistencies. Anyway good book if you're looking for synonyms of "green".
June 21, 2021
I relly enjoyed this! Every character was slightly creepy, but still "human" enough that it ws possible to care about what happened to them -- this is not an easy balance to get right. And Hand knows how to write a great page turner. I didn't even dislike the multiple timelines as much as I usually do. I do think some character arcs, notably the Learmont ones, didn't get finished off adequately.
August 1, 2019
As a visionary painter it made my brain start to formulate painting ideas (ones not related to the book either) but I can see how a normal reader would struggle with the more surreal style of writing.
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