Die Tänzerin von Paris

Mutige Frauen zwischen Kunst und Liebe #3

by Annabel Abbs

James Joyce war ihr Vater. Samuel Beckett war ihr Geliebter. Dies ist ihre Geschichte.
Paris, 1928: Die junge, talentierte Lucia Joyce steht vor ihrem Durchbruch als Tänzerin. Doch ihr Vater – ein Wegbereiter der literarischen Moderne – beobachtet das Streben seiner Tochter nach einem selbstbestimmten Leben mit Argwohn. Als Lucia dem Schriftsteller Samuel Beckett begegnet, verliebt sie sich leidenschaftlich, wird jedoch schon bald bitter enttäuscht. Als dann ein lange verborgenes Geheimnis ihrer Familie ans Licht kommt, droht Lucias Hoffnung, sich aus dem Schatten des übermächtigen Vaters zu befreien, dramatisch zu scheitern.
Nach der wahren Geschichte von Lucia Joyce.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, France, Historical, Mental Health, Biographical Fiction, Travel

512 pages, Paperback

First published June 16, 2016

About the author

Annabel Abbs is an English writer and novelist.

Her first novel, The Joyce Girl, was published in 2016 and tells a fictionalised story of Lucia Joyce, daughter of James Joyce. It won the Impress Prize for New Writers, the Spotlight First Novel Award, was longlisted for the Bath Novel Award, the Caledonia Novel Award and the Waverton Good Read Award. The Joyce Girl was a Reader Pick in The Guardian 2016 and was one of ten books selected for presentation at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival, where it was given Five Stars by the Hollywood Reporter.

Reviews

[Joan Happel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Joyce Girl alternates between 1928 Paris and Zurich in 1934. In Paris, Lucia Joyce is trying to achieve her dream of a career in dance. The daughter of the writer James Joyce, she is thwarted in her desire for fame and independence by both of her parents. Her father tells her that she is his muse and cannot be without her, while her mother sees Lucia's dancing as immoral and is more interested in promoting the talents and ambitions of her son, Lucia's brother Giorgio. Through her father, 21 year old Lucia meets and falls in love with the writer Samuel Beckett. Meanwhile in 1934 Zurich, Lucia is being treated by Carl Jung, after a series of breakdowns brought on by the overprotection and suffocation of her parents, as well as her disappointments with real and imagined love affairs.

This is a fascinating look into the life of Lucia Joyce and the fine line that exists between genius and insanity. Was Lucia destined to life in a mental institution, or was it a product of her thwarted ambitions and family dynamics. Well researched and skillfully written, this is a novel that will appeal to fans of historical, biographical and psychological fiction; as well as fans of women's fiction.

Thank you HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for the e-ARC.

[Sara Bow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Autorin hat die Geschichte von Lucia meiner Meinung nach nicht gut rübergebracht

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucia Joyce (1907-1982) is a talented dancer. Her talents extend to singing, painting, and plying the piano. She is the muse for her father’s books. Despite making her name as a dancer, she is known as James Joyce’s daughter. This story brings a few years of her life, when she is the most successful in her career, trying to be recognized under her own name and not her father’s. These are a short few years before she is diagnosed with mental illness.

Paris, 1928. Lucia wants to be recognized for her talents and not her father’s. At 21, she meets young Samuel Beckett, who is teaching English in Paris and who wants to be a great scholar. She is smitten with him from the very beginning.

With her hard work of constant dance practices, she becomes one of the greatest dancer and choreographers. Her career develops parallel to her love story, which may not be progressing as fast as her career and as fast as she’d like it. Paris is “the dance center of the world,” where dancers are “forging a whole new philosophy of movement, or rhythm.” And she wants to be part of that.

The romantic love with Beckett propels her to extraordinary. It gives her courage and audacity. She feels liberated. But at the same time, her genius father needs her as his muse. She is torn and forced to go with her family wherever they take her and put her career on hold.

A trip with her family gives her a clear vision. She needs to take control of her fate and to remove herself from the “suffocating, clawing influence” of her family. But when a job offer in Germany comes her way, she is pushed again into guilt as her father going blind needs her.

When one lie after another comes out and her overprotected parents suffocate her, she continues to retreat inside herself. Resulting in nightmares and violent behavior, which materializes in her real life.

Zurich, 1934. The story alternates with her having psychoanalysis with Dr. Jung, who tries to find out why she never moved out on her own; why her parents treated her like a child; why it’s so hard for her to reach to her childhood and reveal what he is looking for in order to help her.

This story is a touching portrayal of a young ambitious woman, who craves independence and is constantly sheltered by her parents. She has a loving relationship with her father, but clashes with her mother. When she craves her brother’s love, he craves comfort. He feels humiliated by his, once, family’s poverty. Once “the best and closest of friends.” Now, they drift because of her refusal to marry an aristocrat. She can’t marry for money. That’s not in her.

Poignantly imagined, this tragic and moving story reveals a talented young woman, who works tirelessly to come out of her father’s shadow, only to downfall because of her father’s destructive love.

Woven with vivid imagination, beautiful prose and a tinge of humor, making it a fascinating read.

Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Pia G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

lucia, bir dansçı olarak kendi yolunu çizmeye çalışsa da ailesinin gölgesinde adım adım silikleşiyor. joyce’un dahi kimliği, onun tüm varlığını ve yeteneğini tüketirken annesi de ona yardımcı olmuyor. erkeklerin dünyasında bir kadının fazla tutkulu, fazla bağımsız, fazla yetenekli olması hep bir tehdit olarak görülmüş ancak kitapta en büyük tehdit, lucia’nın babası tarafından anlaşılmamasıydı. bir insanın kendi ailesi tarafından en büyük engel olarak görülmesi fikri çok üzücü.. babasının sanatını ve edebi dünyasını besleyen o yoğunluk, lucia’nın hayatını yok ediyor, onu joyce’un kızı olarak tanımlayan herkes aslında onu hiçe sayıyor.

kitap bana şunu düşündürdü, kim bilir tarihte kaç kadın, aileleri ve toplum yüzünden kendi potansiyelini gerçekleştiremeden kayboldu.

[Mandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This fictionalised account of the life of Lucia Joyce, James Joyce’s poor disturbed daughter, just didn’t work for me. There was so much I didn’t like about it. I’ve nothing against fictionalising the lives of real people but such accounts need to be based on the reality of the lives, and Abbs admits that she had very little to go on. Most of the primary sources were destroyed and Lucia’s life is very little documented. So Abbs made most of it up. Not so much the actual verifiable facts, but the dialogue, conversations and most importantly Lucia’s thoughts - even though Abbs tells us herself that she could find out almost nothing about Lucia’s inner life. So what do we have left? A romanticised tale of an emotionally damaged young woman who saw her dreams of success as a dancer thwarted by family pressure , whose relationships came to nothing, and who ended up in a mental asylum, alienated from her mother and brother although still cared for by her father, who, however, could do nothing to help her. That mush is verifiable. But we can be sure of so little else that occurs in this novel. Her relationship with Beckett is undocumented, as is that with Alexander Calder. We don’t know whether she ever met Zelda Fitzgerald, although Abbs has her doing so. We don’t know what questions Jung asked her when she was in analysis as her medical records have been destroyed. And we certainly don’t know whether there was incest within the family – and to suggest so on no evidence seems completely unjustifiable. Abbs hasn’t just used her imagination to fill out the few known facts, she has simply invented virtually everything and for me that is unforgivable. The portrait we have here of Lucia is really the only one we have and we don’t know if any of it is true. I don’t even think it is very good as a novel. The dialogue is often clunky. Nora Barnacle speaks a sort of stage Irish (did she speak like this?) and the romantic interludes with Becket et al are straight out of Mills and Boon. I am well aware that the book has garnered many accolades and enthusiastic reviews and that I stand alone here, but stand alone I must. Read with caution.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never read any of James Joyce's novels and knew nothing about his family before reading this novel. Inspired by true events, it tells the story of Joyce's daughter Lucia and her struggle to emerge out from under her famous father's shadow. She is continually thwarted in her efforts to escape the confines of her family, and when a young Samuel Beckett comes to work for her father, Lucia thinks that he might finally provide the escape route that she longs for. But there are Joyce family secrets, and it is only towards the end of the novel, when Lucia is being seen by Carl Jung in Zurich that the biggest secret of all is revealed.

This is an excellent, compelling read and Lucia Joyce's life is both fascinating and sad. The novel is well worth reading and Abbs has written an excellent portrayal of life in 1920s Paris and the life of the Joyce family. Interesting, original and highly recommended.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Joyce Girl By Annabel Abbs. The book is beautifully written. It’s very enjoyable to read and it flows easily. Actors say when they make movie biographies and they spend so long learning about the character they play that they get a special unique experience. If that’s the case then I hope it goes for writers too. Because I truly want to believe that the spirit of Lucia Joyce, was with Annabel Abbs as she wrote The Joyce Girl. Looking on with pride and love for Annabel’s wonderful work.

Normally, I start my book and I try to read as much as I can over two or three sittings. As I began the book I realised my normal reading practice of forming the characters in my head would not work. As Lucia and her family were real people. So I googled for some photos, then I found a voice recording of James Joyce and so I had it in my head. This is not necessary for the enjoyment of the book. It was just a person thing of mine.

The book takes us through the avant-garde Paris to London and Zurich. I have been to Paris and it is a City with a heartbeat of culture and love. It is captured exquisitely in the book.

As I turned each page, I grew more and more in love with Lucia Joyce and her passion for dance and love. The characters and their journey are brought to life. Her unusual family lifestyle and living in the shadows of Mr James Joyce.

The book would have taken a lot of research and you can tell it was written with care and attention to details. It covers an array of many topics. With so many strong characters. This is a must read, even if your TBR pile is so high. After finishing the book I wanted to learn much more about Miss Joyce. Lucky there are some wonderful links on Annabel Abb’s website.

Website ~ www.annabelabbs.com
Twitter ~ @annabelabbs

Please check out my blog ~ lovebooksgroup.blog

[Thebooktrail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review nearer to publication but I just wanted to recommend this now as I read this and thought oh my god can this be true? It is and even more shocking because of it.

James Joyce had a daughter who was placed in an asylum for reasons that will shock you and then kept there for opinions and the culture of the times which shock you even more. I can' honestly believe this was true and what women of the time had to go through but here you are. What's worse is the way mental health issues of the time were dealt with.

This is a really interesting and poignant book to read that is part true part fiction and really reveals more of the life of James Joyce and Samuel Beckett that you didn't know. I was mesmerised and shocked at the same time.

Out in June and should definitely be on your TBR pile.

[Nina Draganova · Rating 1 out of 5]

Мъчителна седмица , преминала в опити да довърша тази книга. Успях, но едва не загубих своето психично здраве.
Такава каша е забъркала авторката . Едновременно се ядосвах , че продължавам да чета , а от друга страна се надявах да науча повече за всички знаменити герои и развитието на историята.
Наистина си отдъхнах приключвайки я.
По-добре да разровя уикипедия.

[Chris Waterford · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story about James Joyce's daughter who falls in love with Samuel Beckett and then sees Carl Jung for psychoanalysis. What could go wrong? The writing---that's what!! There's no life in this story and I could not believe the dialogue---or much of the action in the Joyce home. Disappointing.

[Linda Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a confession. Initially the novel didn’t appeal to me terribly and I only really accepted The Joyce Girl for review because I wanted to support mental health issues. With the first year’s profits from royalties going to Young Minds I thought it might be a ‘worthy’ read. That just goes to show what an idiot I am! The Joyce Girl is an utterly amazing book.

Firstly I have to acknowledge the outstanding and meticulous research that has gone in to making The Joyce Girl a completely fascinating read. I have learnt so much – not just about Luccia Joyce whom I have to admit I was mostly unaware of, but also about James Joyce, Samuel Beckett and Carl Jung. This quality of research means the characters are vibrant and convincing, leaping from the page in 3D magnificence. But it’s not just the main characters that are so life-like. The wide supporting cast has equally engaging personalities who are presented in all their human frailties. This is such skilful writing. I kept hastening back to the reading in case the characters got up to something I might miss whilst I was away.

The next aspect that I was bowled over by was the sense of time and place that Annabel Abbs conveys so brilliantly. I found the prose mesmerising and evocative so that I was transported to Paris especially. There’s a real sense of an era. It’s so difficult to define the way The Joyce Girl is written but I found it hypnotic and beautiful.

As well as the narrative, all elements of the book are fascinating, even the Afterword, where some of the aspects mentioned in passing are elucidated, and returning to the quotations at the beginning after reading the story gave them a harrowing significance they didn’t have when I started. I thought the title too was inspired. Luccia is completely manipulated by her family as if she is some kind of possession and the use of the definite article exemplifies that. She is THE Joyce girl, not Luccia in her own right, but an item owned and used by others – even those supposedly trying to help her.

But what touched me the most was the presentation of those with mental health problems and their treatment by others. I felt an intense sadness several times during the reading and I wonder whether we have moved on as far as we should have done since Luccia was incarcerated. I also felt Luccia’s rage and fury with her through the first person storytelling. The she-beast of madness is also such a well-created metaphor, conveying the rage and impotence felt.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re interested in history. It doesn’t matter whether you’re interested in literature. The Joyce Girl is a story that invades your soul and stays there. In the time since I read The Joyce Girl I have found it impossible to forget. It haunts my thoughts and I think it isn’t too dramatic to say I think it has had a profound effect on my life. The Joyce Girl is, quite simply, stunning.

[Janel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The power of The Joyce Girl lies in it’s subtly; as you read the story of Lucia Joyce’s life, you see, in detail, her decent into “madness” and how she ended up in an asylum. When I first started reading this novel, it immediately struck me that there was something not quite right with Lucia’s family – her parents, in particular, were incredibly overbearing and her father had such a dominating role in her life. In my opinion, Lucia was never allowed to grow up, allowed any sort of independence and when you combine that with the men whose company she kept, her story makes for a sad one. And there were many times, during this novel, that I felt empathy towards Lucia; her passion for dance shone through, and it was rather upsetting to see her dreams fall apart.

Prior to reading this book, I knew it was based on a real person, but I’d be lying if I claimed to know anything about Lucia’s life before I picked up this novel. I found her life to be an incredibly interesting one, so captivating was the portrayal by Abbs that I was googling all the characters from this novel to find out more information about them. And, I really liked that at the end of this novel, Abbs gave a brief update on what happened to the key characters in Lucia’s life. I can’t comment on the accuracy of the events told, but this is a fictional account, and whether they deviate hugely from the reality, or not, makes no difference to me because I enjoyed reading it.

While I’ve made my enjoyment of this novel clear, I must mention Abbs is an incredibly talented writer, her powerful, beautiful and subtle writing style made me care about a woman I knew nothing about.

I have read numerous historical fiction books but historical fiction in the sub-genre of ‘biographical’ is a fairly new sub-genre to me – I thought the short chapters set in 1934, interspersed throughout, were very effective in that it wasn’t included simply for the ‘shock factor’ but because it was, sadly, Lucia’s life. And it did build up an element of suspense at what Lucia would disclose when she was ready to speak.

To know Lucia’s spent most of her life in and out of institutions really affected me, and I declare Lucia Joyce’s life a tragic one. Tragic but interesting, and whether you are familiar with the “big names” in this novel, such as James Joyce and Samuel Beckett, or curious about a bright future in dance that ended in institution after institution, I highly recommend you read The Joyce Girl.

*My thanks to Impress Books for providing me with a copy of this book*

[Tripfiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

Novel set in PARIS (Zurich and London)

Avant-garde Paris in the 1920’s is full of creative artistic geniuses and one of the most famous is James Joyce. Lucia, his daughter, desperate to make it as a dancer, lives in the shadow of her father’s immense talent but, through sheer determination, is beginning to make a name for herself. Her claustrophobic family, however, prevent her realising these dreams. Mama Joyce, her disapproving Dublin-born mother never tires of reminding her that she is James Joyce’s muse and must put his needs first. Lucia is manipulated and controlled by everyone around her and Mama is particularly skilful at manoeuvring her daughter away from any career path of which she disapproves.James Joyce’s eyesight is failing and, when the young Samuel Beckett comes to help him, Lucia is captivated by him and falls madly in love. Convinced that she has clairvoyant powers, Lucia believes that her destiny is to marry Beckett. She has become acquainted with Scott Fitzgerald’s wife, who seems to dedicate her life to dance and consequently naïve Lucia believes that marriage will give her freedom. When Beckett rejects her, Lucia turns her attention to Alexander Calder, a sculptor, who has been engaged to instruct Lucia in drawing and she begins to hope that he will be part of her future and the means to secure freedom to dance. But Calder, too, cruelly abandons her. Lucia’s world disintegrates further when her beloved brother, Giorgio, apple of Mama’s eye, is lured away into a mercenary marriage and when her parents reveal a shocking and long kept secret.

Structurally, the novel is intriguing. Interwoven with the chapters set in Paris and London revolving around the life of the Joyce family, are short chapters set in 1934 describing Lucia’s interviews with the pioneering psychoanalyst Carl Jung, as he attempts to uncover the underlying causes of Lucia’s malaise. He doesn’t achieve much success, having preconceived and erroneous ideas, and, in contrast, Abbs does a much better job of providing the reader with possible causes for Lucia’s ultimate breakdown.

It is difficult to believe that this is a debut novel for Abbs, who has created a sympathetic and powerful portrait of a young woman’s gradual descent into insanity in prose that is so rich and imagery laden that it seems the perfect vehicle for her story. It is also an extremely gripping read, which is not often the case with such a literary work. She has clearly done her research for she brings alive an extraordinary cast of characters and recreates the sense of the bohemian world of Paris in the 1920’s with great vividness.

The Joyce Girl won the Impress Prize for New Writers in September 2015. Richly deserved. I just hope that Abbs gets on with her next novel soon.

[Kerstin Gallas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eigentlich eine 3,5.
Besonders der mittlere Teil hatte einige Längen. Dies lag vor allem an den Nebencharakteren, die allenfalls eindimensional waren; hier die krankhaft eifersüchtige Mutter, da der kaltherzig Bruder und James Joyce als egoistischer Künstler. Ihre Reaktionen oder Interaktion mit Lucia - die ich als sehr sympathisch,traurig und vor allem tragisch empfand, und sehr gut dargestellt wurde - waren daher irgendwann eben vorhersehbar und wenig spannend. Dabei fand ich den Roman sehr vielversprechend am Anfang und mitreißend erzählt. Eine Biografie habe ich nicht erwartet und daher kann ich auch gut damit leben, das sich die Autorin einiges ausgedacht hat (das musste sie auch, weil es keine Aufzeichnungen über Lucia mehr gibt). Trotzdem hätte ich mir gewünscht, das gerade die Figuren um Lucia mehr Tiefe bekommen. Das hätte auch die Tragik um das reale Schicksal der Joyce Tochter besser zur Geltung gebracht.

[Sharon Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.jerasjamboree.co.uk/2016/0...

Beginning in 1934 at one of Lucia's sessions with Carl Jung who is not really getting anywhere because she is closed down and not cooperating, he suggests she writes her memories down - a memoir. Her memoirs tell us the past while occasionally the story takes us back to her therapy sessions. This format worked really well for me allowing me to become absorbed in Lucia's life in 1928 but also a reminder that there is something motivating her behaviours.

The Joyce family and their lives feels very insular and stultifying. In 1928 there are already cracks showing in Lucia's sibling relationship with Giorgio. Drawn together through those early years of poverty they now seem to want different things from life. Lucia is caught up in her dancing but always having to pacify her mother and do what her father wants. Such a heavy burden of responsibility for a young woman to take on - those expectations. You would expect your parents to support you with all opportunities that come your way. Not so when those parents expect you to put all your needs aside to meet theirs ... I must admit that after I had finished reading I watched James Joyce's bio on YouTube which certainly explained the pattern of parenting.

In my experience, insecurities and ill mental health often shows itself as analysing and questioning incessantly. To know something is to have control over it. I did find Lucia exhausting at times but I think Annabel has this exactly right. All that creativity just needed channeling instead of being turned inwards.

And talking of creativity, as you would expect - you'll find plenty in The Joyce Girl. Annabel's writing style creates the perfect atmosphere. The circles they moved in, the settings, the time and the place feel very real. The rainbow dance gave me goosebumps - so beautiful and inspiring. There's absolutely no doubt how much Annabel immersed herself because it's here in her beautifully crafted story.

Lucia was never going to have that soul connection she so desperately wanted. I admired her strength in coping with certain situations. Although I had worked it out, the scene with Jung was terrifying. What a skill to be able to take a reader to the depths with words alone.

I didn't know anything about Lucia Joyce before I read The Joyce Girl. I can understand why Annabel felt such anger that this woman from history was just a footnote. The Historical Note at the end of the story is poignant and shows how ill mental health was perceived at the time. Such a waste of life. I hope Annabel's story blending fact and fiction will bring Lucia's name into the spotlight.

I would like to thank the publishers for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Ally · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are so many things wrong with this book including, but not limited to:
- Very little source material on Lucia Joyce, so Abbs had to take a lot of liberties. And by that, I mean she literally had to make everything up from scratch and she should have just left this one alone. Better left forgotten in history.
- Abbs' idea of artistic freedom means injecting some spice into Lucia's life is by including incest. Explicit incest with her brother (graphic scene with her and her brother as children, completely unnecessary) and implied incest with her dad (Dr. Carl Jung was obsessed with finding out why Lucia and her father shared room. Great question, Carl, WHY DID THEY? This was never addressed). I can't believe this was the plot device Abbs decided was The One. Lazy plotting, no imagination, relies on shock value.
- I understand there is little to no information available about Lucia Joyce's life so liberties had to be taken, but why would you include incest? What editor and publisher approved this? These aren't just characters in a story, they're real people??? This is grounds for a defamation lawsuit.
- Zelda Fitzgerald floats in and out of the story for no reason. Why? Because Abbs read Z once and thought it would prove she knew a thing or two about the Jazz Age? If she had done some research, she would find that there was no proof that the two met.
- Speaking of Zelda, "For readers who adored novels like The Paris Wife, Z..." The main difference between The Joyce Girl and Z is that the author of Z actually did research and had source material to work off. We didn't need the Joyce Girl and we certainly did not need a fictionalized story about Dr. Carl Jung frothing at the mouth for some incest and Lucia falling for every man that gives her an ounce of attention.
- Why is the Mom the only character written with dialogue that has an Irish accent? Shouldn't James Joyce also be written with an Irish accent? Mr. Beckett?
- The name tags in the dialogue... If I had a dime for everytime Lucia said 'Mr. Beckett'. It's hard to read the dialogue. No one calls people by their name every two sentences.
- Is the twist supposed to be that James Joyce and his wife were never formally married? Lucia had a full out melt-down because of it. They were going back to England to get formally married, what's the big deal? It's not like anyone else knew?
- In sum: Lacking imagination, lacking any historical accuracy, and relies on cheap shock.

[Deniz Ata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Toplumsal baskı ve beklentilerinin aile ortamında yansımasını ( özellikle sanatçı , gözde bir aile ) ve bu süreöte bireysel varoluş mücadelesini görüyoruz .

Başarılı bir figürün gölgesinde olmak aslında alışılmış ve bilindik bir çatışma .Fakat extrem bir örnek olduğu için fazlasıyla dikkat çekici .

Tarih bunun gibi bir çok kadın biyografisi ile dolu .

James Joyce külliyatına saran varsa okusun ve bir de burdan baksın derim.

Gene baba ön plana çıktı diyenlere de Nora'nın düştüğü hatalara düşmeyin kızlarınızın elinden tutun derim.

Beckett herşey çok farklı olabilirdi .

Jung finali senle yapıyorum . Koyduğun teşhis konusunda haklısın. Keşke kitapta geçen hastalıklı dahi figürler senin inandığın gibi Luca 'ya inansaydı .

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Mairead Hearne (swirlandthread.com) · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘There are sins or (let us call them as the world calls them) evil memories which are hidden away by man in the darkest places of the heart but they abide there and wait.’

James Joyce, Ulysses, 1922

Now I’m going to honest here and, even though I am Irish, I have never read James Joyce.

The appeal for me with this novel is that The Joyce Girl is primarily about his daughter Lucia. It is also set in Paris in the 1920’s/1930’s, an era, which by now some of you will have realised, I just adore.

When I received my copy from Natalie of Impress Books I was delighted. I knew immediately that the hardest part would be to write a good enough review to justify this absolute genius debut from Annabel Abbs.

Lucia Joyce, a truly forgotten individual.

Lucia Joyce was to spend most of her years in and out of mental institutions. A very promising career as a dancer was never to come to fruition, due to what appeared to be, her very unusual relationship with her father, James Joyce.

James Joyce was banned from Ireland as his novel, Ulysses, was, in every way, the antithesis of Catholic Ireland in the turn of the 20th Century. James Joyce eloped to Trieste with Galway girl Nora Barnacle. James and Nora lived a very alternative, bohemian lifestyle, depending on financial support from wealthy sponsors.

Lucia and Georgio (her brother), both born in Italy, were reared in poverty. In one of their frequent moves they eventually settled in a reasonable apartment in Paris. Lucia and Giorgio, had a very close, somewhat intense relationship, as they had no other company but each other.

As the years passed Lucia developed a passion for dancing, a talent that appeared to come naturally to her. Ignoring the persistent pleas of her parents to stop, Lucia danced to rave reviews. All this time, her father was working on a very special novel. His eyesight was failing rapidly as he became dependent on many young aspiring writers to assist him. One such writer was another famous Irishman, Samuel Beckett.

Samuel Beckett is portrayed by Annabel Abbs as a very young, shy man just arrived from Ireland to study. Beckett is in complete awe of Joyce and soon they start working together, Throughout this time, Lucia fixates herself on Beckett and the consequences consume her every move.

An obsessive personality haunts Lucia. She has dreams to escape to another world, without the restraints of her parents. The ever present parental influence restricts her every move, with the rules of a traditional Irish parent been imposed by extremely non-traditional parents. Lucia is confused. She wishes to spread her wings and enjoy the lifestyle that Paris has to offer in the 1920’s.

We catch glimpses of the famous Gertrude Stein and Zelda Fitzgerald, all synonymous with The Jazz Age.

Zelda Fitzgerald’s comments about her life seem to have had an influence on Lucia after one particular meeting.

‘I should have been inspired by Mrs. Fitzgerald’s success. But I barely thought of this. I thought only of Mr. Fitzgerald’s insistence that she turn down the chance to dance in Aida. I thought of her acquiescence and it filled me with foreboding.

Perhaps married women were no more liberated than unmarried women. Perhaps my marriage plan was not as foolproof as I thought.’

The Joyce Girl introduces us to two very different periods in Lucia’s life. We find her at the beginning an excitable girl with dreams and ambitions of marriage and a career. In a parallel story, she is under the care of world renowned psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Dr Carl Jung in Zurich.

Both periods of her life are interwoven into this absolutely heartbreaking story of a young girl trying to fulfill her ambitions and dreams. Her family, society and all around her fail her, resulting in the falling of a star that would shine no more.

‘That night I knew there was something dark and monstrous inside me, lurking, waiting, biding it’s time. I couldn’t explain or describe it, but it scared me. Sometimes it jumped into my throat and took control of me.’

The Joyce Girl is a tragic but beautifully told story. I think the fact that it is inspired by true events brings a certain poignancy to the novel.

Lucia Joyce, spent most of her life interred in an asylum. Profits from the first year royalties of The Joyce Girl go to YoungMinds in memory of Lucia Joyce.

[Tosia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 gwiazdki bo traumatyczne zakończenie (jednak 5)

[Anne Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having won this book in a Goodreads giveaway, I'm more than happy to write a review. An absorbing book about a young woman struggling to come to terms with the fact that her dreams of artistic achievement, of independence, and above all of love seem doomed to be forever thwarted.

Living in the giant shadow of her father, who by all accounts was your typical "genius", in other words self-obsessed, demanding, domineering and entirely selfish must have been bad enough. However she was also damned by having a mother equally self-obsessed, but without the arguably redeeming gift of genius, or even, judging from the author's depiction of her, much in the way of intelligence at all. In fact the character of Nora, (and I'm not clear of the extent to which she resembles the real Nora) is possibly the book's most notable weakness. She is painted with too broad a black brush to make her sufficiently credible in my view - too redolent of an Irish stock character complete with irritating brogue.

That said, this is a compelling story, well told. Lucia's gradual mental disintegration is skilfully and even lyrically charted. While engendering sympathy however, her character incited a lot of frustration in me. Whether as a result of inherent mental instability, the inability to oppose the prejudices of the time, or a pronounced victimhood mentality, Lucia struggled and suffered but was completely incapable of summoning the courage and strength of will to help herself. One continually wanted to exhort her to lose the loonies and get the hell out and find a life. The fact that she was ultimately doomed is a pattern that weaves through the book from the initial suggestions to the escalating succession of brick walls she encounters right up to the sad and disturbing climax.

There are hints throughout the book of an unnatural bond between Lucia and her father and of incestuous relations with her brother. Whatever the truth, in the end her strangely convoluted and co-dependent relationship with her father seems to have manacled her to his world and sucked any prospect of happiness and self-fulfilment from her own.

With its legendary cast of characters set amidst the vibrancy of the Paris artistic scene of the time, this book will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in art, music, literature and dance (the latter an often overlooked art form in fiction).

Like the best historical fiction, the book whets your appetite to learn more about the true characters and events it depicts, to find out what these people really looked like, what happened to make them the person they became and how their lives played out beyond the pages of the book. A richly rewarding and haunting story.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tried to be sophisticated and read some historical fiction related to James Joyce before traveling to Ireland. What a mistake and waste of 2 weeks that was. They didn’t even step foot in Ireland.

Definitely do not recommend. I don’t even want to read anymore and I had just finished the best book of the year. What a fallen hero I am.

[Sharlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A moving, fascinating look at the daughter of James Joyce. We are soon drawn in the complex world of this young lady that dreams of being a dancer but lives under the pressure of her parents. Fan of Paula McLain will enjoy the detail of this book and the world that the Joyces lived in.

[Jessikah Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to follow on my blog https://readbyjess.blogspot.co.uk/

[Paige Oster · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, tragic tale of suffocated genius. It’s a great read.

[Dianne Landry · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know I'm being picky but the Renoir movie was made two years before she met Beckett. Playing fast and loose with details like this really bugs me. I also didn't like the writing style. DNF.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for my book club and in time honoured tradition didn't read anything about this book to ensure I read it with an open mind.

I was intrigued to learn that this book was an insight into the life of Lucia Joyce, daughter of James Joyce. The book was mainly set in Paris, France and centred on the family dynamic between Lucia, her father, mother Nora and brother Georgio.

Lucia is a rated modern dancer and acts as inspiration to her father, as well as being a help around the home to both parents inflicted with various ailments. The Joyce family are essentially poor and rely on the benefactors of James Joyce to fund their home and lavish lifestyle. Throughout the novel it is clear Lucia's life is not her own. After hours of dancing her parents force her to go to dinner (even though her feet are bleeding and she is tired), often her parents need to travel overseas and think nothing of taking Lucia away from her prestigious ballet tuition.

The plot of the story follows Lucia throughout her early 20's and he failed romances she has with some of her fathers flatterers, some of the men clearly take advantage of Lucia's crushes and have no intention of marrying her, and others that do care are turned away or spurned by the family to make it impossible for her to continue he relationships.

I think the saddest part of this story was learning that it was based on true accounts and previous research. The afterword was particularly poignant that in all the time her family had her locked up in an asylum that her father was the only one to maintain regular contact until his death. It was a relief to hear she escaped the Nazi's but she never truly got the one thing she desired, which was freedom.

[Marei · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alter.. ca. die erste Hälfte des Buches (abgesehen von den Zeitsprüngen) handelt tatsächlich von der Schwierigkeit von Lucia, sich als "Tochter eines Genies" aus dem Schatten ihres Vaters zu befreien und als junge (etwas naive) Frau im Paris der zwanziger Jahre ihren eigenen Weg zu finden und von ihrer "Suche nach Freiheit und Liebe", wie es auch der Klappentext ausdrückt. Für diese Themen hat sich das Buch für mich auf jeden Fall gelohnt..

Danach driftet diese Geschichte einfach komplett ab und wird immer obskurer.. Ich würde behaupten, nicht so leicht zu schocken zu sein, aber diese Kombination aus ihrer Naivität und schwankendem Grat an delusion, den immer. wieder. auftretenden Ungerechtigkeiten, die ihr widerfahren, wenn du gerade denkst sie packt sich wieder und natürlich die f*cking Perversion wo du sie nicht erwartest, haben mich jetzt doch mit einem etwas flauen Gefühl im Magen zurückgelassen. Dazu kommt das Wissen, dass das eine wahre Geschichte ist und dass du durch ihre Vorahnungen und die Zeitsprünge ab einem recht frühen Punkt im Buch weißt, dass es bergab mit ihr geht.. irgendwie sehr gutes Buch aber auch der komplette Fiebertraum, wo du ihn nicht erwartest.. Wäre gerne etwas klarer gewarnt geworden. Das Cover und der Klappentext werden den Abgründen dieses Buches nicht gerecht.

[Ludmilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

İçinde Joyce, Beckett ve Jung olan bir kitap çoğu kişinin ilgisini çeker tabii ki. Benim de adını sanını duymadığım bir yazar ve yayınevinden kitap almamın sebebiydi. Beklentilerimi tam anlamıyla karşıladığını söyleyemem, Everest'in "Unutulmaz KAdınlar" dizisindeki gereksiz duygusallık ve anlatımdaki kolaycılık bunun nedeni. Yine de Joyce'un bir kızı olduğunu, gayet yetenekli bir dansçı olduğunu ve delirerek hastaneye kapatıldığını bu kitap olmasaydı - okumayı ertelediğim Ellman'ın Joyce biyografisine başlayana kadar en azından- öğrenemezdim. O yılların Paris'ini, genel anlayışı, Joyce'un edebiyatta da özel hayatında da bir nevi devrim yapsa da kız çocuğu olunca gayet kısıtlayıcı olabileceğini göstermesi açısından iyiydi. Beckett'ın Joyce'ların evinde geçirdiği kısımlar da güzeldi, her ne kadar aşk ilişkisi pek doyurucu olmasa da. Eksik yanları ise özellikle Jung ve psikanaliz kısımları. Pek çalakalem, pek kulaktan dolma. Bunun yanısıra Lucia'nın hastalığı da çok anlaşılmıyor. Ama yine de keyifle okunabilecek bir kitap. Sizi yormayacak, ünlü karakterle dolu bir yaşam kesiti okumak isterseniz öneririm. 3.5/5

[Audiothing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review
After many years of moving around, the Joyce family, Giorgio, Lucia and their parents James and Nora were now settled in their home in the Square Robiac.
The Twenties in Paris were known as the “Années Folles” - the Crazy Years, a time of massive cultural change encompassing art, literature, music and fashion. The publication of Ulysses had made James Joyce a literary star, everyone wanted to know him. People gave their time freely to read to him or to help in other ways.
Though they appeared to live lavishly at times, Joyce spent his patrons monetary contributions on maintaining this lifestyle, his family were always short of money.
The opening chapter:
It is now 1934 and twenty-seven year old Lucia Joyce is taking the short ferry trip from Zurich to Kusnacht. Three times a week she does this to keep her appointment with Dr. Jung, the eminent Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist. As part of her treatment, Lucia agrees to write a memoir of what has led her to this point in life:

“I know where to start my memoir” I say. I shall start with the first stirrings of desire and ambition that pushed their way, like the greedy tendrils of a weed, into my young heart. Because that was the beginning. No matter what anyone else says, that was the beginning. (p6)

This then, is how the story is told, moving back in time to Paris 1928 which Lucia deemed to be “the beginning,” at intervals, moving forward again to 1934 to Kusnacht and another session with Dr. Jung.

The beginning for Lucia was 1928, her father arranged a special dinner to celebrate the fabulous review she received from The Paris Times for her debut dance performance. At this time, Lucia was enamoured with the young composer Emile Fernandez , but this was not to last long. Samuel Beckett came to the Joyce house to visit with Babbo (her father) and, as soon as she met him she felt an “overwhelming emotion,” consequently losing her desire for the composer. At this news Giorgio, her brother, became angry with her for rejecting a man who could have provided for her (and her family) very well indeed. Giorgio hated his impoverished life and now he and Lucia, once so close, began to drift apart.

When Nora Joyce was hospitalised for a gynaecological procedure James Joyce arranged for Giorgio and Lucia to stay with Mrs. Fleischman, a wealthy woman who, wanting to be close to the great man, would come to the house to type his notes for no payment. It was during this stay that Lucia discovered that Giorgio was receiving something rather more than motherly care from the much older and still married Mrs. Fleischman, neither Giorgio nor Mrs. Fleischmann seemed the least bit ashamed. Lucia was appalled by their relationship, later blaming herself because she believed that if she had married Emile Fernandez, Giorgio need not have chased Mrs. Fleischman’s money. Lucia and Giorgio were never to be close again.

Lucia submerged herself in dance and practiced her routines for hours every day. She was to take part in the International Festival of Dance and, as was her way, wanted to be perfect. Not just for herself and Babbo, Mr. Beckett was to attend and she could barely contain her excitement at the thought of performing before him.
Lucia was a great success, but now she decided she could not possibly become the greatest dancer unless she studied classical ballet, and with her usual dedication, undertook a gruelling schedule of classes and practice. She was distraught when her parents caused her to miss weeks of class and practice by insisting she accompany them on a trip.
When she returned, Madame Egorova saw how her skills had deteriorated and decided she must drop down a class. Mortified and despondent at her lack of progress Lucia gave up ballet, she and her best friend Kitten decided to offer dance classes but this too failed.

She saw Beckett as an escape route, she had created the scenario that they would marry, that marriage was the only way she would ever gain her independence. She really believed this story in her head and had planned each detail of the wedding. Sadly for her it was not to happen, the story in her head was far different to the one in Becketts. He told her the truth, that he did not care for her in that way, another dream had been shattered.
This then seemed to be the pattern for Lucia's' life, whatever dreams she had for her career were thwarted by her parents. Whichever lover she took would let her down.

I enjoyed this story very much, the author writes in a very easy to read style and gives the reader a wonderful sense of those times, people and places. I can't begin to guess at how many hours of research was undertaken to complete this book.

What I didn't like so much
A couple of things gnawed at my enjoyment of this otherwise fine tale

A certain revelation made during a session with Dr. Jung came as quite a nasty shock, for one thing it didn't really seem to fit well with the rest of the story and if that scene is only from the authors imagination then it was a very unpleasant addition.
The other aspect that did not sit well with me is the way Nora is presented. She is the only character who is given an accent, possibly to draw attention to her lack of education or to reflect her character? Also the author does imply that Nora's mothering style is to blame for the state of Lucias mental health by having Lucia herself blaming her mother during one of her session with Dr. Jung.
That could well be very hard to read for those mothers of troubled children.

However, the author does make it very clear that this is a work of fiction, still, having previously read about these characters in biographies I did find it difficult to see them presented in a different light.

Review copy provided by Hachette Australia

Annabel Abbs generously funds a scholarship for a MA

she is also donating the first year UK royalties to a UK charity for troubled young people and children. Please visit her website for further details