Lay Figures

by Mark Blagrave

Elizabeth MacKinnon moves to Saint John New Brunswick in 1939 to find inspiration for her poetry in the bohemian life of the city's central peninsula. Swept up in the vibrant society of the city's poets, painters, potters, dancers, and playwrights, she finds herself joining their struggles to make sense of making art in a time of economic depression.

Inhabiting the lives of the artists who find themselves in the port city taking refuge from the Depression, Lay Figures explores relationships between art and lived experience, artist and subject, artist and audience, and between margins and centre, and traces the development of a young female writer against the backdrop of the Depression and early war years in Saint John. In a story that couples bitter despair with exuberant triumphs, Elizabeth and her fellow artists make life-changing discoveries about politics and social responsibility, desire and betrayal.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Canada

272 pages, Paperback

Published May 31, 2020

Reviews

[Colleen Maclennan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being unfamiliar with the artistic community this book gave me insight into their world . It also detailed their thought processes when creating whether it be painting , writing ,performing etc. This book also showed the struggles of being an artist. More importantly this book reflected the diversity of the artistic community in Saint John and the surrounding area during 1939. The setting of the book is the city of Saint John which is very familiar to me .I enjoyed being transported to an earlier time .The travels to New River Beach , Mount Pleasant, and surrounding areas brought back memories of my own visits to these areas. The artistic community is strong today in this city and it can be attributed to those who earlier established its roots. This book is also deep in characters who appear at times struggling with their own demons and challenges but acknowledge their need for the interactions of others in their lives.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 and a half stars. Got this for Christmas and read it in 2 days! Immersive and lush, this book is overflowing with beautiful language, deep thoughts, and interesting characters, not least the city in which it is set. I may be biased as I live in Saint John, but Mark brings his own obvious love of the city and its history into his writing, and it feels so real. Dialogue, as always in his writing, is brilliant and his scenes burst off the page. Looking through Elizabeth's eyes, I felt like I was there in the rooms, at the parties, watching the others dance around me. I only deducted a half star as the narrative got a tiny bit bogged down about 3/4 of the way through.

[Ramona Lumpkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark Blagrave's penetrating insights into the lives of a group of young artists in St. John, NB, during the Depression drew me in from its opening sentences. His choice of a young female writer to tell the story was bold, and it worked. Elizabeth -- Libby -- McKinnon is on a quest to understand the mysteries of artistic creation and in the process, to come to terms with herself as a writer. The new community she enters, populated by dancers, painters, poets, playwrights and actors, has much to teach her and she's hungry for its lessons. Blagrave's pages are crowded with compelling characters and his St. John is so alive and real I felt as if I were walking its streets. In his character Henry's words, "A story does not work without desire, for the past and for the future." Lay Figures powerfully conjures that desire.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This certainly qualifies for the novel with the most unique setting that I've read in some considerable time. If you had told me someone would be setting a story in the bohemian arts scene of Saint John, New Brunswick between the wars, I would have stared back blankly...but here were are, and it feels very authentic. That said, it also feels like a throwback to a more dry & genteel Victorian style of storytelling, with only flashes of modern (or should that be post-modern) anger, profanity, and vulgarity. It's in those moments that the novel works best...I only wish there were far more such moments to break the dusty feel of Virginia Woolf-ism that dominates these pages.

[Janelle Leblanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved that this novel was set in my adopted hometown of Saint John, NB. It was a treat to read Blagrave's insightful descriptions of uptown and surrounding areas, and my favorite pieces were the explorations of the class differences that still cleave our city today.

I truly enjoyed the cast of characters that permeated the story and found myself drawn in to their world My only difficulty with the novel was that, of all the characters, it was Libby (the protagonist) I cared least about a person and artist. That said, overall, it was a good read with an interesting and unique perpective on the psychology and struggles of the artist.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good. This is well-written, and at times, emotional. This probably won't be widely read or reviewed, but it those that pick it up will probably enjoy it. The author has talent. There's drama, and pressure on the main character that are often engaging. Literary fans and those interested in the lives of artists of all kinds are likely to connect with this.

Thanks very much for the review copy!!

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well researched guess at capturing the essence of the artistic community in uptown Saint John during WWII swirling around the likes of Miller Brittain and gang. (It is fiction but there are enough clues). I thoroughly enjoyed the local references to buildings and locale but mostly the dive into the creative process with which the well fleshed out characters struggled. Highly recommend to artists, writers and those who are attracted to their flames.

[Dave Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

There were several things I liked about this book. I was a little surprised at how much reading about landmarks and streets from my hometown would trigger old, good memories of Saint John. Beautifully written.

[Stephen Ring · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as one of the five nominees for the Dublin Literary Award from the Saint John Main Library. I think this should be the library's recommendation, but the decision will be made later in August.

[Gina Alward · Rating 3 out of 5]

A look at Saint John N.B. in the late 1930s! Even cooler to have local artists featured in some of the characters. If your an artist lover in New Brunswick, this is a must-read.

[Paméla B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fun! Proper RTC