Muse

by Susan Irvine

'Muse' is a joyride of a novel. Careering from the world of fashion magazines to drug-taking and promiscuity, its pratagonist, Naomi, is on a collision course with disaster.

422 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
This profile contains books from multiple authors of this name.

Reviews

[Anna Watson-smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this lump up in a book swap on holiday and I can honestly say it's the worst book I have ever read.
The most annoying thing about it is that the first hundred pages or so aren't all bad, there some nice descriptive passages on the disjointed lives of low earners in luxury industries, and the ins and outs of working as a stylist, but it's downhill from there.
It soon reads like a coke fuelled rant by a wannabe fashionista whose mantra is "I'm not only devastatingly attractive, but also actually really intelligent and deep and talented and anyone who meets me quite rightly falls in love with me".
The author seems to imagine that the occasional dip into the 'glamorous world of fashion' is enticing enough to keep the reader hooked for nearly 500 pages. 500 pages of increasingly self indulgent raving, which slips in and out of what I imagine feels to her like a genius Irvine Welsh / Anthony Burgess style of phonetic drug fuelled prose, but it reads like a stress headache.
On several occasions I had to check that this book was actually written by a woman, as parts, especially sexual encounters and the protagonists reactions to them are bafflingly unfeminine.
By the time I was two thirds through I began to get the feeling that something exciting may be about to happen, it didn't. The ending was a dismal grinding to nothing, no resolution, no revelation, no reward for your investment of time.
It left me begging the question, 'where was the editor?' Why were Susan Irvine's amateurish 'I'm actually doing it, I'm writing writing a book! I need to fit as many references to the obscure French poetry I read in my degree in obscure French literature as is humanly possible' ramblings allowed to multiply exponentially until nothing remained but gobbledygook?
When I turned the last page I felt angry and cheated, I was reading it on a flight and I remember thinking I would happily decompress the plane if it meant I could open a window long enough to wang it out into infinity at 35,000ft.
Not recommended.

[Annelise · Rating 1 out of 5]

It could have been quite good if it hadn't have disappeared up its own arse.

[GaiB · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5stars. The writing was mostly so beautiful and descriptive it made up for patches of pointless rambling. The story gently pulls you along and the insights into the fashion industry are interesting

[Marilyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disjointed, nonsensical rubbish with pretensions of grandeur and a truly detestable main protagonist.

[Margaret]

Now this is only my Personal review of this book, I read it right to the end, struggled to do so. I can not give a rating as I found this book boring and terrible to read.

[El · Rating 3 out of 5]

I simply don't understand why so many people have given this book such low ratings. Part of me was tempted to add a star, just to help bring this up to the average it deserves, but I thought it better to be honest. I liked this book. I read it quickly, despite it being reasonably long. I did have some issues with it, but in general, though it was an interesting take on the novel.

My main issue is the use of phonetic spelling in places. Sometimes it works really well, other times it makes next to no sense (and not just in the drug-fuelled scenes). Again, though, this didn't stop me enjoying the book.

I found the end an anti-climax, and felt that the back cover didn't really describe the book all that well. However, at times it felt like reading the thoughts and speech of real people, not the written interpretation of those - and that is something I really enjoyed.

Not a book for everyone, but I think, worth a read, if only to experience a different style of novel and see what you think of it yourself.

[Ink Muncher · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quirky, mind-mappy, romping verbal journey about how and why the all- absorbing, always-observant, creatively ambitious muse with a poor self-image comes of age and deesrts her stalking, sulking artist in a charming, heartless and in the end entirely forgivable way.

[Paul]

so far its smooth and plot is much interesting. i feel comfortable sticking to it. too early to say anything more. certainly liked it.

[Ally · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stilted and very difficult to read. I couldn't finish it as it seemed like too much hard work for what is supposed to be a pleasurable experience.

[Antonia · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very experimental book. Lots of odd techniques. Sort of hybrid poetic/ multimodal. I liked the first two parts but the third part seemed too gritty and un romantic for me. I couldn't enjoy it.

[Skye · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can't say I liked it very much- things got kinda dark and I didn't know where things were going though I got used to the writing. Just a lot of feeling lost and destruction I would say.

[Angela Kitchen · Rating 1 out of 5]

i had to give up on this book....no real desire to see how it ended.