Scan barcode
1414's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
Minor: Child abuse and Rape
erinpoo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
“Often, Karina would come home to find that Louisa had spent the evening painting swampy landscapes or fantastical birds or great, greedy, oceanic swaths of sky, the kind of sky that didn’t exist in New York and never would.”
my reverence for this book transcends all limits of language. in every way, this was a breathtaking kunstlerroman. it was magnetic, and it holds your attention even as it is fractured into different voices and perspectives; you’re never really broken out of the story until you arrive at the very ending (which still haunts me to this day). it’s just such an enrapturing depiction of the [contemporary] art world, of ambition and academia. at some point it unraveled a provocative discussion around how cutthroat the industry is, and how brutal it is to even pursue art in itself with capitalist forces, competition, commercialism, class, or generally the influence art has on its creators and audiences of all genders and ages. one thing i noted was also how it touches on the individualism that is demanded, if not coming naturally, in order to survive in the creative trenches lol
whilst this would have been a five star if there were no men (i don’t even say this to be funny, i genuinely thought their point of views were rather unnecessary and contributed nothing very substantial, louisa and karina is a love story for the ages and i stand by that!
Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Racism, and Rape
Minor: Suicide
cdingler07's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent and Suicide
Minor: Classism, Death of parent, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and Mental illness
leefox's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Vomit, Drug use, Biphobia, Death, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
vera_nikolajevna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Drug use and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death of parent and Domestic abuse
Minor: Suicide
frannyrdclark's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault
Minor: Death, Dementia, Death of parent, Vomit, Grief, and Physical abuse
hailspork's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual harassment, Suicide, Sexual content, and Sexual assault
coffeecass's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Suicide, Mental illness, Classism, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"Sirens & Muses" follows four artists during a semester at a prestigious and competitive art school, Wrynn College of Art. Louisa is a level-headed, quiet nineteen-year-old who feels completely out of her element. Karina's parents have made a huge name for themselves in the art world, so it feels inevitable that Karina herself will succeed. Preston's home life is rife with turmoil, and he acts out and uses his shock-value art to get a rise from everyone. Robert is a once famous artist who has found himself as a professor at Wrynn. All of these characters have their flaws, and they are all just trying to succeed at the one thing that makes their life worth living.
This novel was pretentious as hell, but that is kind of why I loved it. These characters are artists and they view the world in such a different way. They are outraged by the problems they are facing in America in 2011 and are constantly walking the line between staying true to the art and creating for the sake of beauty, and selling out to a capitalistic society so they can survive in this world.
One big, reoccurring plot point in this novel is the Occupy Wall Street movement that was taking place at the time. Occupy Wall Street was a movement that protested and brought light to the economic inequalities that were taking place, and still truly take place to this day. The government can bail out big banks and multi-billion-dollar companies, but they cannot make higher education affordable? I started college in 2011 and graduated in 2016 with what felt like an insurmountable amount of debt. I completely sympathize with these characters about wanting to continue learning, being told I have to get a degree to succeed, and then feeling slighted when I graduated jobless, with debt that crippled my financial independence. Although I did not pursue an art degree, I did pursue an English degree, and I understand the struggle of feeling like a sell out because we live in this capitalistic world and I need money to survive. I think this one, moderate plot point just hit so close to home that I could not put this book down and led to my 5-star rating.
Of all the characters, I was most drawn to Louisa and Karina. They come from two entirely different worlds, but I wanted to see them both succeed so badly with their art, and their relationship. I think they are the perfect balance to one another, and having that opposite in their life, really helps them succeed with their art. Everyone thinks Karina is perfect and has the most poetic life, but she really struggles and faces real problems that would strike down anyone. She might have been born with an advantage because of her parents, but her life is far from "easy". Louisa has such a strong work ethic and is the real underdog in this story. She comes from a small town and works twice as hard just to be able to afford to stay at this art school. They are the perfect antithesis for each other.
I think Robert provides a good contrast to the other main characters because he shows a potential path they may find themselves on down the line. He has lived through being a young artist and now he has wisdom that he could not see when he was their age.
Preston is a fuckboy and I could do without his parts, but I do think he provided commentary about another type of young artist.
I already want to reread this book, and I look forward to finding more like it to enjoy!
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Drug use, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Hate crime, Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Infidelity, and Grief
raphynette's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual assault, Violence, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Mental illness