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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- 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
I picked up this book because it was the monthly book club selection for someone I am subscribed to on Patreon.
"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!
"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!
Content Warnings
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
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