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A review by klbrida
Costalegre: A Novel Inspired by Peggy Guggenheim and Her Daughter by Courtney Maum
5.0
Costalegre by Courtney Maum. It’s 1937: an heiress/modern art collector brings her daughter & a group of artists to Costalegre after Hitler has denounced them as “cultural degenerates” and in direct opposition to his regime.
Told through fragments from 14-year old Lara’s diary, this novel explores the relationship between mother & daughter, coming of age in chaotic & fraught times, and coming into one’s art.
Costalegre is heartbreaking, searing, and engrossing. Lara’s narration lends itself to explosive intimacy through coupling strange/wonderful images with such exact emotion. Although this novel ended a bit abruptly for me, that ending paragraph was so beautiful & encapsulated the turbulence present, I was still satisfied. I couldn’t help but read this novel with such admiration & heartbreak.
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Note I received a copy of this novel from Tin House in exchange for an unbiased review.
Told through fragments from 14-year old Lara’s diary, this novel explores the relationship between mother & daughter, coming of age in chaotic & fraught times, and coming into one’s art.
Costalegre is heartbreaking, searing, and engrossing. Lara’s narration lends itself to explosive intimacy through coupling strange/wonderful images with such exact emotion. Although this novel ended a bit abruptly for me, that ending paragraph was so beautiful & encapsulated the turbulence present, I was still satisfied. I couldn’t help but read this novel with such admiration & heartbreak.
-
Note I received a copy of this novel from Tin House in exchange for an unbiased review.