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constantlorelai 's review for:
A Theatre for Dreamers
by Polly Samson
Picture Greece, in 1960, the Hydra island, which back then was not the obscure curiosity travelled to by nostalgic artists or Leonard Cohen fans, but a full-fledged artist colony. It was beaming with life and with scarcity, the kind of bohemian scarcity that is often romanticised by young people who welcome it on the altar of creative pursuit without considering its long-term unsustainable nature.
The fun and exciting part if you are a bit of an anachronistic soul is to really dive deep into the background story of the book as you do in its fictionalized universe. To read about Charmian Clift's Peel me a Lotus (and save it in bookstore wishlists), to understand the nature of her relationship with husband and fellow author George Johnston, to savour the witty quips that Samson freely allows Leonard Cohen's character to share with his peers at Kastikas (bar that still exists and can be found on Tripadvisor, btw), to completely immerse yourself in the intertwining relationships of these fictionalized/real people. You get an exquisite front-row view of everything that Leonard saw in the famous Marianne as he fell in love with her and as she became his muse. You get to explore the heterogenous mix of colourful characters populating the island and drawing from it inspiration for their craft: painters, writers, musicians, all of them living a life of debauchery and completely devoting themselves to the moment they were in. Even as it transpires to all be an instant sepia version of itself, the story is still a wonderful harmless escape to another world that most of us breathing today will never live for ourselves.
But of course, this is just one aspect of it. One other facet is a fragrant exploration of womanhood and one's place in the world. This was the most vivid part for me. Sure, there was Hydra, with its natives and guests and painting-like tides, its rocky slopes and bursting Mediterranean greens and greek whites of the stone houses, but there are so many women in such different places in life. There's Charmian, trapped between her art and the need to be a supportive wife for her husband who is the de facto bread bringer through his books, a mother and a matriarch of the community. There's Marianne, a young innocent soul tormented by a loveless marriage to which she meekly offers everything, just to similarly devote herself to Leonard. She IS the muse in all aspects. There are Evie and Jeanie, the devil-may-care young women who live to be an inspiration for the art belonging to the men on the island and become bidimensional visions of beauty and inspiration. And of course, there is Erica, the central character, who assists to the spectacle of all of these women's lives (and many others) and has to ponder her own path and place in the world. Can she be a muse, a mother figure, and an artist in the full sense of the word at the same time?
Polly Samson travelled to Greece in the late 2010s and discovered the history of the island, along with Charmian Clift's Peal me a Lotus and was entranced by the stories that surrounded this rag-tag group of people. She turned it into a luminous meditation on the past, a vivid journey through space and time and a meditation on womanhood. Now as for the book itself, it is as good as what it is that a reader searches for in it. At times, it may seem that she is so enamoured with the story, the characters, and the nature she describes, that the pace of the narrative tends to lag behind. This is true. She loses herself in images that are clear homages to Charmian and Leonard's art for the sake of the art. But whether this is an incumbrance, it really depends on each reader. For me it was endearing.
The fun and exciting part if you are a bit of an anachronistic soul is to really dive deep into the background story of the book as you do in its fictionalized universe. To read about Charmian Clift's Peel me a Lotus (and save it in bookstore wishlists), to understand the nature of her relationship with husband and fellow author George Johnston, to savour the witty quips that Samson freely allows Leonard Cohen's character to share with his peers at Kastikas (bar that still exists and can be found on Tripadvisor, btw), to completely immerse yourself in the intertwining relationships of these fictionalized/real people. You get an exquisite front-row view of everything that Leonard saw in the famous Marianne as he fell in love with her and as she became his muse. You get to explore the heterogenous mix of colourful characters populating the island and drawing from it inspiration for their craft: painters, writers, musicians, all of them living a life of debauchery and completely devoting themselves to the moment they were in. Even as it transpires to all be an instant sepia version of itself, the story is still a wonderful harmless escape to another world that most of us breathing today will never live for ourselves.
But of course, this is just one aspect of it. One other facet is a fragrant exploration of womanhood and one's place in the world. This was the most vivid part for me. Sure, there was Hydra, with its natives and guests and painting-like tides, its rocky slopes and bursting Mediterranean greens and greek whites of the stone houses, but there are so many women in such different places in life. There's Charmian, trapped between her art and the need to be a supportive wife for her husband who is the de facto bread bringer through his books, a mother and a matriarch of the community. There's Marianne, a young innocent soul tormented by a loveless marriage to which she meekly offers everything, just to similarly devote herself to Leonard. She IS the muse in all aspects. There are Evie and Jeanie, the devil-may-care young women who live to be an inspiration for the art belonging to the men on the island and become bidimensional visions of beauty and inspiration. And of course, there is Erica, the central character, who assists to the spectacle of all of these women's lives (and many others) and has to ponder her own path and place in the world. Can she be a muse, a mother figure, and an artist in the full sense of the word at the same time?
Polly Samson travelled to Greece in the late 2010s and discovered the history of the island, along with Charmian Clift's Peal me a Lotus and was entranced by the stories that surrounded this rag-tag group of people. She turned it into a luminous meditation on the past, a vivid journey through space and time and a meditation on womanhood. Now as for the book itself, it is as good as what it is that a reader searches for in it. At times, it may seem that she is so enamoured with the story, the characters, and the nature she describes, that the pace of the narrative tends to lag behind. This is true. She loses herself in images that are clear homages to Charmian and Leonard's art for the sake of the art. But whether this is an incumbrance, it really depends on each reader. For me it was endearing.