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A review by the_spines
Costalegre: A Novel Inspired by Peggy Guggenheim and Her Daughter by Courtney Maum
2.0
FULL REVIEW HERE: meganprokott.com/costalegre-courtney-maum/review
Here’s the thing about this book. I was SO excited to pick it up because it has so many of my favorites themes: Art, dramatic family relationships, & secretive travel to name a few. However, from the very first page I could not get into the writing style, which I blame almost completely on the vehicle for the story. Narrating for the reader throughout is the diary of a young girl who was bored, listless, and struggling to find her place.
And let me just say, reading the perspective of a 15-year-old was such an irritating experience. I couldn’t get myself to care about her observations about the artists and her surroundings, and I really couldn’t have been less invested in her perspective. I think my main issue with Lara as the driving force for this actually really interesting story is that Lara didn’t know about anything that was happening in their eccentric community of artists and collectors and, by extension, neither did the reader. I always felt slightly removed from the story and I think the reason for that is because Lara, our narrator, was always removed herself from the goings-on and the actual interesting parts of the story.
Here’s the thing about this book. I was SO excited to pick it up because it has so many of my favorites themes: Art, dramatic family relationships, & secretive travel to name a few. However, from the very first page I could not get into the writing style, which I blame almost completely on the vehicle for the story. Narrating for the reader throughout is the diary of a young girl who was bored, listless, and struggling to find her place.
And let me just say, reading the perspective of a 15-year-old was such an irritating experience. I couldn’t get myself to care about her observations about the artists and her surroundings, and I really couldn’t have been less invested in her perspective. I think my main issue with Lara as the driving force for this actually really interesting story is that Lara didn’t know about anything that was happening in their eccentric community of artists and collectors and, by extension, neither did the reader. I always felt slightly removed from the story and I think the reason for that is because Lara, our narrator, was always removed herself from the goings-on and the actual interesting parts of the story.