A review by mattmatros
Costalegre: A Novel Inspired by Peggy Guggenheim and Her Daughter by Courtney Maum

4.0

I can't quite figure out where to land on this novel (novella??). It's both lush and spare, sophisticated yet told through the eyes of a teenager, and hyper realistic in places while relying on invented detail in others. It's short on story and isn't particular deep on characterization, but it still manages to evoke some hypnotic alternate reality where any of us might wish to spend some time. I think this book might be making some profound points about art and artists, but again I can't quite put my finger on them. I do know that the book has stayed with me and made me want to learn more about the time period (1930s, Dada, etc.) and made me rethink the ways in which a novel can affect us. These have to be good things.