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A review by lisagfrederick
Costalegre: A Novel Inspired by Peggy Guggenheim and Her Daughter by Courtney Maum
4.0
4.5. I loved this dreamlike, luminous tale of avant-garde artists and writers spirited away to the Mexican jungle in the ‘30s to escape Hitler’s tyranny, but context is everything. It’s based on Peggy Guggenheim, whose namesake museum in Venice is one of my favorites in all the world, and her daughter, Pegeen, a talented yet troubled artist of whom very little is written. Had I not already taken an interest in the lives of these two women I doubt I’d have found the novel so compelling, but knowing their stories helped to color in the background and amplify the too-faint details.
Here, Peggy and Pegeen are transformed into Leonora and 15-year-old Lara, who narrates the story in diary and sketchbook format. Leonora’s self-absorption and carefree neglect have a quietly devastating effect on her restless and sensitive daughter, desperate for the same attention Leonora lavishes on her guests. Her loneliness leads to a one-sided infatuation with sculptor Jack Klinger, the only adult on hand who truly sees her. The other characters are more loosely drawn, but that didn’t bother me—the effect is like a painting with Leonora, Lara and Jack in crisp focus while everyone else blurs into the middle distance. Maum's spare writing style beautifully evokes the wild exuberance of the jungle and the coast without a word wasted. Although the ending felt strange and abrupt at first, the more I thought about it the more appropriate it seemed: a teenager trying to slam the book shut on a painful chapter of her life.
Here, Peggy and Pegeen are transformed into Leonora and 15-year-old Lara, who narrates the story in diary and sketchbook format. Leonora’s self-absorption and carefree neglect have a quietly devastating effect on her restless and sensitive daughter, desperate for the same attention Leonora lavishes on her guests. Her loneliness leads to a one-sided infatuation with sculptor Jack Klinger, the only adult on hand who truly sees her. The other characters are more loosely drawn, but that didn’t bother me—the effect is like a painting with Leonora, Lara and Jack in crisp focus while everyone else blurs into the middle distance. Maum's spare writing style beautifully evokes the wild exuberance of the jungle and the coast without a word wasted. Although the ending felt strange and abrupt at first, the more I thought about it the more appropriate it seemed: a teenager trying to slam the book shut on a painful chapter of her life.