Scan barcode
A review by hanxiety_in_pink
Utopia by Heidi Sopinka
4.0
This was very definitely a magpie-buy… so pretty that I couldn’t resist, but the premise also intrigued me. Seventies California, artists AND a hint of mystery. Colour me intrigued.
The young second wife, somewhat obsessed with her predecessor, Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca say what? The classic novel is referenced in the book so it’s clear the author took inspiration from this text but the settings couldn’t be further apart. From the first page the reader is transported to the stifling heat of the Californian desert; and to the stifling atmosphere of the art scene at the time.
This is a fairly short book, but it gives so much, questions of motherhood, womanhood and identity as an artist weave throughout and I felt equally claustrophobic and free. Paz, the protagonist, constrained within a world that she would not necessarily have chosen for herself, with a partner and child that are not truly hers. Romy, the mysterious artist, no longer trapped by the expectations of others.
The whole feminist thread about women in art in the seventies is super interesting, but even without that this is a really skilful take on a classic tale. The young and talented woman who, whilst seeking answers about the one who came before, ends up finding more about herself in the process. This was a wonderful little read and I’d recommend it in a heartbeat.
The young second wife, somewhat obsessed with her predecessor, Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca say what? The classic novel is referenced in the book so it’s clear the author took inspiration from this text but the settings couldn’t be further apart. From the first page the reader is transported to the stifling heat of the Californian desert; and to the stifling atmosphere of the art scene at the time.
This is a fairly short book, but it gives so much, questions of motherhood, womanhood and identity as an artist weave throughout and I felt equally claustrophobic and free. Paz, the protagonist, constrained within a world that she would not necessarily have chosen for herself, with a partner and child that are not truly hers. Romy, the mysterious artist, no longer trapped by the expectations of others.
The whole feminist thread about women in art in the seventies is super interesting, but even without that this is a really skilful take on a classic tale. The young and talented woman who, whilst seeking answers about the one who came before, ends up finding more about herself in the process. This was a wonderful little read and I’d recommend it in a heartbeat.