Memoirs of a Muse | Lara Vapnyar | A slice of immigrant life

book: Memoirs of a Muse | Lara Vapnyar

books:

Memoirs of a Muse

	Memoirs of a Muse Lara Vapnyar Vintage, 2007 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 1 review view larger image
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Tanya is a typical teenager living with her bookish professor mother in a cramped Soviet apartment. She is obsessed with Dostoyevksy, and noticing that he always portrays his mistress and muse in his novels?never his wife?she determines to become a companion to a great writer. Her opportunity comes when, as a college graduate newly emigrated to America, she attends a Manhattan bookstore reading by Mark Schneider, a Significant New York Novelist. Tanya quickly moves in with Mark, ready to dazzle in bed, to serve and inspire . . . if only he would spend a little more time writing. But as she struggles to better understand her role as Muse, Tanya also learns more than she expected about the destiny she has imagined for herself.

A touching and very funny novel in the great tradition of Russian realism, Memoirs of a Muse is also a lively meditation on the mysteries and absurdities of artistic inspiration.

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A slice of immigrant life

Lara Vapnyar's There Are Jews in My House is a collection of short stories depicting well drawn Russian characters. Her first novel contains a bit of the Russian immigrant experience, quite a bit of satire, and a warning of the perils of attaching yourself to a man of genius.

Tanya emigrates to New York in her 20s, and concludes "[t]hough Americans were often criticized for having bad taste in clothes or ignorance of European culture, they were clearly believed to be the superior race. 'I know this American ... ' or 'One American told me' people kept saying, unaware of how proud they sounded."

Tanya attaches herself to a "man of genius", but learns "A great writer was supposed to be self-destructive, wasn't he? I could hardly imagine Dostoyevsky jogging, gulping down protein smoothies, or summoning the shrink to relieve him of his sadness or agitation. Sadness and agitation made Dostoyevsky grab his quill and write! Madness was the core of his writing."

Tanya eventually realizes that even if genius is authentic, the real relationship can be mundane and boring.

The characters came alive for me, and I found the plot twisty and satisfying. I'll look forward to her next novel with real interest.

Robert C. Ross 2009

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