Linda Moore

A Novel

Attribution

elizabeth

Thank you to She Writes Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

This book had the ingredients of something I would love (that's why I requested the title, after all): art, history, a female protagonist. While the premise is as lovely as it sounds, and I can see this book having wide appeal to a large audience of readers, I don't think I am part of that audience.

I was expecting something in the vein of Tracy Chevalier, whose novels I tend to enjoy and who incorporates many of the same ingredients, but Moore's prose was distractingly inconsistent and at times stilted or affected. I wanted so badly to get a sense for her singular and authentic voice, which would have helped to unify a sometimes disjointed narrative. I'd say this novel is somewhere in the gray area between plot- and character-driven, but perhaps only because neither the plot nor the characters felt especially full. Plot points often seemed too convenient and characters felt insufficiently nuanced, with backstories (e.g. Cate's brother's death) being neatly simplified into a stage for character development. It all felt a bit derived from the formula of a creative writing class, and lacking the development to make the premise reach its potential.

Attribution A Novel

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