The Muse: The Sunday Times Bestseller and Richard & Judy Book Club Pick

I was given The Miniaturist as a Christmas present and had put off reading it as one of my sisters-in-law hated it and found it dull and slow-moving. However, the sister-in-law who bought it for me loved it so a couple of Sundays ago I decided to give it a go. Wow!! I didn't move and read the book in one sitting. The writing is superb and I was gripped - so much so that as soon as I finished it I bought The Muse. Again, wow! Although very different in subject matter Jessie Burton's ability to create interesting, multi-layered characters and make you empathise with them despite their flaws is incredible. Both books also seamlessly blend historical accuracy with great story-telling and left me wanting to read more about the periods covered. My only negative is that we are going to have to wait a while for her next book!

The Muse is a fantastic read with well-plotted twists. Odelle Bastien comes to London from Trinidad looking for better life, more chances for success. She's hired by mysterious Majorie Quick to work as a typist in Skelton Institue. Odelle is a writer, and one of her poems is a starting point of her relationship with Lawrie Scott. Lawrie is an owner of a painting that as it turns out was painted by a very promising Spanish author that we don't know much about. Lawrie brings the painting to the Skelton for examination - an event that shakes Quick and excites gallery's owner. All this is happening in 1960s London. In parallel to how we follow Odelle's steps to finding out what is Quick's connection to the painting, we are taken back to 1930s Spain when the painting depicting Saint Rufina was created. It was painted in an uncertain time in Europe but in a somewhat happy time for the artist. Olive Schloss moved to small rural town Arazuelo with her parents, and there she meets Isaac and Teresa Robles. Isaac is a socialist that is passionate about helping workers; Teresa is his half-sister who is hired as a help in Schloss's house. Robles change Schloss lives in many ways, leaving us wondering how the painting ended up in London thirty years later. The story picks up only after some time, and I had troubles at the beginning to engross myself in the story. But when it finally come to a point where I could clearly see how the two stories are connected I was hooked. I wanted to know how the author will fool us into thinking one thing, and later showing us that the clues were directing us in an entirely different direction. It was predictable how the story will go, but it was still enjoyable. Odelle is a great character, she's very smart and has a wit that is elevating the story. She was not overly emotional, even though she could go that way very easily. Luckily Burton kept her away from being a whiny character that will be insufferable to read about. Majorie Quick is a mysterious character and the one that will annoy you the most. Not because she's created badly, but because she is written well and she's just an annoying character that keeps too many secrets and doesn't want to share them. The character I had a problem with is Lawrie. He inherited the painting from his late mother, and he claims that he has no idea how he's mother got that painting. We later learn more about his family, especially his mother. And when I knew all the details I could not think of any reason, and no sufficient reason was provided in the book, for Lawrie to keep some facts to himself. I cannot understand why he reacts or didn't react to some fact he learns during the meetings with the gallery owner who was presenting data he managed to gather on Lawrie's painting. He baffled me, and he's actions didn't always make sense to me. The Spanish part of the story had more irritating characters - Olivia and Sarah, daughter and mother. Oh my... A very unhealthy relationship between those two. The whole family of Schloss has lots of secrets, and the keeper of them all is Teresa. Because of all the secrets, she has a lot of power that she is using in a way that changes the lives of the family. At heart, the Spanish part of the book is a sad tale, with a lot of pain suffered by the family, Teresa and Spanish people. The final chapter is deeply satisfying. It was a perfect end to the story; I got exactly what I was hoping for, nothing more, nothing less. It is a book worth reading; historical fiction fans will love it.

This story entwines two families, hundreds of miles and more than a century apart, linked by a mysterious work of art. On the verge of the Spanish Civil War, with Hitler rising and War in Europe on the horizon, Olive Schloss, the daughter of an art dealer, newly arrived with her family to live in a neglected but delightful manor in Spain, finds herself involved with a mediocre artist, but he is a political agitator, and while she sympathises with his cause, his sister (her friend) worries for his safety. Many decades later, Odelle Bastien, the well-educated daughter of a Caribbean immigrant who had arrived in London on the SS Windrush in 1948, is surprised to find a still racist society daunting her career hopes. Determined to overcome obstacles, she lands an exciting secretarial job with a firm of Art Dealers. She is directly responsible to the somewhat eccentric Marjorie Quick, who appears to have a mysterious secret. When an enigmatic picture produces a volatile reaction in her boss, and causes ripples that threaten to affect the Company, Odelle determines to investigate, and unveils a set of extraordinary coincidences that link the two families in an amazing way. A well written and gripping read.

A very different book from the author’s first roaring success, “The Miniaturist” but an equally original and engaging read. Not what I excepted from the cover, this is written from the perspective of an Afro-Caribbean young girl who lives in London in the 1960s and finds a job working for an idiosyncratic art gallery owner. She meets a young man at a party who has inherited a painting from his mother and therein the tale begins... flipping backwards in time to Spain at the time of the Civil War and to London in the 1960s. I particularly enjoyed the latter which was well researched and evocative of what it was like for a young black girl at that time with the social attitudes that we now view as totally racist but which were normal then. The ending is not difficult to work out really (my only reason for giving 4 stars) but this doesn’t stop the novel being a good read and thoroughly enjoyable. I would recommend it.

For me The Miniaturist was a masterpiece 10/10 book. Stories such as that are rare so I knew to manage my expectations for The Muse and not demand perfection. The Muse does get off to a promising start with the London 1967 setting and likeable main character Odelle both intriguing and full of potential for a compelling journey. The big problem and main weakness of the book is the flashbacks to Spain in 1936. The characters are nowhere near as compelling as the main protagonists in The Miniaturist and the setting in the remote countryside means the oncoming tension of the Civil War is not tangible or a foreboding shadow looming over everyone's futures. I actually found myself groaning when the book would switch from interesting developments in London to slow burn mundane events in Spain. I found a lot of the scenes and thoughts repetitive and trite. I would have enjoyed the book more if it had focused on Odelle's journey with only occasional flashbacks. I missed caring about characters from The Miniaturist such as Nella, Brandt, Marin and Cordelia. I didn't really like or root for many of people in The Muse. It is however well-written and Jessie Burton has incredibly deep powers of perception and feeling that lift her above the crowd.

Wonderful writing, it quite captivated me with the characters coming to life through the intertwining of the book. I will definitely read this again.

This book was a joy to read. The characters were engaging and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to them and I learnt more about the Spanish civil war. I highly recommend it

I think the author linked the 2 stories together very well as I was left guessing for a while as to the correct link between the two. When it was revealed I was slightly disappointed but suspended my doubts because it was a twist that I was not expecting. I wont go into detail as this would spoil the ending. I liked the earlier story set in the 1930`s pre war Spain when discontent was rumbling and tensions rising. The Muse, as a title, wasn't made enough of as a character in my opinion. The 1960`s London story was running interspersed with the 1930`s story and I was left wondering how Odelle would ever get to know what we, the readers, were being told. The final denouement brought the answers ( although the confrontation between Olive and "The Muse" in the shepherds hut could only have been known by them!). Overall, a good read if somewhat sad.