How these artists of varying degrees of talent, skill and savvy make use of one another — as subjects, lovers, supporters and competitors — at Wrynn and, shortly, in New York City once they for a variety of reasons are forced to leave the school, is interesting in itself; but mostly it, the plot, is a tidy structure upon which hang the far more interesting questions about love and art, fear, ambition and desire ... Angress is very good at getting what people think about and what they want when they make art, whether from political conviction, a performative impulse or a deep need to convey what they see ... If this might seem somewhat programmatic, the moments of recognition and frustration, revelation and betrayal, desire and revulsion are convincing and moving, and Angress' portrayal of the intersection — or disconnect — of art, politics, idealism and practicality within the web of familial, romantic,and professional relationships is painterly, in the best sense of the word.
... can be wickedly funny. But it's with a straight face that Antonia Angress has written her exceedingly good debut novel, a shrewd and expertly sustained rumination on what it takes to be a self-supporting artist and whether it's even worth it ... The novel's plot is gripping--it includes a hoax and a filched Egon Schiele drawing--but equally intriguing are the questions Angress's characters ask themselves: How important is it to resist the art market's capitalist trappings? When does political art become propaganda? How does one know if committing oneself to the creative life is the right choice? Angress, of course, need not wonder.
The novel is juggling a lot of questions about what it means to be an artist, the various ways one can or cannot approach the business side of art, and whether or not the undertaking is worth it. In a sense, the novel is deceptively not about art, but rather, about money, power, legacy and the ways that we commodify everything (even likes and blog views) in this late stage of capitalism that we find ourselves in. Though the characters, at times, feel taken from central casting, Angress’s strength is her ability to create an engrossing plot, allowing readers to watch as her messy characters navigate their way to the finish line.
