An evocative, aching riff on the epistolary tradition ... Regel is a poet ... She brings the same keen eye for human idiosyncrasy and the same intuitive muscular command of figurative language to The Last Sane Woman.
Assured ... Regel clearly knows this milieu, and decadent gatherings are depicted with wry humour. Regel is also a poet and delights in language, though her style is occasionally too ornate for my tastes ... The various periods, settings and large cast of minor characters are occasionally disorientating ... A sensitive meditation on creativity and disconnection.
As the editor of an avant-garde arts journal, the author clearly knows the territory; however, the narrative is needlessly overwrought ... There are riches to be found here: exquisitely described physical details... and smart takedowns of artsy pretension. Still, the overall message seems to undercut the artist’s mandate: to create something new out of nothingness ... An overly complex structure mars this otherwise astute and timely examination of the challenges facing women artists.
