Customer Reviews

The Love-Artist

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4 star:		(9)
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2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Love-Artist, by Jane Alison, is a marvelous first novel by a brilliant young writer. The novel is a suspenseful mystery, based on a gap in our knowledge about Ovid, the Roman poet who wrote The Art of Love and The Metamorphoses (long considered two of the masterpieces of classical literature). Ovid wrote during the reign of Emperor Augustus and in the lifetime of Jesus Christ. For unknown reasons, he was exiled from Rome while at the height of his fame and success, and died in exile ten years later.

Ovid left behind a tantalizing fragment -- two lines of what seems to have been a full-length play about the legendary sorceress Medea, who abandoned her father and murdered her brother for love of a Greek hero, then murdered her own children by that hero when he deserted her for another woman.

Jane Alison has written a stunning novel imagining how Ovid came to write this powerful play, who inspired his character of Medea, why only two lines of the play survive, and why he was doomed to exile by the emperor himself. Her descriptions of imperial Rome are poetic and evocative: "[t]his great city and all that it's made of -- the finest things men have created and all the texture of cultured life, books and art and buildings and music, whispers in a marble square, sun shining through an amethyst dress, a glance on the street, sleek onyx statues standing in a row, the flare of recognition in intelligent eyes ... the rooms where conversation flies like torches ..."

Alison has created an unforgettable character in Xenia, the Black Sea woman whose talent, mystery and beauty inspire Ovid to create his terrifying version of Medea. The novel winds toward its inexorable end in a shimmer of beautifully written, nuanced passages. Alison's background as a classicist informs her imagination and the details of her settings are impeccable, from the intrigues of the Augustan court, to the superstitions of pre-Christian Rome. This is a wonderful book that had me staying up late to reach its utterly satisfying end.

I admit, I sometimes judge a book by its cover. In this case, I was not disappointed.

"The Love-Artist" is a rich work. During his banishment from Rome, the great writer Ovid meets Xenia (no, she's not a warrior princess). Xenia is known for her healing talents. She intrigues and inspires Ovid, who returns with her to Rome. But when Ovid decides to use her as the subject for his play "Medea," he creates situations meant to drive Xenia to the brink of madness. How does his muse cope with these manipulations and has Ovid take the charade too far?

Jane Alison's writing is eloquent and full of great imagery and exacting emotion. The characters themselves are well developed and believable.

I highly recommend this book.

How many of us remember our days at school -- high school or college -- having the classics rammed down our throats, when a gentler method might have instilled in more of us an appeciation and love for the masterful works of Greece and Rome in their heyday? Ovid, of course (at least when I was in school, lo these many years ago) was glossed over by my teachers -- his works were far too seeded in the 'forbidden' emotions of physical love for the school boards of the day.

Jane Alison's incredible novel THE LOVE-ARTIST brings Ovid, his contemporaries and their society vividly to life for the reader -- the story she tells is no cold biography, but a living, breathing imagined life. Her characters -- Ovid, and especially Xenia -- are enthralling, exotic, erotic and (most importantly) BELIEVABLE. Their thoughts and emotions and motives, as layed out for us in this enthralling tale, make for as compelling a read as I've come across in recent years.

The story begins with Ovid being exiled from Rome by the emperor Augustus -- he is being transported through the Roman night seated on a wagon, flanked by two soldiers saddled with the boring (to them) duty of ridding Augustus of one more irritation. As the great poet begins to recall the events that led to his societal downfall, the rest of the story is told in a lengthy flashback.

On holiday on the Black Sea, far from Rome, as his masterpiece THE METAMORPHOSES is about to be published, Ovid is seeking both relaxation from the tensions of life in Rome as well as inspiration. He knows that in order to regain favour in the eyes of the emperor, his next work must be not only astounding in its scope, but acceptable to the powers-that-be. Almost as soon as he sets foot on land after his long sea journey, he is astonished to see a beautiful, exotic, wild young woman shoot up out of the sea as if she had been launched by a catapult.

She is Xenia -- gatherer of herbs, caster of spells, exorcisor of demons, reader of dreams and futures among the people in the remote region where she lives. She captures Ovid's imagination -- and his heart -- almost immediately. He sees in her all of the wild creatures from his METAMORPHOSES brought to life in a human being -- and he sees in her a muse, his inspiration for his next work. He becomes obsessed with her -- he must have her, he must bring her back with him to Rome.

Xenia is fully aware of Ovid's work -- and she soon comes to realize that the lanky Roman who is watching her from his hidden (he thinks) spot in the woods is the great poet she has so long admired. She is not completely wild -- she can read Latin, and has devoured Ovid's books. She is equally obsessed with him -- she sees in him a great opportunity for immortality, to be famous. They set their sights on each other almost simultaneously -- and the machinations they first have in mind give way in both of them to love.

The tale that follows -- with Ovid returning to Rome with Xenia -- is part love story, part mystery, a small epic of betrayal and magic and political power. Alison's writing is achingly lyrical -- it is perfectly suited to her subject, matching her imaginings of Ovid's life with the mood left us from the genius of his own writings. The story is enthralling and hard to put down -- and one of the finest novels I've read in some time. The experience was so rich that I didn't want it to end -- even as it whirled to its inevitable conclusion (which, thankfully, Alison's talents imbued with not a few surprises).

This novel is a real treat.

The novel was good - I read the entire thing. It had everything that makes good historical fiction - real history, and brilliant research which made the Roman world believable and alive. It's one of the better book I've read lately.

I only have two issues that make me hesitate to give the novel 5 stars. The writing IS lyrical - and many times too much so. You're left floating in a sea of prose and often the ground of reality is left so far below you can't even see it.

The second issue, a minor one, is that too little actual action takes place. When I say that, I'm including everything it entails - actual conversation (we're fed tidbits now and then) and taking-place-before you action and conflict - Julia was almost the best action the novel had.

Overall, a great read but lacking in firm footing.

I loved David Malouf's, "An Imaginary Life" so I was sure I would love "The Love Artist" as well. I was not wrong; I do. While "An Imaginary Life" tells the story of the Roman poet Ovid's life after his exile, "The Love Artist" tells us about what led up to that exile. These details are all imagined, of course, but this book is so well-written and so enjoyable, one can't help but wish it were all true.

"The Love Artist" is told in a frame. It opens with Ovid's arrest and exile, then flashes back to tell the story of the events leading up to that arrest and exile, until the Epilogue, set, once again, at the time of his arrest.

At the time of his arrest, Ovid is Rome's most fashionable and famous poet and he has just finished Metamorphoses. Knowing he'd better leave Rome for awhile, he vacations on the east coast of the Black Sea, close to the home of Medea. While on holiday, he meets a beautiful young herbalist, Xenia, a woman with mysterious powers who will change the course of his life when she makes him her lover and he makes her his muse. Xenia and Ovid have the same wish in life, "To be known. To be remembered. To live forever."

Ovid and Xenia return to Rome where it seems as though everyone except Augustus is quite pleased with Metamprphoses. Even Augustus's hated granddaughter, Julia, is entranced by it. Ovid, under the patronage of Julia, begins a new work, the now lost play, Medea.

The above sets up many questions that have to be answered in the pages of this book. What happens when Xenia, now pregnant, discovers that the beautiful Julia is Ovid's new patron? Will Xenia commit the same heinous crime as did Medea? Will Ovid and Xenia find eternal life? What will be Xenia's ultimate fate and the fate of her children? You have to read the book to find out the answers.

What we do know about Ovid is scant. We know that he was "probably" exiled because of Augustus's displeasure with The Art of Love. But what happened to his play, Medea? Only two lines remain. And why was Julia, Augustus's granddaughter exiled at the same time as was Ovid?

While the characters in "The Love Artist" are fascinating to read about they aren't people anyone would care to know in real life. They are all plotting, secretive, and very selfish and self-centered in their bid for power and immortality. And yes, even bloodthirsty. None of the characters knows what the others are up to and, most of the time, neither do we. This heightens the suspense of "The Love Artist" and its eventual horror is made all the more terrible by virtue of being told in language that is lyrical in its beauty. Although Augustus seems to be the most fair and reasonable character in the book, we can't help but be fascinated with Ovid and the entrancing (but evil) Xenia.

The fact that Alison could fashion a novel as rich and lush as "The Love Artist" from these tiny fragments of
history is not small feat. This is a lyrical, fascinating and dense novel revolving around the themes of corrupt love, a creativity that has destruction at its core and an unquenchable desire for immortality, a desire that will render a person capable of anything.

Anyone who is interested in ancient Rome or in the poetry of Ovid should love "The Love Artist." It is engrossing and holds one's interest from the first page to the last. I only wish it would have been longer. I just wanted this book to go on and on.

This remarkable novel - literary, erotic, and entirely engaging - imagines the period of Ovid's life between the publication of the Metamorphoses and his being sent into exile. It centers on his love affair with Xenia, which is entirely Alison's creation - but what a creation it is! Xenia, whose name means The Foreign One, is discovered by Ovid as he vacations on the Black Sea (to which he will later be exiled). In his eyes, she is magical and alluring: a nature nymph. And through his eyes we see her shifting shape in ways that are both realistic and yet evocative of the transformations in The Metamorphoses. So we see her, and we see him seeing her. Other portions of the novel are told from her point of view, and through her we see the world as a shamaness sees it, the present scene often layered over with what is to come. It is an altogether marvelous performance, and even more remarkable because it has two distinct and intertwined sources of appeal: our interest in the characters and their love-story, and also to the rich evocation of myth. You wouldn't have to know about myths to enjoy this novel; but the more you know, the more deeply appealing it becomes. It's an unforgettable read.

A very fine first novel, The Love-Artist attempts to breathe life into the Roman poet and libertine, Ovid -- rather like Pygmalion breathing life into his creation, Galatea, in Ovid's own Metamorphoses. The only problem is that the story isn't quite as fully or as well realized as I hoped it would be. The writing is beautiful, full of remarkable, poetic images, but where these should be the embellishment, with the story providing a solid backbone, in The Love-Artist, it's rather the other way around: the images are the primary substance, and the backbone of the story is rather more weak than I would have liked. It feels like the novel a poet would write -- a mixed compliment and criticism.

Still, well worth reading for the beauty of its language alone.

Jane Alison's novel, The Love Artist, takes a little that is known and a lot that is unknown concerning the writer Ovid and his banishment from ancient Rome and creates a beautifully written tale of love and transformations. The character of Xenia, a woman both from, but not of, the Black Sea area is the personality that the story revolves around. She is like Ovid's writing come to life and she inspires him to greater heights. The author makes this ancient world come alive and is successful in fashioning breathing personalities for both Ovid and Xenia. The story, though, at times feels like a novella and the fascinating character of Julia, the emperor's grand-daughter (who will share a fate with Ovid) sometimes seems lost behind the two major characters when she should have been given a little more space. That aside, this is a pleasant, sweetly-voiced novel about a man who will live forever.

"The Love Artist" is a gorgeous work of fiction in which the beautifully written prose draws you into the dream of ancient Rome; love, lust, and jealousy; the process of creation; and the human urge to immortality. This is a first novel that any well established novelist could learn from. With this book Jane Alison has become an author to follow. Her insight into the workings of humanity is a gift, as is her feeling for the milieu of the Rome of Augustus. This is a book to own, read, and re-read.

This book was recommended in a Maureen Dowd column, so I thought I'd give it a go.
... I was a classics major a thousand years ago, and this novel reawakened what I love about the Latin lyric and love elegists. But forget that, the fact that Ms. Alison was able to write English prose in the SAME STYLE as these great poets is not merely an impression. It is wordplay genius. Bene bene factum.