The Joyce Girl

"I found The Joyce Girl compelling. It’s set between two timelines: Zurich in 1934, where Lucia is analysed by Carl Jung , and late 1920s Paris, where her life begins to unravel. Lucia is a talented dancer. She says that dancing is the most important thing in her life, and there’s this sense that dancing keeps her world together. That’s how I feel about writing — it sort of keeps me sane and holds everything together, and so that resonated with me. Lucia’s problem is that she is constantly drawn away from dancing — shackled to her dad as his muse, and drawn into complicated and unhappy relationships, first with Samuel Beckett and then with Alexander Calder, the sculptor. It’s when she is diverted from dance that everything starts to fall apart. The relationship between her and her parents is interesting. I don’t want to say too much for fear of spoilers, but that dynamic lies at the heart of her struggles with mental health. Both her parents have secrets and nothing is straightforward. Annabel Abbs handles this fraught territory with great sensitivity, showing how Lucia’s identity is subsumed again and again by her father’s fame. Like McLain, Abbs brilliantly captures the bohemian vibrancy of 1920s Paris. I’m drawn to reading about this period with its fabulous cast of intellectuals and artists, from Joyce and Beckett to Calder and F. Scott Fitzgerald . Despite the colourful setting, it’s Lucia who remains at the emotional heart of the novel. Abbs writes so vividly about how Lucia feels while she’s dancing and all the things it brings to her, as well as her struggles, you feel like you’re in the room with her. So when she starts to go under, it’s really devastating. Lucia is torn between her own desires and the burdens of her lineage. She is crushed by the era — when women still lacked autonomy — and by the weight of expectations placed on her. It’s a sad story, but also gripping and informative. Yes, definitely. The wonderful thing about The Paris Wife, The Joyce Girl and Alias Grace is that they give voice to women who have been overlooked by history. History was written by men, and many fascinating women were left out because male historians didn’t think them interesting enough to include. These novels shine a spotlight on women who deserve to be remembered. It’s about Dora Maar, who is probably best known as Pablo Picasso’s Weeping Woman, his lover and his muse. But she was so much more than that. She was an incredibly gifted photographer, an artist, a poet and a radical left-wing activist. I thought that she deserved to be brought out from Picasso’s long, dark shadow and placed at the centre of the story. The novel begins with her earlier life — she was at the top of her game as a photographer. She had a gift for capturing everyday life and infusing it with an uncanny atmosphere that’s disturbing yet mesmerising. She exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York , and the International Surrealist Exhibition of 1936 in London . But all this brilliance and strangeness didn’t last. That same year, she met Picasso — and seduced him by stabbing a knife between her fingers so wildly that she drew blood. Picasso, who had a dark side, was entranced by her performance, and this was the start of a tumultuous nine-year relationship. The novel focuses on Dora’s artistic journey and also on their love affair. What stands out is the vibrant way these characters come to life when their stories are told with the energy and imagination of fiction. You learn as you read, but you’re also entertained, which to me feels like the ideal combination."