Memoirs of a Muse: A Novel 
asked by spiderman on November 26, 2006 1:05 AM
Lara Vapnyar, author of the prizewinning story collection There Are Jews in My House, brings us a poignant and comic first novel about a delightfully sincere modern-day muse. We meet Tanya as a typical Russian girl, living with her bookish professor mother in a drab Soviet apartment. As a teenager, Tanya becomes obsessed with Dostoevsky and settles on her life’s calling: she will be the companion to a great writer. Her memoirs tell of her immigration to New York after college, the stifling expectations of her Brighton Beach cousins, and the crucial moment in a bookshop on the Upper West Side, where Tanya attends a reading by Mark Schneider, a Significant New York Novelist.
Tanya soon moves in with Mark, ready to dazzle in bed, to serve and inspire . . . if only he would spend a little more time writing and a little less time at the gym, the shrink, and the literary soirees where she feels hopelessly unglamorous and out of place. But as she gradually learns to read English—struggling to better understand Mark’s work and her true role as Muse—Tanya also learns more than she expected about the destiny she has imagined for herself.
Animated by Vapnyar’s beguiling grace and vividness—with a narrative richness reflecting the great tradition of Russian realism to which she is a natural heir—Memoirs of a Muse is an altogether wonderful novel. It is a lively meditation on female capabilities and happiness, on the mysteries of artistic inspiration (and the absurdities of artistic life), and, perhaps most movingly, on the pain and wonder of the immigrant experience in New York City.
Tanya soon moves in with Mark, ready to dazzle in bed, to serve and inspire . . . if only he would spend a little more time writing and a little less time at the gym, the shrink, and the literary soirees where she feels hopelessly unglamorous and out of place. But as she gradually learns to read English—struggling to better understand Mark’s work and her true role as Muse—Tanya also learns more than she expected about the destiny she has imagined for herself.
Animated by Vapnyar’s beguiling grace and vividness—with a narrative richness reflecting the great tradition of Russian realism to which she is a natural heir—Memoirs of a Muse is an altogether wonderful novel. It is a lively meditation on female capabilities and happiness, on the mysteries of artistic inspiration (and the absurdities of artistic life), and, perhaps most movingly, on the pain and wonder of the immigrant experience in New York City.
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Tanya lives in Moscow with her professor mother upon whose bedroom wall is an array of pictures of the greats of Russian literature. The young Tanya is fascinated by the portrait of Dosstoyevsky. She spends her time reading about him and is especially fascinated by his stormy relationship with the charismatic yet difficult Polina Suslova Dostoyevsky's mistress. When Polina ends their relatioinship Dostoyevsky marries an unpreposssing girl, Anna Grigorievna, 24 years his junior. Anna is placid of temperament, tending to the needs of the great writer. Young Tanya decides it is her destiny to be the muse of a great man, to be the spark that ignites his great female characters as Polina did for Dostoyevsky.
Tanya is an attractive but otherwise unremarkable student who receives her college degree in history writing on such topics as the history of Russian makeup, and breakfast in ancient Rome. After having graduated she receives an opportunity to go to New York to live with her aunt and uncle, poor emigres trying to make lives for themselves and fit into the alien American culture. Finally her chance to be a muse comes when she meets Mark, a published writer at a reading in an upper West Side bookstore.
The much older Mark is a classic narcissist. He has little interest in Tanya's thoughts, memories even her sexual pleasure. She spends her days tending to his needs, waiting to inspire Mark to begin a new novel. In the process she abandons a career or even just a job and is being 'kept' by Mark as her professor mother reminds her during phone calls to Moscow. But as the years go on Tanya begins to suspect that something is wrong with their relationship. When Mark begins to write a new novel, and Tanya discovers in a biography of Dostoyevsky Mark's real thoughts about her, her belief in the importance of being a muse begins to unravel.
Although the progress of the relationship with Mark is predictable the juxtaposition of the relationship between Dostoyevsky and Polina, Dostoyevsky and Anna and Tanya's own life makes for an engrossing story. Along the way Vapnyar provides insights into the difficulties of the immigrant experience and what it means to lose one's sense of self in another. This is Vapnyar's first novel. She is a fine writer to be watched.
Tanya is an attractive but otherwise unremarkable student who receives her college degree in history writing on such topics as the history of Russian makeup, and breakfast in ancient Rome. After having graduated she receives an opportunity to go to New York to live with her aunt and uncle, poor emigres trying to make lives for themselves and fit into the alien American culture. Finally her chance to be a muse comes when she meets Mark, a published writer at a reading in an upper West Side bookstore.
The much older Mark is a classic narcissist. He has little interest in Tanya's thoughts, memories even her sexual pleasure. She spends her days tending to his needs, waiting to inspire Mark to begin a new novel. In the process she abandons a career or even just a job and is being 'kept' by Mark as her professor mother reminds her during phone calls to Moscow. But as the years go on Tanya begins to suspect that something is wrong with their relationship. When Mark begins to write a new novel, and Tanya discovers in a biography of Dostoyevsky Mark's real thoughts about her, her belief in the importance of being a muse begins to unravel.
Although the progress of the relationship with Mark is predictable the juxtaposition of the relationship between Dostoyevsky and Polina, Dostoyevsky and Anna and Tanya's own life makes for an engrossing story. Along the way Vapnyar provides insights into the difficulties of the immigrant experience and what it means to lose one's sense of self in another. This is Vapnyar's first novel. She is a fine writer to be watched.
reviewed by stix on November 27, 2006 7:29 PM
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Tanya is probably one of the most interesting characters I've encountered in a while. Growing up in Russia, she idolized the writer Dostoyevsky, after first seeing his picture as a little girl. Growing up, she hears of Dostoyevsky's muse, a spirited woman who inspirited him to write. At the suggestion of a teacher who is highly attracted to her, she realizes that she too wants to be a muse. She wants to inspire greatness and achieve immortality by having her actions inspire great art. When she travels to America as a young woman, she meets a frustrated writer who seems to be in need of a muse, and seems to be very interested in her. Tanya is overjoyed at first, but as time passes she realizes that something is not quite right about their relationship. As we read Tanya's story we also get to see Polina's story, the life of Dostoyevsky's muse as seen through Tanya's imagination.
There are a lot of great things about this story. As I said before, Tanya is an interesting complex character. As this slim volume is a coming of age story, we see all of the events that make her into the woman that she becomes. The story begins with her life in Russia and her relationship with her family (probably some of my favorite chapters in the book). We see her sexual maturation. We see her fascination with what many people consider to be the mundane and shallow parts of history, such as what people in the 19th century wore for makeup and used for birth control. We also get to see her life as a Russian immigrant. Tanya's move from one walk of life to another is very true to life. The book is written in a dreamy manner that makes it very pleasant to read. Yet my only complaint is perhaps it is too dreamy. Throughout the novel, all off the filler is simply skimmed over but by the end, I felt as if some of what was skimmed over could have been gone into a little more. I wanted to see more of this transformation that was so important for our main character. I wanted to slow down for a bit and watch as her time as a muse ends.
Beyond that speed bump, the story was highly enjoyable. This is an impressive first novel!
There are a lot of great things about this story. As I said before, Tanya is an interesting complex character. As this slim volume is a coming of age story, we see all of the events that make her into the woman that she becomes. The story begins with her life in Russia and her relationship with her family (probably some of my favorite chapters in the book). We see her sexual maturation. We see her fascination with what many people consider to be the mundane and shallow parts of history, such as what people in the 19th century wore for makeup and used for birth control. We also get to see her life as a Russian immigrant. Tanya's move from one walk of life to another is very true to life. The book is written in a dreamy manner that makes it very pleasant to read. Yet my only complaint is perhaps it is too dreamy. Throughout the novel, all off the filler is simply skimmed over but by the end, I felt as if some of what was skimmed over could have been gone into a little more. I wanted to see more of this transformation that was so important for our main character. I wanted to slow down for a bit and watch as her time as a muse ends.
Beyond that speed bump, the story was highly enjoyable. This is an impressive first novel!
reviewed by tacos on November 28, 2006 3:27 AM
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Memoirs of a Muse is a tale of a Russian woman named Tanya, who has dreams of becoming a muse to a famous author. She is obsessed with the life of, and the writings of Dostoevsky, and with the women in his life, fantasizing on their relationships.
The novel is based on Tanya's memoirs, and details how she immigrated to New York, and eventually met Mark Schneider, a novelist who lives in New York. Memoirs of a Muse deals with the immigrant experience, the desire to assimilate, the need for acceptance, the fear of failure, and the pain of what it means to inspire one's self, and others.
We see Tanya's life begin to crumble, once she moves in with Schneider, even though her dream of being a muse to an author seems to have come to true. Schneider makes no pretense, and is ever the insensitive and insistent partner, not able to commit to anything other than the superficial. For him, their relationship is founded on sex, and his gratification. For her, it is based on emotions and her romantic visions. She manages to think things through, and lets her intuition eventually take hold, guiding her mind to understand that she is being used. We do see her eventually begin to develop a sense of Self, and gain esteem, within the relationship's confines.
For her, and her romanticized perspective, becoming a muse is her life's vision and desire. Her life seems to parallel the life of Dostoevsky and his mistress, in many respects, as we are taken back and forth through time, from the present to the past, and back again.
The ending is a bit of a surprise, we least expect it to end the way it does, but it is a realized ending, and it brings closure for Tanya. Overall, the novel is an interesting character and psychological study.
The novel is based on Tanya's memoirs, and details how she immigrated to New York, and eventually met Mark Schneider, a novelist who lives in New York. Memoirs of a Muse deals with the immigrant experience, the desire to assimilate, the need for acceptance, the fear of failure, and the pain of what it means to inspire one's self, and others.
We see Tanya's life begin to crumble, once she moves in with Schneider, even though her dream of being a muse to an author seems to have come to true. Schneider makes no pretense, and is ever the insensitive and insistent partner, not able to commit to anything other than the superficial. For him, their relationship is founded on sex, and his gratification. For her, it is based on emotions and her romantic visions. She manages to think things through, and lets her intuition eventually take hold, guiding her mind to understand that she is being used. We do see her eventually begin to develop a sense of Self, and gain esteem, within the relationship's confines.
For her, and her romanticized perspective, becoming a muse is her life's vision and desire. Her life seems to parallel the life of Dostoevsky and his mistress, in many respects, as we are taken back and forth through time, from the present to the past, and back again.
The ending is a bit of a surprise, we least expect it to end the way it does, but it is a realized ending, and it brings closure for Tanya. Overall, the novel is an interesting character and psychological study.
reviewed by reader99 on November 28, 2006 11:57 AM
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Vapnyar is one of those writers who is able to write in a way that transports readers to the scene - I felt, I smelled, I heard, I giggled... I couldn't put the book down.
This is a story of a Russian girl with a rich imagination and a longing for a life that is lived "to the utmost degree!". "But now I was fifteen, and that long-anticipated extraordinary talent still hadn't emerged. My many gifts rattled about like cheap jewelry in a sequined bag - there wasn't a single gemstone. Now what kind of fulfilling life could the likes of me lead?" Her language is honest and sincere (with ought being rude or shocking) and puts the story on a very intimate and familiar level.
This is a story of a Russian girl with a rich imagination and a longing for a life that is lived "to the utmost degree!". "But now I was fifteen, and that long-anticipated extraordinary talent still hadn't emerged. My many gifts rattled about like cheap jewelry in a sequined bag - there wasn't a single gemstone. Now what kind of fulfilling life could the likes of me lead?" Her language is honest and sincere (with ought being rude or shocking) and puts the story on a very intimate and familiar level.
reviewed by csean85 on November 29, 2006 1:07 PM
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Memoirs of a Muse is a kindhearted and bittersweet coming-of-age tale of a young Russian girl who suffers from a type of cultural and sexual dissonance. When we first meet her, Tanya Rumer is growing up in Soviet Russia, and as the great Empire comes apart, Tanya spends most of her youth tending to her feeble grandmother whilst her mother works to support them all.
Tanya is an ordinary girl, an underachiever at school; she lacks the obvious conventional talents. Her initial disparateness, however, is tempered by a fierce imagination. As a girl, she's drawn to her grandmother's tales about her family's connection to the famous author Dostoevsky, and in her eyes he appears as a bright and sinister character, almost a fairy-tale villain.
Tanya eventually forms a crush on an older teacher and hopes he will seduce her on a school camping trip. She begins to fantasize that he is like the dead old writers whose works she studies in class, Gogol, Chekhov - and of course Dostoevsky, the "graying hair, prominent foreheads, the knowing eyes," and she begins to see herself as type a muse, "a companion to older artistic, literary men." She needs a Prince who would save her from being a "potato-peeling Cinderella" and turn her "into a Princess/bad girl."
Tanya's fantasies prove to be somewhat prophetic, for she is granted an escape from Russia in the shape of a white envelope from the US Immigration. Now transplanted to New York, her life is suddenly distorted, leaving her facing an enigmatic future. Her world is turned upside down, as this very adventurous Russian is set wandering through a city of strangers with only her eccentric family for help.
Tanya thinks she's escaped reality by leaving Russia, but in fact, she enters a worse reality, filled with humiliating jobs, separate bank accounts, prenup agreements and the smell of cooked salmon. Eventually she meets Mark Schneider, a selfish, snobbish and overly fussy B-grade writer. Blinded to Mark's faults, she begins to entertain the idea of being his muse - and buoyed by the diary she reads detailing Dostoevsky's affair with his mistress Polina - Tanya decides to move in with him.
Wined and dined with everything paid for, Tanya soon realizes that Mark is nothing like her Russian literary idol. Fastidious to the point of frustration, she begins to realize he's a pale glimmer of what she first thought. She used to dream of the "old-bearded writer coming to her bed," but Mark, with his paunchy stomach, graying hair on his chest, and the anxious eyes of a chubby little boy - couldn't be further from her fantasies.
Author Lara Vapnyar beautifully recounts Tanya's unsullied dream of finding Mr. Right, a modern day Dostoevsky, but having to cope with dashed and unfulfilled hopes whilst doing so. Her journey is testament to the fact that dreams from time to time never turn out the way we want them to be. Tanya builds dream castle of Mark based on illusion and hope, then she gets to know him and the illusion crashes and the hopes go.
Whilst Mark sees Tanya as a vulnerable foreigner, exotic, young and different, his initial attempt at intimacy, and the warm confessions, masquerade as a smooth, well-rehearsed performance. He never tries to be close to her; he just wants to listen and be admired. Tanya's altruism and the need for her to be loved is swamped Mark's smugness, especially his conviction that people are there to serve only him.
A charming exploration of sex, intimacy and feminine intuition, Memoirs of a Muse captures the heart of what it means to be a woman, who is awakening sexually and emotionally. Tanya's whole life prior to meeting Mark, was series of predetermined and interconnected steps all leading her to becoming a writer's muse.
As she reads about the young Polina, Tanya is gradually transformed and filled with a cavernous, impalpable yearning. Unfortunately, her subsequent search for this connection doesn't really quell her longing. Tanya learns the hard lesson - while geniuses create art through struggling and suffering, ordinary people are habitually consumed by it and are often left with the remnants, to feed off the geniuses troubled mind. Mike Leonard June 06.
Tanya is an ordinary girl, an underachiever at school; she lacks the obvious conventional talents. Her initial disparateness, however, is tempered by a fierce imagination. As a girl, she's drawn to her grandmother's tales about her family's connection to the famous author Dostoevsky, and in her eyes he appears as a bright and sinister character, almost a fairy-tale villain.
Tanya eventually forms a crush on an older teacher and hopes he will seduce her on a school camping trip. She begins to fantasize that he is like the dead old writers whose works she studies in class, Gogol, Chekhov - and of course Dostoevsky, the "graying hair, prominent foreheads, the knowing eyes," and she begins to see herself as type a muse, "a companion to older artistic, literary men." She needs a Prince who would save her from being a "potato-peeling Cinderella" and turn her "into a Princess/bad girl."
Tanya's fantasies prove to be somewhat prophetic, for she is granted an escape from Russia in the shape of a white envelope from the US Immigration. Now transplanted to New York, her life is suddenly distorted, leaving her facing an enigmatic future. Her world is turned upside down, as this very adventurous Russian is set wandering through a city of strangers with only her eccentric family for help.
Tanya thinks she's escaped reality by leaving Russia, but in fact, she enters a worse reality, filled with humiliating jobs, separate bank accounts, prenup agreements and the smell of cooked salmon. Eventually she meets Mark Schneider, a selfish, snobbish and overly fussy B-grade writer. Blinded to Mark's faults, she begins to entertain the idea of being his muse - and buoyed by the diary she reads detailing Dostoevsky's affair with his mistress Polina - Tanya decides to move in with him.
Wined and dined with everything paid for, Tanya soon realizes that Mark is nothing like her Russian literary idol. Fastidious to the point of frustration, she begins to realize he's a pale glimmer of what she first thought. She used to dream of the "old-bearded writer coming to her bed," but Mark, with his paunchy stomach, graying hair on his chest, and the anxious eyes of a chubby little boy - couldn't be further from her fantasies.
Author Lara Vapnyar beautifully recounts Tanya's unsullied dream of finding Mr. Right, a modern day Dostoevsky, but having to cope with dashed and unfulfilled hopes whilst doing so. Her journey is testament to the fact that dreams from time to time never turn out the way we want them to be. Tanya builds dream castle of Mark based on illusion and hope, then she gets to know him and the illusion crashes and the hopes go.
Whilst Mark sees Tanya as a vulnerable foreigner, exotic, young and different, his initial attempt at intimacy, and the warm confessions, masquerade as a smooth, well-rehearsed performance. He never tries to be close to her; he just wants to listen and be admired. Tanya's altruism and the need for her to be loved is swamped Mark's smugness, especially his conviction that people are there to serve only him.
A charming exploration of sex, intimacy and feminine intuition, Memoirs of a Muse captures the heart of what it means to be a woman, who is awakening sexually and emotionally. Tanya's whole life prior to meeting Mark, was series of predetermined and interconnected steps all leading her to becoming a writer's muse.
As she reads about the young Polina, Tanya is gradually transformed and filled with a cavernous, impalpable yearning. Unfortunately, her subsequent search for this connection doesn't really quell her longing. Tanya learns the hard lesson - while geniuses create art through struggling and suffering, ordinary people are habitually consumed by it and are often left with the remnants, to feed off the geniuses troubled mind. Mike Leonard June 06.
reviewed by teacher on November 29, 2006 3:33 PM