Sirens & Muses: A Novel

Written by Antonia Angress

Narrated by Rebecca Lowman

Four artists are drawn into a web of rivalry and desire at an elite art school and on the streets of New York in this “gripping, provocative, and supremely entertaining” (BuzzFeed) debut

National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree • “Captures the ache-inducing quality of art and desire . . . a deeply relatable and profoundly enjoyable read, one drenched in prismatic color and light.”—Kristen Arnett, New York Times bestselling author of With Teeth
 
FINALIST FOR THE MINNESOTA BOOK AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Glamour, PopSugar, Debutiful
 
It’s 2011: America is in a deep recession and Occupy Wall Street is escalating. But at the elite Wrynn College of Art, students paint and sculpt in a rarefied bubble. Louisa Arceneaux is a thoughtful, observant nineteen-year-old when she transfers to Wrynn as a scholarship student, but she soon finds herself adrift in an environment that prizes novelty over beauty. Complicating matters is Louisa’s unexpected attraction to her charismatic roommate, Karina Piontek, the preternaturally gifted but mercurial daughter of wealthy art collectors. Gradually, Louisa and Karina are drawn into an intense sensual and artistic relationship, one that forces them to confront their deepest desires and fears. But Karina also can’t shake her fascination with Preston Utley, a senior and anti-capitalist Internet provocateur, who is publicly feuding with visiting professor and political painter Robert Berger—a once-controversial figurehead seeking to regain relevance.   
  
When Preston concocts an explosive hoax, the fates of all four artists are upended as each is unexpectedly thrust into the cutthroat New York art world. Now all must struggle to find new identities in art, in society, and among each other. In the process, they must find either their most authentic terms of life—of success, failure, and joy—or risk losing themselves altogether. 

With a canny, critical eye, Sirens & Muses overturns notions of class, money, art, youth, and a generation’s fight to own their future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Jul 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9780593587713

Reviews for Sirens & Muses

[kalliegrace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Art is not usually something I relate to, as much as I want to be an art person. This book is all about art and artists but I actually really enjoyed it. The characters are great, and the academic side and then the social/business side of the art world were fascinating. Very well written and engaging.

[sublunarie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am not sure I've ever before been so devestated at the end of a novel, not because of HOW the story ended, but because it ended at all.

[grandmacootie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting book but hard to review. It’s not that I particularly disliked anything, but there wasn’t anything I particularly liked, either. The descriptions of the art were fascinating and educational, revealing just what varied forms art can take and something of the thought and physical process of the artist creating it, and I wish I could see some of that art actually created. The history and movements and protests that have taken place in the name of art were also interesting and at times eye-opening.

But even though Sirens & Muses has lots of big words, big dramatic words, and lots of big personalities and drama to go with the big words, the story just kind of goes round and round and at the end everyone is more or less where and who they were to begin with. Life in the art world, even in art school, seems to be totally devoid of joy. Instead it’s competitive, cutthroat, pretentious, snobbish and money- and class-conscious. Those who “get” art “deserve” it and everyone else is beneath notice. There’s a hierarchy, a community with high walls and unwritten rules and lines that must not be crossed. As presented, an artist’s life is stressful and uncertain from beginning to end and you must be dedicated and driven to put yourself into it and stay there.

The characters are of course all artists and connections criss-cross in their small world: students, educators, past successes, current failures, family histories. All but a couple of them have something in their past that contributes to their current, often reprehensible, behavior, but their issues are mostly stereotypical and these surface-only characters don’t elicit much sympathy or sense of understanding from the reader.

The narrative moves from person to person and place to place telling everyone’s story and ends somewhat vaguely hopeful for some of them. I didn’t need complete closure or happy endings for all, but I do wish I could have been more engaged in the characters’ lives so that I would care. Thanks to Penguin Random House for providing an advance copy via NetGalley for my honest review. I believe I was sent the ARC because I enjoyed Ghosts of Harvard. Sirens & Muses does have a little of the college vibe and the undercurrent of what goes on, but the art world is much different, and although it is well-written Sirens & Muses lacks the strong character depth and exciting plot of Ghosts of Harvard. All opinions are my own.