Review: Deborah Levy's 'My Year in Paris With Gertrude Stein'
This review examines Deborah Levy’s uncategorizable new book, which blends biography and fiction to explore the life of avant-garde writer Gertrude Stein. The narrative centers on three female friends in Paris: an English narrator struggling to write an essay about Stein, Eva, a commercially astute graphic novelist, and Fanny, a vulnerable financier. The story is triggered by the loss of Eva’s cat, referred to simply as “it,” a linguistic device that recurs throughout the text to symbolize various indeterminate concepts such as sanity, love, or artistic freedom. Levy imagines hypothetical encounters between Stein and Sigmund Freud, emphasizing the book’s focus on fantasy and digression over traditional plot. As the women navigate their complex relationships and personal insecurities, the narrator seeks to understand the essence of Stein’s legacy. The review highlights the witty, scherzo-like nature of the work, noting its exploration of modernist themes, gender dynamics, and the elusive nature of identity. Ultimately, the book is praised for being wonderfully entertaining while challenging conventional literary forms through its mix of reality and imagination.
Wire timeline
Review: Deborah Levy's 'My Year in Paris With Gertrude Stein'
This review examines Deborah Levy’s uncategorizable new book, which blends biography and fiction to explore the life of avant-garde writer Gertrude Stein. The narrative centers on three female friends in Paris: an English narrator struggling to write an essay about Stein, Eva, a commercially astute graphic novelist, and Fanny, a vulnerable financier. The story is triggered by the loss of Eva’s cat, referred to simply as “it,” a linguistic device that recurs throughout the text to symbolize various indeterminate concepts such as sanity, love, or artistic freedom. Levy imagines hypothetical encounters between Stein and Sigmund Freud, emphasizing the book’s focus on fantasy and digression over traditional plot. As the women navigate their complex relationships and personal insecurities, the narrator seeks to understand the essence of Stein’s legacy. The review highlights the witty, scherzo-like nature of the work, noting its exploration of modernist themes, gender dynamics, and the elusive nature of identity. Ultimately, the book is praised for being wonderfully entertaining while challenging conventional literary forms through its mix of reality and imagination.
The Guardian