Title: Life Drawing for Beginners
Author: Roisen Meany
Review: When I
finished this book I really wanted to learn to draw. I realize that wasn’t the author’s original
intention when she wrote the novel, but it is an interesting result all the
same. She presented a fun book of adults
coming together over an activity that I felt a longing for the activity
itself. That is pretty powerful stuff.
Ms. Meany brings together a large cast of diverse strangers
in an almost farcical way over the course of several weeks to give us touching
stories of love, confidence, heartbreak, redemption, and all the other emotions
you can think of. It demonstrates the
possibilities of growth if we just allow ourselves to open up to the human
experience. For the characters in this
novel that avenue is life drawing; the drawing of the human form.
It shows the power of art when we brought into our lives by
someone who really cares, who is enthusiastic in spite of the set backs life
can offer. It speaks to all of us of the
need to find our creative outlet as a means of dealing with our stress. For some that may mean a life drawing class,
or pottery, or cooking, or in this case, good literature. Do yourself a favor and pick up this book for
inspiration and who knows where it will take you.
A delightful book and a quick read. Me? I
was inspired to buy sketching pencils and start watching instructional videos
on YouTube after reading.
Publisher: FiveSpot
ISBN:
978-1-4555-0408-4
Copyright: 2012
Pages: 411
Quick Review: 4
stars out of 5
Why I Read It:
Female Irish Author
Where I Obtained the
Book: Sent to me by the publisher for review
Synopsis: From
the author of Semi-Sweet comes a delightful new novel about the art of
friendship, love, and (still) life. When Audrey Matthews offers an evening
class in life drawing, all she's looking for is a little extra pocket money and
something to fill her Tuesday nights. So she hires a model and recruits five
students - each of whom have their own reason for being there. For Zarek, a
Polish immigrant, the class is a welcome distraction and a place to escape his
dull cafe job and noisy roommate. Then there's the handsome, mysterious James
who has moved to the small town of Carrickbawn looking for a new start for
himself and his daughter. He's vowed to keep to himself, but then his interest
in Jackie, the class model and single mom, takes a more personal turn. While
Audrey has just fallen in love -- with the adorable puppy in the window of the
local pet shop. Will she be put off by the store's brusque owner or does she
find out that his bark is worse than his bite? As the weeks pass, it becomes
clear to the members of the drawing class that their fellow students aren't
exactly who they seem.
Author Biography:
Born on 3rd September.
A published author of eight books for adults and two for
children, Roisin has also written numerous articles for journals and
newspapers. She worked as an advertising copywriter for a number of years, and
brings a vast amount of experience to the editing team. Her first novel, The
Daisy Picker, won a Write a Bestseller competition. Her third novel, The Last
Week of May reached number one on the Irish bestseller list and her fourth, The
People Next Door reached number two. Her books have been translated into
several languages, and two, Semi-Sweet and Life Drawing for Beginners, have
been published in the US. She's currently working on her ninth novel and is also
planning another children's book.
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