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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Book Review - Life Drawing for Beginners - Roisin Meaney

Life Drawing For Beginners
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.
Roisin Meaney 
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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