Edited For Clarity
L'Origine: The Secret Life of the World's Most Erotic Masterpiece by Lilianne Milgrom
Length: 288 Pages
Genres: Historical Fiction
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
"There, at last, was an image that encapsulated the female paradox - Creator of Life and Seductress. Holy and Profane."
Trigger Warnings for Mild Antisemitism in the WWII passages
Firstly I would like to thank Emma at France Book Tours and the author, Lilianne Milgrom, for sending me a copy of this book to review in exchange for an honest review! Thank you both so much for the opportunity.
I've always loved art, ever since I was little when I still thought I myself might make it big as some sort of artist! But, much to my embarrassment, I had never heard of Gustave Courbet or his most controversial piece - L'Origine du monde or "The Origin of the World" - which is startling even to this day. I can only imagine the scandal it caused in 1866! It depicts the lower half of a naked woman, legs spread, her genitals the main focus of the piece.
Lilianne Milgrom set out to tell the story of L'Origine, and throughout this novel you come to understand that it is indeed the protagonist of the book. It reminded me a lot of a favorite movie of mine, "The Red Violin", which follows this amazing instrument from its inception all the through the centuries, focusing a little segment on each of the owners all the way up to modern times. Unfortunately, I felt that "L'Origine" suffers much from the same faults as the movie, where some characters were far more interesting than others. I wished we had more time with each of them, specifically the artist himself, or the actress Sylvia Bataille, who after the death of her psychoanalyst husband, Jacques Lacan, wishes to see the painting fall into female hands. I also feel like that method of storytelling works slightly better on film, as I struggled to keep up with and remember the names of so many characters whom we usually only get a couple of chapters with!
Milgrom's descriptions were wonderful, and I felt I could really see, smell, and hear what it could have been like in 19th century France or war-torn Hungary or post-war Paris.
My least favorite portion was the prologue, which is based on the author's (who is an artist herself) experiences travelling to France and being granted permission to reproduce L'Origine. I thought the style in which it was told (sort of immature, trying to be relatable and funny but not quite succeeding), didn't fit with the rest of the rather serious tone of the historical parts. Another issue I had was the portrayal of the Turkish characters. Khalil Bey, the Ottoman Diplomat who commissions L'Origine, using his lover Constance Quéniaux, a dancer at the Paris opera, as the model, is in his very first description noted for his "Oriental" eyes. Although that would have been the term used at the time, it still left me feeling uneasy, as did the rest of the scenes involving Turkish people. To some extent the Jewish characters suffer this same hint of "otherness" or "exoticism", but it shouldn't impede one's enjoyment in the slightest!
Overall, I think "L'Origine" is a very interesting book, and will best be appreciated by art and history lovers, or perhaps someone who wants a glimpse of a secret side of France.
Lilianne Milgrom
on Tour January 18-29 with
L’Origine: The Secret Life Of The World’s Most Erotic Masterpiece
(historical fiction) Release date: July 28, 2020 at Little French Girl Press 255 pages2020 Indie B.R.A.G. Medallion Award
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lilianne Milgrom
Paris-born Lilianne Milgrom is an award-winning international artist, writer on the arts and author. Her art can be found in both private and institutional collections around the world and her articles have been published in Huffington Post, Daily Art Magazine, Ceramics Now and Bonjour Paris. Her 5-star, bestselling novel ‘L’Origine‘ is the result of ten years of research and was accepted into the Historical Novel Society. Lilianne lives in Washington DC with her husband. Follow the author on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Join her mailing list
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Thanks so much for your fantastic review, I like how you highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of the book. Nice that it put you in the ambiance of the time! Emma at FBT
ReplyDeleteOh I forgot to mention that I enjoyed your parallel with The Red Violin, which I so loved
ReplyDeleteThanks for your honest review, Bree. Glad the book enlightened you on so many aspects of culture and art history, and that L'Origine left you wanting to read more about certain characters! I take that as a compliment :) It's always fascinating to an author to learn about the various aspects of one's book that resonated (or not) with the reader - the majority of readers to date have shared how much they loved the Prologue because they became invested in wanting to learn of the painting's journey! Take care, Lilianne
ReplyDeleteI actually forgot to add another thing yesterday. You mention the way Turkish characters are referred to, with Oriental eyes, and the "exoticism" of them and Jewish characters. I'm glad you highlight that the author used "the term used at the time". Indeed, if you write historical fiction in a faithful way, you have to disregard the cultural perception of your time, and stick to how some elements were perceived ad referred to at the time. Yes, it may make us uncomfortable today in 2021, but that's history and reality. For me, it's actually a proof that the author did her job of researching and inserting elements as they were talked about back then. Making it relevant to us today would be for me bad historical fiction
ReplyDeleteThank you so much ladies! One of the great things about books and all forms of art is how we all interpret it differently! I will be excited to see what Ms. Milgrom puts out in the future :)
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