The Sitter
Author(s): Angela O'Keeffe
Paris, 2020. A writer is confined to her hotel room during the early days of the pandemic, struggling to finish a novel about Hortense Cezanne, wife and sometime muse of the famous painter. Dead for more than a century, Hortense has been reawakened by this creative endeavour, and now shadows the writer through the locked-down city. But Hortense, always the subject of the gaze of others, is increasingly intrigued by the woman before her. Who is she and what event hides in her past? Heartbreaking and perfectly formed, The Sitter explores the tension between artist and subject, and between the stories told about us and the stories we choose to tell.
Matilda Bookshop Review
Set over one winter in Paris 2020, the spirit of Hortense Cezanne, wife of the world famous painter, watches over another woman who is writing a book about Hortense. In a surprising rupture of perspective, the 'subject' of the novel becomes the narrator, as we learn about the writer's life and loves. This elegant novel traverses the relationship between artist and sitter, writer and subject, mother and daughter, self and creativity, entrapment and liberation. A delight to read. Molly
Product Information
General Fields
- :
- : University of Queensland Press
- : University of Queensland Press
- : 0.176
- : 31 July 2023
- : books
Special Fields
- : FA
- : 200
- : Paperback
- : Angela O'Keeffe