The God of My Art

 

"Really takes off during a high and naked moment in a self-made steam hut in the woods." -Publisher's Weekly

A portrait of the artist as a young woman...

An artist in search of herself, a narcissistic lover, and an unforgettable collection of other misfit characters come together in this novel, where obsessive and unrequited love becomes the fodder for the creative muse. The novel inverts the trope of the male artist and his pursuit of a female muse: his elevation of a mortal woman onto a pedestal and subsequent heroine worship of her as a goddess of art. In The God of My Art, the artist is a young woman infatuated with an unavailable rock climbing international aid worker, and as the story unfolds, so does the nature of her hero worship.

 

 

“Helene vividly remembers that night in Prince George when her alcoholic mother threatened to leave. She also cannot forget the day her stepfather sent her away to a group home. Now, years later in Vancouver, she has met a man who can make her forget all that.

The God of My Art is layered with unforgettable scenes of youth, obsessive love, and artistic longing. At the core of this haunting coming-of-age tale are the shifting faces of Helene—teenage runaway, university student, and budding artist. Related in Helene’s engaging voice, this novel chronicles her seminal love affair with Matthew, a globetrotting mountaineer passionate about Nietzsche, and the art he inspires within her. As she wrestles to become the artist she wants to be, she encounters unforgettable characters along the way, including Hana, a lesbian theatre student fed up with her partner’s multiple affairs, and Laurent, a French exchange student who grapples with existential questions of his own.

Bold and poetic, sensual and confessional, The God of My Art is the beautifully written first novel by Sarah Lane, one of Canada’s most exciting new literary voices.”