A famous pianist travels Europe and finds herself drawn to memories of her troubled and confused childhood. Elsa M. Anderson is a gifted classical pianist, trained by her mentor / father figure Arthur Goldstein. An orphan, she never knew her parents, and was taken into foster care. At the age of six she was discovered by Goldstein, who adopted the girl. The two have an unusual relationship – musically close, but emotionally ambivalent. Elsa can't quite figure out if Arthur is really a father to her. When he becomes ill, she has feelings of guilt for neglecting him. When in an Athens flea market, Elsa is drawn to a woman buying two mechanical horses. Pull the tail up and it sets the horse in motion, pull down and it stops. Elsa becomes obsessed with the woman, and when the stranger drops her hat – a stylish fedora – she picks it up and starts wearing it. As Elsa travels across Europe – England, France, Sardinia, Greece – and meets up with friends and lovers, the mysterious woman keeps appearing. More than that, the woman has entered Elsa's head, conducting short, clipped conversations with her, questions really, about her identity, her essence as a human being. While Elsa entertains this alien consciousness, memories and surreal images from her childhood keep coming back. She especially recalls an image of two horses dragging a piano to her across a paddock, the piano representing her mother. Strange images, evocative descriptions and uncanny happenings fill this engagingly surreal novel. Levy is a master storyteller, seducing the reader with her simple, sometimes droll language. There's humour to balance out the book's essential mystery, its brooding questions about identity and our place in the world. Deborah Levy is also a poet and playwright, and these linguistic qualities come out in the text. She has the ability to create a special language all of her own, to command the reader's attention and trust in her unique style of storytelling. A wonderfully absorbing, dream-like book that will leave you stunned yet satisfied. August Blue, by Deborah Levy. Published by Hamish Hamilton. $35 Published 9th May Review by Chris Saliba Comments are closed.
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