Complex!

The Sculptress by V.S. Alexander         

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oh my! I was almost speechless by the time I finished this. I was exhausted by the gamit of emotionally charged situations. I felt like I’d run a marathon. I’m still wondering about that. Is being played out like this the sign of a great read or a super complicated read, or both?  Or is this the story of a person subjugated by and subjected to social rules made by male traditions taken to another level. 

This story of a woman’s life journey begins with fifteen years old Emma Lewis, gifted with artistic talents, a young girl with dreams that soured. Of falling in love too young, leading to secrets and tragedies. Eventually Emma becomes a female sculptor striving for acceptance in the hidebound, male dominated world of the arts in the traditional Boston society of the early 1900’s. Beyond that, this is a story of relationships, of marriage, of betrayals and near betrayals, of unforgiveness and heartache, and a woman who has huge regrets and anger.

Eventually Emma marries a doctor, Thomas Evan Swan. Prior to the United States entering the war Tom leaves for the France working at the frontline trenches out of Paris during World War I. Emma eventually goes to Paris. Tom persuades her to use her skills of sculpting to make masks for armed forces personnel whose faces have been severely damaged.

I must admit my first glimpses of Emma were not flattering. Shaped by an overbearing mother, fearful of going against social mores, and a father who quietly encouraged her talent, in many ways Emma seesaws through life either looking for acceptance or standing strong. And when Emma decides to take back, to set right in her own mind that time of anguish in her early years, it’s forceful to the point of shockingly unexpected. Is she meting out punishment or being coldly expedient?

As things come full circle, the idea of self forgiveness, of rising beyond being mired in actions of the past, of exonerating those who’ve deceived her—all this is prominent. There were moments when I found this a hard read. Sometimes frustrating at other times appalling.

The author’s note and research gives gravitas to this most unusual and often harrowing story.

A Kensington Books ARC via NetGalley