Sunday 2 January 2011

The Sunday Read: The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite - Beatrice Colin



This is an amazing book, and has recently seemed to gain a huge amount of accolade - which, as I discovered, is well-deserved. From the first page, this fanastic novel transported me away from my dull packed train to the seemingly wonderful yet depressing world of Berlin at the turn of the century.

The novel follows the ever-changing life of Lilly Aphrodite (possibly the most wonderful name for a heroine that I've ever come across), complexly juxtaposing desperation and poverty with glamour and fame. Although a work of fiction, the book is nonetheless historically realistic and offers the reader a highly plausible insight into the capital of Germany under the Weimar Republic. It was, by all accounts, a time of extreme hardship, which to the author's credit, Lilly's life reflects - she is raised in an orphanage, raped by wealthy employers, and spends much of the novel surviving on next to no food. While this admittedly could have made for a rather dreary read (indeed, at times it's hard not to feel quite depressed by the girl's desperate situation), the author offers the reader some light relief in its uplifting focus on Lilly's career, as she emerges as a glamorous and successful black and white film actress.

Ultimately, it is with this increasing portrayal of her infamy in society that the novel begins to lose its sense of realism and probably its high level of impact upon the reader, but all in all this story offers a powerful message about growing up in a time and place which seems to be all too often overlooked in literature. Lilly lives in desperately hard circumstances, and her story is predominantly one of extreme suffering, mixed with a passionate yet ultimately failing romance, and rather a lot of glitz and glamour.
Beautifully written, this is really one of those books that you just need to read.

4/5

2 comments:

  1. I loved this book too! I read it about this time last year, and was reading it in a hostel in Munich, while the snow fell outside and I was freezing, wearing every piece of clothing I had brought with me! It brought some of the more poignant parts - searching the streets for food during terrible winters! - of the book alive for me! :P

    I agree, it could have been a dreary read, but it wasn't - it was really gripping and entertaining. But what drew me in the most was the quality of the writing, it is exquisitely written. I can't wait to read more from this author!

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  2. This looks really good - I like your review!

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