Reviews of Lucy
“A haunting and captivating love story set largely in occupied France in WWII, Lucy has both a deceptively simple narrative style and a skilfully articulated plot which holds the reader from start to finish. At its heart is the exploration of the young artist’s creative imagination as she struggles to come to terms with the banal horrors of war and her own engulfing emotions.”
Deborah Swallow, Märit Rausing Director, Courtauld Institute of Art.
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“Lucy hooked me from page one - a precocious, headstrong yet ironical, young artist who comes to learn that the firestorms of WWII would spare neither the wise nor the foolish. Alan Kennedy's lyrically-told tale of love and war entertains as it transcends its genres.”
Umberto Tosi, author of “Ophelia Rising”.
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“A lovely sense of place, as seen through a painter's eyes ... a thoughtful picture of the alienation of the artist … a teasing, multi-layered narrative. What more could you want? I was utterly absorbed.”
The Bookbag
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How many novels provoke a post-reading surgical investigation? This one does. I romped through it and then right after I finished I was compelled to figure out what the author just did to me. Alan Kennedy is an inveterate tease. I read the opening books of this trilogy convinced I was in command of the arc of this story only for him to pull focus and confound me in Lucy. This novel can be read independently of the other three - but if you want the full teasing effect read all four. (The Boat in the Bay, The Broken Bell, The Pink House - and then Lucy).
The central character is young, successful, attractive, gifted, well connected. Yet she is emotionally distant to the other protagonists as well as this reader. She is not a chummy read - quite the opposite. This is infuriating but deliberate. Lucy is an artist and perhaps by definition she does not directly communicate her feelings, motives or goals. It's your job to fill in the gaps. The book is packed with characters carefully playing their parts but you won't find anything explanatory in Kennedy's writing. His presentation of character is poetic and nuanced. Like a poem you get out of it what you put in.
In complete contrast his evocation of a sense of place is filmic. There's pin sharp detail to inspire your mental pictures. You will find yourself utterly present in the moment and location. He is enormously skilled in that respect.
As for the plot? He plays the long game with you and has written a fugue. Or at least that's what I am thinking at this point. But who knows? He may be catching me out again. You will be surprised as the action unfolds - especially if you have read the other books. There is some recapitulation but also the suggestion of enfolding new themes - you can't quite figure out what they are but you know there's more to come.
This is a pacey and intricate story. It is also very timely in this year of reflection on wars past and present. What does war feel like from the inside? Definitely not like the films, art, and literature that have been produced mostly post hoc. The characters' opinions and behaviours are surprising given we know what's going on. I think the atmosphere is probably authentic - characters are even finding the war a bit boring. They are unaware of the enormity of huge decisions made at the last minute. So far as they are concerned they are going about their humdrum lives so `what's the big deal?' We are soon to find out in the eagerly awaited next instalment.
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This book takes the form of a love story, but you can enjoy it from so many different levels. The main character, Lucy, is often difficult to empathise with, as she is irrational, confused and has a tendency to bottle up her feelings inside her and not face them. But who isn’t irrational and confused in life? Most people are at some point or other. It is not a pleasant feeling but this book does make you reflect on how we struggle in our lives at times, only because we are afraid to listen to what our heart is saying.
The fact that Lucy is in perpetual quandary affects other aspects of her life; in a strange way it helps her work as an artist. Her paintings are often described as dark, and this is because they are reflections of her confused state. However, as Lucy discovers, this way of creating art comes at a great cost, as it inevitably destroys her soul and there comes a point when she can no longer paint. Ironically, this seems necessary for Lucy as only then can she begin to listen to her feelings properly.
The story also looks at the often untold consequences of war and examines how it affects ordinary people’s lives that are not directly involved in fighting. Lucy’s confused state is exacerbated by the fact that she is nearly starved to death. In state of starvation, one of the characters chose to accept death rather than fighting to stay alive, which was really sad to read.
This book evoked several feelings (many of them rather unpleasant), so it is far from an “easy read”. However, it was enjoyable precisely because it looked at aspects of human nature that are difficult to address.
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Alan Kennedy is a writer who is going places. His third book (The Pink House) was right up there with the best of children's books, but now with Lucy he's made a direct transition into writing high-quality novels for adults. Much of the action of this story is set in France during the second world war, but rather than going down the standard path of using bombs and bullets as an easy way to provide entertainment, Kennedy gives us something much more subtle and rewarding by keeping away from all of that, showing us what it was really like for the French people living under Nazi occupation. Set against this background is a love story in which things have not worked out the way they should have, but while it's hard to see how anything positive can come out of it, it is never depressing - the writer is a psychologist who knows exactly what he's doing, and he has produced something which is genuinely beautiful, and it has an ending which is satisfyingly positive.
There are a few things which will have a greater emotional impact on readers who have read the earlier books because they already know a lot about Stuart and JZ, while various other names will be charged with meaning for them too. They may find the start rather bleak and wonder what has happened to Poppy, but they needn't worry - her transformation into Lucy will make perfect sense.
(If you haven't read these earlier books but think you might be prepared to give one of them a go before you read Lucy, The Pink House would be the one to go for - it's a rare kind of children's book that works well for adult readers too.)
See the full review on the Bookbag website.