Reading Levy’s fiction always leaves me with a sense of just missing something, of almost touching on some deep meaning but not quite getting there. The central character of August Blue is a thirty-something piano virtuoso who has just messed up a big performance and feels herself to be disgraced. We meet her in Athens as she meets a women - are we to think her double? _ with an older man, who may or may not be her own piano mentor, an eighty-something who is now dying somewhere in the European countryside with a younger man who is probably is lover. Elsa, the disgraced pianist, then keeps meeting the mysterious woman, as she bumbles about teaching a variety of spoilt kids before rushing to her dying mentor. The writing is beautiful as always and Levy is a master at creating tension by forcing the reader to try to understand. This was not my favourite novels of hers but still exceptional fiction. Had I not read The Man who Saw Everything and Hot Milk, it might have been a five stars.

I struggled with this book. I found the writing style off-putting and the characters unappealing. It never really went anywhere, so I found it rather easier to put down than pick up. Not a book for me I'm afraid.

I am a sucker for anything Levy writes, and this was no exception. A stark look at belonging, at talent and, above all, at love. Levy writes the inner monologue of the woman better than any writer I know. Stunning.

A highly anticipated release for me that I’m so glad to say did not disappoint .
It’s written in Levy’s unique lyrical style prose , in some ways it reads a bit like a dream and the reader is inside our protagonists confused mind . Did I understand what was happening ?? No , not really , but at the same time you’re absorbed in the writing and atmosphere .
I loved the Europe setting , Levy captures the surroundings so well , Athens , Paris, London … it was like being on a surreal sort of road trip . I had no idea that the pandemic would play a part in the story and for me this made the book all the more real , the mask wearing , antigen tests etc, we’ve all been there .

Hot Milk still remains my favourite Levy but for avid fans this will not disappoint . It’s one I already feel I need to re read in order to unpick more of the story . Who is the doppelgänger , is she real ???

This one felt it was straddling fiction and memoir - it had the same informal tone of her memoir trilogy, so I had difficulties separating the narrator from the author. Beautifully written though, as always.

Deborah Levy does it again! After thoroughly enjoying Hot Milk a few years back, I was excited to see what else she could do. Much like Hot Milk, it was the lyrical prose and intriguing characters that piqued my interest rather than plot itself but for a short and quick read, I’m completely okay with that!

Hmm. I really wanted to like this book, and yes there is no denying that it is beautifully written in Levy's unique style. However, it didn't really work for me. Perhaps I simply didn't grasp the nuances between the characters, all of whom I found to be quite annoying.
The plot felt very disjointed. Overall definitely not my favourite book.

Well written but not a style that gels with myself. Definitely a unique style just unfortunately not for me.

I've heard a lot of good things about Levy's works, and knowing that she had been nominated for a Booker Prize a couple of times made me really want to pick up one of her works and see what the fuss was about! I tend to like the works that Hamish Hamilton picks up, like Assembly by Natasha Brown, and this was no exception - I really enjoyed the fragmented nature of Levy's storytelling, and the way that the plot of the mysterious horse-buying woman following her around Europe was interwoven with her identity as a renowned pianist and the tense relationship she has with her teacher. For someone clearly going through a tough time, the way that Elsa connected with her students was really heartwarming and I enjoyed these little interludes between the bigger story being told. The city-hopping through Europe kept the pace nice and quick, and although there wasn't much going on, I kept coming back for more.

I thought I was going to love this and I did. I don't usually like 'opaque' books; I find them frustrating but I didn‘t go into this one trying to analyse it; I just enjoyed the atmosphere and the beautiful prose. However, I feel like re-reading it straight away to unpick it a bit more, and I *never* re-read books.

My thanks to Penguin Group U.K. Hamish Hamilton for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘August Blue’ by Deborah Levy.

The protagonist of Levy’s latest work of literary fiction is Elsa M. Anderson, a former child prodigy, now in her thirties and at the height of her career as a world famous concert pianist. Recently she had dyed her long hair blue. Then a week later while performing Rachmaninov’s Concerto No 2 at a concert in Vienna, she had walked off stage after playing a few minutes of an original piece that she had composed.

Three weeks have passed and Elsa is clearly adrift and no longer certain of who she is. At a flea market in Athens she watches another young woman, a stranger who is almost her double, purchase a pair of mechanical dancing horses. Elsa had wanted the horses for herself and is disappointed that there are no more for sale.

As she makes her way to the ferry port Elsa notices the woman’s distinctive black trilby lying on the pavement. She picks the hat up and decides to keep it: “The horses were hers and not mine. It seemed like a fair exchange.”

Elsa is uncertain of why she left the stage that night and she is clearly on the run from her talent and her history. She travels across Europe, seemingly shadowed by the elusive woman who bought the dancing horses. She is also dealing with the news that her adopted father/mentor is terminally ill and she has unanswered questions about her biological parents. So there’s a lot going on for her that could have contributed to her crisis.

The theme of the doppelgänger, who may or may not be real, runs through the novel. Elsa reflects on her first contact: “My startling thought at that moment was that she and I were the same person. She was me and I was her. Perhaps she was a little more me than I was.”

Another theme is the pandemic and how it has impacted on the lives of citizens in Europe. At one point she feels unwell and immediately wonders if she has ‘it’. I am sure that we’ve all been there.

I have read a number of Deborah Levy’s novels along with her three-part memoir and I am always transfixed by the lyrical beauty of her writing. In the real world people rarely have the kind of enigmatic conversations that Elsa has with various folk as she travels, though it works in the context of literary fiction.

Overall, ‘August Blue’ is a gem of a novel that may elude understanding but I just enjoyed its beautiful language and rich descriptions. Might it be another Booker Prize nomination for Levy?

PR Gifted from Penguin General UK, via Netgalley
Not quite sure what to say about this book. Elsa is a world renowned pianist who is going through various life crisis. She keeps seeing her double in various countries. She was adopted, and wonders about her birth mother. The writing is evocative, and engaging. Mind you, I didn’t really understand what was happening all the time. I did enjoy it.

what a great read, such an interesting story, with great characters and so beautifully, lyrically written. I had no idea how the story would end and not an easy read, I did get a bit confused about the doppelganger. However an excellent literary read.

A beautiful, haunting novel that will stay with me for a long time. Floating between Athens, Paris, London and Sardinia, this is a subtle, evocative and sensual reflection on memory and identity.

This is an intriguing book about a young woman's search for meaning and identity in the wake of an apparent breakdown in her acclaimed career as a pianist. While trying to find a new place in the world, she sees another young woman buying something she feels she must have and this sets up an obsession, possibbly reciprocated. But in a way this becomes a distraction, or perhaps metaphor, from the reckoning of her relationship with her teacher and "father", and the loss of her mother. For all the intrigue though, there seems to be a certain coldness to many of the characters, that the sparseness of the writing conveys, but it left this reader unable to quite warm to them.

Thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for a copy of the book.

ll of Deborah Levy's fictional works have a kind of dreamy unreality and this is no exception. This is a short book but the prose is beautiful in its simplicity and the story both fairly vague and metaphorical. Elsa is a piano virtuoso who was adopted by her teacher at a young age. Now she is in her 30's and having a touch of a psychological crisis. Her teacher is frail and elderly and she is losing the plot, first going off script at a piano recital and then seeing the same woman, a double of herself in cities all over Europe. Is this woman supposed to be a sign of a fractured psyche? Or is is some other metaphor? To be honest it just goes right over my head.

The battles Elsa has with her adopted father's lover where interesting but it all seemed a little insipid and much is left to subtext.

This book left me feeling a little dissatisfied and a little confused, I think I will stick with her non-fiction in future.

Due to be posted on my blog on 11th May 2023

I was sent a copy of August Blue by Deborah Levy to read and review by NetGalley. I love Deborah Levy’s writing. There is never a word out of place or a phrase or sentence too many. I’m pretty sure that her style of writing will not be to everyone’s taste but if you persevere to the end of this novel I’m sure you won’t regret it! There isn’t anything that I really want to say about the story itself – just read and enjoy!

August Blue by Deborah Levy is a true delight, slightly surreal, totally original.

Whilst travelling in Athens, Elsa sees a lady in a market buying two novelty horses for which she develops an intense desire to own. This lady sticks in her mind - she finds herself in conversation with her even though she is not present.

Elsa was a celebrated piano player until recently when she suffered an onstage mental block and was unable to perform the piece by Rachmaninov that she had started playing. Since then she has been teaching on a commission basis in Paris and then Sardinia.

Elsa’s complicated early life story emerges as she meets people both at home in London and on her travels.

Levy’s writing is truly a joy to read; she effortlessly creates interesting characters placing them in unusual situations but only disclosing partial information keeping us on tenterhooks before revealing their backstory little by little.

I would ready Deborah Levy’s shopping list but I really enjoyed and was riveted by this story. A tale of how to create two halves of a self and the ways trauma can impact your life. Phenomenal

My first Deborah Levy read but I will certainly adding her others to my TBR, she is a beautiful writer.
This was one of few books I've read that really delves into Covid and the impact it and the lockdowns had on our lives.
This was a short read and was unusual and almost random at times- I'm still trying to figure out what it was really about, but the writing is suburb and really carried this book.