I've never read a Levy book before, but did know going in that they're usually dense with surrealism. In this intriguing novel, Elsa is a piano prodigy who abruptly stops playing in the midst of a big performance. She takes off and roams through Greece, where she sees her "double," a woman in a green raincoat who looks almost like her. Elsa's journey of self-discovery was unique, but a bit too surreal for me. At times I wished for a more clear-cut narrative, so that I could truly connect with the character. I listened to this one as well, and Alix Dunmore does a lovely job narrating this story. If you're a Levy fan, you'll most likely enjoy this one. Unfortunately, it just wasn't for me.

Blue-haired Elsa Anderson is a world-renowned pianist...well, that is, until she freezes during Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto and leaves her career to teach music lessons throughout Europe instead.

This was the first work of Deborah Levy's that I have read, and it seems she is known for very puzzling narrative/prose. Honestly, I had some trouble cohesively piecing this story together, as it seemed to quickly flit between scenes and I didn't know quite what to make of it. There was definitely a nod to Disney's Frozen with the main character. I nearly DNF'd this title because there were a lot of sexual metaphors...including a couple of scenes with sexual content that made me a bit uncomfortable, as I did not know to expect them. It felt as though Elsa almost lost a sense of identity after her Rachmaninoff's mishap, like she was dissociating her way through life afterwards. There was a lot of mention of doubles, and a lot of what felt like random mentions of the pandemic, as it didn't seem particularly a large part of the plot to me.

I listened to August Blue on audio, and while the narrator did hold my attention, I definitely think this title takes a bit more thought to try and work through the plot.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an advanced opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review. All opinions stated above are my own. August Blue is expected to be published June 6, 2023.

The story and the writing are flawless, and absorbing. The protagonist and narrator is seeking for her true self and keeps this intimate dialogue with a woman that she considers her “double “. I loved how the audiobook narrator achieves this level of intimacy and reflexion. Her voice and her accent are perfect for this character, and I really enjoyed it.

August Blue by Deborah Levy is much like her other book The Man Who Saw Everything, in that it is more experimental and it's main focus is on exploring the characters psyche rather than plot. I found the exploration of our main characters identity really interesting. I felt Levy had a unique outlook about how we can run away from ourselves and what it's like to finally confront the topic.
My main issue with the book was that the parts about the pandemic took me out of the story. It may just be me but I'm not ready to read stories about this time in lock down yet.

When the book starts, it was clear I was in the hands of a master storyteller. Deborah Levy tells a story of grief. The main character, a virtuoso pianist, freezes on night at a concert in Vienna, walks off the stage, never to return. After that, she takes on odd jobs teaching individual children throughout Europe. She was raised by her teacher who adopted her. She has been haunted by the mother that abandoned her. I didn't get the closure I wanted at the end of the story.

The narrator of this book has a lovely English accent that complements the story well. There is a single narrator and she doesn't play roles as the text makes it clear who is speaking. Because of the lush prose and pacing of this book, I think I would have gotten more out of it by reading rather than listening.

Many thanks to MacMillian Audio and netgalley for this advanced readers copy!

AUGUST BLUE by Deborah Levy is my first book by her and I quite enjoyed it! This novel is about Elsa, a pianist, who finds her identical double. I liked the settings of Greece, London and Paris. There was an interesting family dynamic as Elsa was raised by her piano teacher. This sensual book is a good one to get lost in on a sunny summer day. I finished this book in one day. The audiobook narrated by Alix Dunmore was great! I’m curious about Levy’s other books now.

August Blue by Deborah Levy is a Literary Fiction Story!

At the pinnacle of her career, a former child prodigy, Elsa M. Anderson, now a thirty-four-year-old classical piano virtuosos, walks off the stage in Vienna, mid-performance.

Elsa disappear into Europe, roaming from port to port, and soon believes she's being shadowed by a woman who looks exactly like her...

August Blue is mysterious, thought-provoking, intense, and a deeply personal reflection of the main character Elsa. As I listened to this story, I grew increasingly curious as to where this author was taking me. Her writing is mesmerizing, it pulls you in, makes you feel like you're with Elsa on her journey.

August Blue is the first Deborah Levy book I've read and it has been a lesson in what her storytelling entails. Her work is full of metaphors, the most obvious in this one is the color 'blue' which appears in the title and repetitively throughout the chapters. It's the color of sky and ocean, signifying freedom and independence but could also be a reference to sadness and depression and all of these are reflected in this story. There are more metaphors, lots more and discovering them as you read seems to be part of the Deborah Levy experience.

Listening to August Blue narrated by Alix Dunmore is an enjoyable experience and her voicing is a perfect fit for this story.

I believe Deborah Levy to be an author who allows her readers to draw their own conclusions about each of her stories. There's nothing neat and tidy about August Blue and all Levy books, I'm told, are a bit of a puzzle. Well, I'm all in!

4.25⭐ and I highly recommend to those who enjoy hidden metaphors within their Literary Fiction reads!

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Deborah Levy for an ALC of this book. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.

A few rare authors have the ability to write characters that are instantly dear to your heart, even in a short story, and Elsa is one such character. I've not yet read any other Deborah Levy, but I certainly will be seeking out more of her stories after finishing August Blue. But what is this story about, you ask? Well, it's about blue hair, Rachmaninoff, toy horses, a trilby hat, Perrier-menthe, family, dreams, and self-actualization. It's a relatively short little quirky book, but it left a lasting impression on me, and I think the writing is par excellence. Highly recommend it!

Thank you to Deborah Levy, FSG Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for my advance audio copy.

One of the many things I love about Deborah Levy's books is that there's so much more to the stories than what is written on the page. Many of her books are on the shorter side, but they're jam-packed with metaphors and references that allow the reader to contribute their own interpretations. They're fun to read, and August Blue was no exception.

Elsa was a childhood prodigy on the piano, and in her thirties, she abruptly stops mid-performance when her fame is at its highest. She dyes her hair blue, offers piano lessons across Europe, and finds her doppelganger that she can't shake. Meanwhile, her adopted father and instructor is ill, and the COVID-19 pandemic adds to the alienation.

Levy's books are the sort that make you want to read them at least twice: once for the story, and once again to appreciate her lyrical writing and all the hidden gems buried in the pages. Hot Milk is still my favorite book of hers (so far), but August Blue was a wonderful little novel that didn't disappoint.

Having read and enjoyed Deborah Levy's Hot Milk last year, I was eager to listen to her new book August Blue. It has that same off-kilter dreamy feeling and it's very character driven as well.
Elsa is a famous concert pianist who grew up being raised by her piano teacher. As the book opens she has walked off the stage both literally and figuratively when her last concert ended with her playing her own composition rather than Rachmaninoff's.

The book is set in those strange days after the Covid lockdown when no one knew what life would be like - people were leaving their houses and travelling for the first time. This precarious life mirrors Elsa's life precisely as she tries to figure out who she is and who she will be.

I really enjoyed this audiobook version of August Blue, I thought the reader was excellent. Thank you to #netgalley and #macmillionaudio for the pleasure of this listening to this great audiobook.

All of Deborah Levy’s books are charming and odd, and this one was no exception. It follows Elsa, a famous pianist, as she travels Europe teaching kids after a disappointing concert performance of her own.

I really found the premise of this novel enticing. Elsa M. Anderson, former child prodigy and piano virtuoso, has left the world stage after sabotaging her own performance in Vienna. But why did she do it?? Did the music escape her, is she suffering from depression, or has she lost faith in her talent? A relatively short novel; this review is of the audiobook which was excellent.

While on a mission to find herself, or possibly to lose herself, Elsa becomes aware of her doppelganger living the life and buying the things that she ought to be. She creates an entire narrative in her head of conversations and opinions from this mystery women. This helps her begin to unravel the emotional trauma she carries over her upbringing, parentage, adoption, and relationships with men. As she stumbles through this emotional baggage her course is not set in any one direction. She flits from one student’s lesson to the next and one relationship to the next until she learns that Arthur is dying.

Traveling to Sardinia to be with him in his final days; Elsa further compartmentalizes her life and relationships in neat little boxes. Arthur’s lover takes an immediate dislike to Elsa and calls her out for being selfish and not carrying her share of the burdens of her life. Whether Arthur’s death has her finally finding out who her birth mother is or it is intrinsic, Elsa decides to know more.

From the start I found an instant connection to Elsa. The depth of her need to find herself or reinvent herself in her own image is one I found profound. In the end, we are all only who we want and need to be in the moment of our deepest reflections.

If you love a minimal plot, just vibes book this would be perfect for you. This is a beautiful and reflective literary story that made for a relatively quick read. There was complexity to it while staying accessible and digestible. I typically try to avoid stories that involve the pandemic, but I felt this book did it really well.

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

Writing: 5/5 Characters: 4.5/5 Plot: 4/5

A beautiful book about self-discovery, identity (in the classic sense), and a search for “home” amidst the angst and displacement of Covid. The music and musical themes that lay at the absolute center of the story had wonderful depth and were enlightening, inspiring, and real. I listened to this as an audio book. It was narrated by Alix Dunmore who was so good that I’m seeking out her other narrations because she put a voice to the prose so very well.

Elsa M. Anderson — a former child prodigy — was at the height of her career as a pianist when she walked off the stage in Vienna in the middle of a performance of Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto. Now there is a pandemic on, her teacher (who adopted her at age six) is dying far away in Sardinia, and Elsa is roaming Europe, teaching a few lessons, playing very little, and allowing herself to go wherever currents take her. She sees a woman in Athens who she feels is her double, and sees her repeatedly throughout the story, serving as a kind of foil that both drives Elsa and causes her to reflect.

The writing is beautiful — poetic, but not to the point of losing content. I would have many quotes if I weren’t listening to it without an opportunity to write them down. I loved the other characters and the interactions that allowed Elsa to learn more about herself with every engagement. I loved the role of music and how it informed the very way she thought. I loved the way she taught music sensitivity to a young and brilliant student with an overbearing parent. I love the interplay between music, life, and emotions that comprises the mind of a true musician. I loved the fact that the ending didn’t really tell you what would happen in the future, but I was left with a sense of where she was going simply from “living her life” with her. In case you can’t tell, I loved this book!

Lastly, while I don’t have an exact quote, I very much liked Elsa’s answer when her friend mocked her (Elsa’s) interest in Isadora Duncan, who he said was “ridiculous.” Elsa retorted that she (Isadora) had to be ridiculous because she was making something new. That made me think.

Thanks to NetGalley for this opportunity.

I had a really difficult time caring about this book. Just as I feel the narrator has trouble caring about anything. Elsa , a famous pianist who had an incident at her last performance, meanders through her days following the worst part of the pandemic. She moves from job to job, unable to explain to anyone why she isn’t willing to take a job that’s more stable that she’s more than qualified for. She moves from person to person without much feeling or passion. She refers to a woman she sees in all of these different places as her double and seems to wonder at different points if this woman is actually a disassociation from herself.
Elsa has such little emotion that nothing she experiences is particularly moving as a reader. It makes everything seem inconsequential, even death. If this was a longer stride I might not have made it through.

This was a surreal novel that explores many themes, including identity, purpose, prodigy, loneliness, connection and pandemic. It is very well-written and nuanced, a deep delve into the thoughts of a floundering piano prodigy. Because it's slow-building and quirky it's not for everyone, but I found it a lovely, brief, melancholy listen. The narrator for the audiobook was a very good fit for the book.

This description of a famous pianist's struggle through an identity crisis is full of gorgeous prose but ultimately not very interesting. It is a very accurate depiction of the malaise, confusion, and disconnectedness that are felt when one is experiencing a depressive episode. Otherwise, the plot was somewhat less than engaging.

Audio book brilliantly narrated by Alix Dunmore.

Is it possible to love a book and yet not fully understand it? I feel that I am not seasoned enough yet with Deborah Levy's writings or perhaps this is exactly her trademark, to give readers an experience that gets more meaningful after multiple readings. Having listened to this novel I am shelving it to read a printed version absolutely in love with the beautiful writing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to an ARC of this delightful book. This is my
honest opinion.

August Blue by Deborah Levy is a lovely book, almost a long poem. It was just over 4 hours of listening. Alix Dunmore, the narrator, has a wonderful voice and she made the book intimate and understandable.
The story is about a virtuoso pianist, Elsa, who walks off the stage in the middle of a recital with no explanation. The book opens with her in Greece watching a woman, who she believes to be her double, buying two small horses from the market. Elsa had wanted them...badly.

We travel with Elsa through Europe back to the UK. The double always seems nearby. The reader is privy to Elsa's thoughts for much of the book as her story unfolds.

Between the narrator and the exquisite poetic writing, I did not want this book to end.
I highly recommend it.

Deborah Levy tops her previous achievements with August Blue, a novel that wrestles with identity. In a nonlinear fashion it tells the story of Elsa M(iracle) Anderson, a renowned pianist who, at age 34, has a memory lapse while performing a Rachmaninoff piano concerto, from which she does not recover, either onstage or off. Elsa’s life has spiraled downward, but aside from her professional success, she has never been sure of who she is. Abandoned at birth by a single mother, she was fostered by a loving couple who named her Ann and introduced her to the piano, She eventually was adopted by Arthur, a man of short stature (who at the end of his life quips that statues erected in his memory would be a bargain because they would need to use so little marble) but some renown as a teacher to many accomplished and famous musicians and who recognized her talent and who renamed her Elsa. Struggling to find her identity (and dying her hair blue) Elsa happens upon a woman she sees as her double ,and whose image and sometimes whose presence follows her on her travels, which include two unsuccessful attempts to teach adolescents with wealthy and ambitious parents. It matters little that Levy may not be as familiar with music and music performance as some more knowledgeable readers might want. She has produced a book of significance, one that will become one of the classics of the genre, alongside books of such authors as Ali Smith. The book has haunted me since I finished listening to it and I hear over and over “If you are not you, then who? Who are you?” Highly recommended.