This novel just didn't work for me. The writing was sloppy and lacked emotion. The theme felt flat and lacked focus. A huge disappointment.

This was a good work of literary fiction. It was slow reading at some parts for me but there were others when I was really captivated by the story.

I would definitely read more from this author in the future.

I found this book very meandering. The lead was on the brink of everything, confused, struggling a lot with career, memories, her own desires and behavior that was off the wall. I skimmed A LOT to just get through it. Not enjoyable.

I was initially intrigued by this book because of the art history connect; I have a background in the subject and tend to enjoy books that explore the topic. What I found was a sensual story that blends art, unlikable characters, and several weeks of bad decisions into a story that left me wanting a little more.

Elizabeth is sent to a remote Greek island by her employer to acquire a recently-discovered Greek sculpture. While there, she gets involved with a motley cast of characters who all seem to have secrets up their sleeves. She has a romantic liaison with at least half of them all while slowly having a mental breakdown.

I like "sad girl lit fic" a lot, and Lindley clearly wants to craft a story in that genre. However, I felt like she was trying to cram too much into this story, from Elizabeth's mental break to protests over antiquities. It never fully came together for me. But it was quite the ride when it was happening.

Overall, a fun romp that tries to take itself too seriously.

There are some wonderful things in the book; the fascinating study of the art world, the theft/appropriation within, the juxtaposition between the way we treat classical, marble bodies and the way we treat our own.

It needed a lot more of that honestly, and less descriptions of Elizabeth sleeping in various places. It’s faults felt very similar to those of modern MFA author debuts - shallow characterisation, trauma-as-driver and descriptions of the body which seem to want to shock just because they’re about women?

I would be interested in reading something else from the author as she has wonderful talent, I just don’t think the story was terribly interesting

This was a disorienting, haunting, and sensory slow-burn of a read. The way that Lindley wrote about the surroundings, the temperature, the sensations, the colors, really gave me a seductive and slightly smothering impression. I really appreciated the intellectual depth, but it was quite a push for me to get through the book.

I think I have mixed reviews about this book. The storyline and setting are absolutely incredible. But I'm confused as to how I was bored. It was really slow and there was almost too much detail it distracted me from the point. But man did it make me want to go back to Greece and explore all the art and history all over again.

I DNF'd this book at about 56% because I was just bored.

Was the commentary on art and its commodification interesting? Yes. Especially as we're having more of these conversations surrounding the return of artifacts back to the countries they were taken from. But overall, nothing super interesting was really happening, at least not enough to warrant me continuing the book. I'm sort-of over the apathetic "cool" characters in these types of books (Theo and Nico), and Elizabeth didn't seem to really seem to know what she was doing both in her life and in her job (for most of it).

Overall, a book I started out really into and then it quickly just became a book that I always felt I read more than I actually ended up reading, which was exhausting and boring.

Thank you to both the publisher and NetGalley for giving me advanced reader access in exchange for an honest review. This title published on July 23, 2024. Don't let my review sway you. If it sounds like an interesting premise to you, please check it out!

The Nude was an excellent spicy read. I liked the character exploration and the writing was propulsive. I would read more from this author.

this vibey, artsy book set in Greece was fresh, sensual, and capitaving. I genuinely liked the story and watching the dynamics between Elizabeth and Thea, Nico, Madison and William. Not to mention Elizabeth's adoration for the newly discovered ancient sculpture of a woman.

This book dove into really important social commentary on art, it's commodification and what precious works "belong" to the land they are created from. It also juxtaposed this with modern art and protest as a form of such. Although I found the ending a bit obvious, it was satisfying and effective none-the-less.

Ultimately this settles with me at 4 stars, and I'll definitely be recommending it in the future!

this was like a paint by numbers version of a work of art i really like.

it follows all the typical steps of my favorite subgenre (Woman In Mental Breakdown Lit Fic) without much heart or nuance. what it lacks in creativity it makes up for in fun. sure, this doesn't have much new to bring to the table, the usual mix of violence and chaos and dissociation and gluttony, but it's set in greece and has art descriptions and lots of food. i'll take it!

This novel is giving all the sexy, vacation-in-Europe, Portrait of a Lady on Fire vibes a reader could ask for. Centered around the adventures of an art historian in Greece, The Nude brings out themes of power dynamics, trauma, and sexuality into the forefront of its book. Loved it. Thank you C. Michelle Lindley, Atria Books, and NetGalley for this ARC.

With the backdrop of a Greek island in the height of summer and a cast of messy side characters, this is the perfect book to devour in the summer heat.

This story follows our main character Elizabeth who is sent to Greece to acquire a new historical sculpture for the museum she works for. Due to set backs and mysterious incidents surrounding the sculpture, she feels the success of the transaction, and a potential promotion, slipping through her fingers. Unsure who to trust, Elizabeth falls deeper inside her own memories and experiences as a pawn in the art world.

3.5rounded up.

This was a slow burn of a book. Wildly interesting, sultry and absolutely full of topics to think about. (Sexuality, mental health, addiction, corruption, adultery, capitalism, etc.)

Elizabeth travels to Greece to acquire a sculpture with unclear/suspect provenance. It was nowhere near that simple as Elizabeth’s is struggling with several large issues that complicate this trip, not all of which are her own. The story follows her trip and what takes place with her, the sculpture, and more during the time in Greece.

Advance reader copy provided by Atria and NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

I’m always interested in books that spotlight my own primary profession (for better or for worse. Mostly worse, in this case), but that also makes it easier as a reader and reviewer to spot the flaws, of which this book has many.

“Who owns the art?” and other questions of cultural right of return is a very trendy topic in fiction right now and unfortunately, like most books that try to tackle it, this is a well-meaning but badly oversimplified portrayal of the situation. And it’s tough to listen to a lot of what feels like performative moralizing about a statue from the protagonist while she’s at the same time potentially breaking up a marriage and badly damaging her own mental health with drug use.

I don’t believe this person is capable of holding down this job or would ever have been trusted to attempt to make an acquisition like this (delicate and waaay up the chain on who’s involved even under the best of circumstances), which is just one of the many elements of this story that strains credulity, and not in that fun “wow, this is wild” kind of way.

But in the end, the whole package just never comes together into any kind of cohesive whole despite the really clear attempts to marry Elizabeth’s damaged emotional state to some kind of pathetic fallacy of the statue. And frankly, the whole thing—Elizabeth most of all—is just not very likable.

There are loads of good books out there that touch on this theme. You can skip this one.

I have mixed feelings about this one…

The Nude centers on Elizabeth, an art historian who travels to Greece in order to take care of a found sculpture but soon becomes intertwined in various conflicts that trigger to explore more of her past.

This book reminded me a bit of Donna Tartt’s novels and Sylvia Plath, and while I like the comparisons, I do think this was too slow paced for me.

I also wanted an in-depth exploration of art and the connections of art and colonialism from Western countries, but this novel mainly focused on the main character’s state of mind and life.

The Nude is full on literary fiction. I was drawn to the title when preparing for a trip to Greece. It did, indeed, assist in my appreciation for ancient art and statues.
The protagonist is a complete mess…. Which is the story. It’s masterfully constructed and intentionally constructed. Readers are urged to select the timing in which they read this novel with care.

The Nude follows the mental breakdown of the main character, Elizabeth, as she comes to grips with past trauma and its ramifications on her inner life. The character study fascinated me.

Elizabeth is remarkably self-aware, and her commentary on her own flaws is striking. She understands what past actions shaped issues of today, and she understands how those issues are damaging, but she suffers from the very real problem of being unable to change her core motivation of seeking approval and power. She is keenly perceptive of others’ body language and recognizes how her own distance and shielding will come off, but she can’t allow someone to get close enough to see the real her. The slow unraveling of her past and the way Lindley tied it to Elizabeth’s current psyche was phenomenal.

The story explores themes of beauty, ambition, power, control, and sexual currency that Elizabeth wields over others for some kind of chess-board advantage. Eventually, her exploration of her sexuality devoid of power games is the vehicle by which she begins to change.

The story felt slow and meandering at times, but the lovely prose and exquisite subject matter of the art and Greek setting outweighed any pacing issues for me. Plus, it explored important issues in the art world about provenance of artifacts and cultural appropriation as seen through our power-grabbing, pill-addicted heroine. Overall, it was absolutely unhinged and fantastic fun.

Thank you Atria for this advanced e-copy! I also received a physical copy and am loving it so far! This is a new author for me so I decided to go in blind, but so far I am really enjoying it and can't wait to finish it :D

Thank you to NetGalley, author C. Michelle Lindley, and Atria Books for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

LOVED this!! Literally everything I was wanting for a messy, complicated summer read. Lindley's writing style is absolutely stunning, and I felt 100% transported to Greece in the sweltering summer of 1999. There was so much going on here, but it was expertly done, and I'm shocked this was a debut. This read will not be for everyone because it's a bit confusing and the characters aren't always likeable, but if you're into going along with the vibes and reading thought-provoking prose, this will be for you. The cover matches the story PERFECTLY, and the only way I can describe it is that reading this felt like the kind of grainy, sepia, sun-washed quality of the art of the cover. I could FEEL the heat and the complications and the art and the people within me while reading this. I could definitely see myself returning to reread The Nude next summer because there are so many details, I'm sure I forgot some already. I will absolutely be thinking about this book for a bit and can't wait for more from Lindley.