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I Am Not Your Eve
A polyphonic novel of Teha'amana, Tahitian muse and child-bride to Paul Gaugin, from her point of view conveyed through the myths and legends of the islands.
182 pages, Hardcover
First published March 24, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
September 1, 2022
History has been particularly unkind to Paul Gauguin, his art now recognized as exploitative and his Tahitian travels, well, unseemly. Gauguin infamously wed child bride Teha’amana - his “muse” - who was featured in Merahi metua no Tehamana and whom he also painted in rather grotesque states of undress. Enter Devika Ponnambalam whose debut novel tackles this legacy head on, focusing not on Gauguin directly but instead giving voice to Teha’amana and other women, including Gauguin's 13-year-old daughter, the same age as Teha’amana. The narrative is told in fragments, frequently shifting speakers and points of view, mirroring Ponnambalam's effort to reconstitute history from forgotten female speakers. Ponnambalam also weaves in Tahitian creation myths, which are themselves problematic celebrations of rape and female disempowerment. Others have noted the potentially problematic aspect of a 21st century Western writer giving a first-person voice to Teha’amana that is itself full of our own cultural assumptions. That is a fair point and an issue that is ripe for discussion. But for me, Ponnambalam's artistic choices seem respectful and at a minimum re-center the story around Teha’amana. Over all, the novel is lyrical and ephemeral, the prose reflecting Gauguin's visual work in that respect, but the result is an unequivocal deconstruction of Gauguin's art and the racist, patriarchal power structures that facilitated - and celebrated - his exploitation.
July 17, 2022
They glint, your gift, in the half-light of this half-life, for me, your half-wife
A kind of resistance to, and unpacking of, the hierarches and power structures that support Paul Gauguin's Tahitian sojourn and resultant paintings, this is essentially deconstructing patriarchy, colonialism and, to a lesser extent, missionary Christianity.
The writing can be gorgeously lyrical in places, and the book is structured as a set of polyphonic voices that have varying relations to conventional Western literature: the free-form Tahitian voices, creation myths, a speaking and sentient world where a portrait or an insect is given the same narrative status as a human voice, the more canonical diary of Gauguin's daughter back in France. The narrative is therefore fragmented (as is becoming increasingly the go-to form for high-end 'literary' or 'experimental' fiction - thus begging the question whether this is the new convention of 'unconventional' writing?)
It's certainly interesting to see the extent to which Tahitian creation myths are essentially stories of sexualised violence, thus echoing the relationship in the foreground between Gauguin and his 'half-wife' - 'half', I'd say, because he's formally married back in France, but also because she's so young, little more than a child. The centrality of rape in Tahitian creation mythology equates the land with the female body, an especially common metaphor that we see across Western literature as well, thus drawing a gendered line across and between geographical, ideological and cultural boundaries where women are the victims of masculine aggression. There is, at least, a partial refusal of submission through the very act of claiming a female voice and telling that story.
The exploitation that underpins works of artistic beauty is also put in play, not just in relation to Gauguin but more widely and especially in relation to the 'muse' female figure who becomes the objectivised subject of Manet's 'Olympia'. Gauguin's estranged wife, too, back in France is ordered in letters to service the art sent back by her husband and is instructed in how to ventriloquise his thoughts to the French art establishment. A particularly interesting figure is his daughter, adoring of her father, critical of her mother - an object lesson in how patriarchy is perpetuated.
So much good stuff going on here but my pleasures tended to the intellectual and this never became a story into which I could dissolve - I'm not sure why but this never became emotionally compelling for me, though impressive in objective literary terms. 3.5 stars rounded up.
April 4, 2023
Shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historic Fiction
In the darkest hour of my sleep, I see her, staring out from her pillow, with secrets inside, behind her brow, upon her tongue. She is privy to a knowledge that will remain hers, and hers alone, while the figure of death crouches at the foot of her bed, his bed, because he has put it there, my Papa. He is cruel and clever, but she is far cleverer than he, of that I am now certain. Yes, it frightens me, but one day, the world will know it. One day, she will tell her story from beyond the painting.
I Am Not Your Eve is debut novel of Devika Ponnambalam, and published by the small independent press Bluemoose Books.
It is inspired by Teha’amana (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merahi_...), Paul Gauguin's 13-year old child-bride (vahine) and muse on his first trip to Tahiti in 1891 and the subject of his painting 'The Spirit of the Dead Keeps Watch' ('Manao tupapau'): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_...
In Western art history Teha’amana has very much remained in the background to the famous artist, quite literally in his Self Portrait in a Hat which Gauguin painted in 1893, after he returned from his trip: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-Po...
The author explained her motivation for writing the book in an interview: (https://booksfromscotland.com/2022/03...)
The heart of the novel is Teha’amana's thoughts own story and perspective on her relationship with 'the Painter', told in a lyrical style moving between the first and third person and with multiple narrators.
Gauguin's painting was in part inspired by Manet's Olympia, a copy of which he had pinned in his hut, and the novel also imagines Teha’amana in dialogue with the subject of that painting (Victorine Meurent).
She watches from her position above the doorway, where he has pinned her, the white woman, skin as creamy as coconut pulp, and a body, as beautiful as the moon. She lies there bolder than morning, one hand covering her sex. Her eyes meet mine with distaste and distrust, and she edges closer to the shadows within her room, towards the crack of the door that spills yellow light.
Gauguin's own interpretation of the work is, in part, included in his Cahier pour Aline, a notebook he started keeping in 1892 in Tahiti intended for his daughter (the same age as his child-bride), although which she was never to receive, dying in 1897 aged 19. The dedication:
And Ponnambalam intersperses within the narrative entries from a diary which Aline, in Copenhagen with her mother, keeps while her father is in Tahiti. Gauguin sends the Spirit painting to his family for safekeeping before his return and Aline enters into dialogue with the subject of the painting which she recognises as her father’s lover.
The novel also includes legends and myths from Tahiti. The Wikipedia entry on a portrait of Teha’amana by Gauguin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merahi_...) has modern scholars arguing that Gauguin's claim to have been taught such legends by his child-bride is part of his exoticisation of his trip:
And the novel reflects that with Gauguin telling Teha’amana legends rather than vice versa, although in the novel this is more her not wanting to share her people’s stories with an outsider:
Afterwards, you hold me to you, pressing your words to my hair, and ask if it is true, the story of offerings to the great god Ta’arao. And you tell it me, because I do not say yes, I do not say no.
Overall a lyrical and impressive novel.
In the darkest hour of my sleep, I see her, staring out from her pillow, with secrets inside, behind her brow, upon her tongue. She is privy to a knowledge that will remain hers, and hers alone, while the figure of death crouches at the foot of her bed, his bed, because he has put it there, my Papa. He is cruel and clever, but she is far cleverer than he, of that I am now certain. Yes, it frightens me, but one day, the world will know it. One day, she will tell her story from beyond the painting.
I Am Not Your Eve is debut novel of Devika Ponnambalam, and published by the small independent press Bluemoose Books.
It is inspired by Teha’amana (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merahi_...), Paul Gauguin's 13-year old child-bride (vahine) and muse on his first trip to Tahiti in 1891 and the subject of his painting 'The Spirit of the Dead Keeps Watch' ('Manao tupapau'): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_...
In Western art history Teha’amana has very much remained in the background to the famous artist, quite literally in his Self Portrait in a Hat which Gauguin painted in 1893, after he returned from his trip: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-Po...
The author explained her motivation for writing the book in an interview: (https://booksfromscotland.com/2022/03...)
It was Gauguin’s masterpiece that lies at the heart of the narrative and from which everything revolves: The Spirit of the Dead Keeps Watch. I first saw the image in a magazine and it was the painting that drew me in. I immediately connected with Teha’amana’s image as a woman of colour. I wanted to know who Teha’amana was and what had been her story, but what I found out was minimal. I understood from the article in the magazine that Gauguin had died of syphilis. It made me more determined to create a narrative for her and a truth. It became important to me to tell the story buried beneath Gauguin’s Art and his journey, which has been glorified and presented to the world through his diaries, letters, and biographies.
The heart of the novel is Teha’amana's thoughts own story and perspective on her relationship with 'the Painter', told in a lyrical style moving between the first and third person and with multiple narrators.
Gauguin's painting was in part inspired by Manet's Olympia, a copy of which he had pinned in his hut, and the novel also imagines Teha’amana in dialogue with the subject of that painting (Victorine Meurent).
She watches from her position above the doorway, where he has pinned her, the white woman, skin as creamy as coconut pulp, and a body, as beautiful as the moon. She lies there bolder than morning, one hand covering her sex. Her eyes meet mine with distaste and distrust, and she edges closer to the shadows within her room, towards the crack of the door that spills yellow light.
Gauguin's own interpretation of the work is, in part, included in his Cahier pour Aline, a notebook he started keeping in 1892 in Tahiti intended for his daughter (the same age as his child-bride), although which she was never to receive, dying in 1897 aged 19. The dedication:
À ma fille Aline, ce cahier est dédié. Notes éparses, sans suite comme les rêves, comme la vie toute faite de morceaux. Ces méditations sont un reflet de moi-même. Elle aussi est une sauvage, elle me comprendra.
And Ponnambalam intersperses within the narrative entries from a diary which Aline, in Copenhagen with her mother, keeps while her father is in Tahiti. Gauguin sends the Spirit painting to his family for safekeeping before his return and Aline enters into dialogue with the subject of the painting which she recognises as her father’s lover.
The novel also includes legends and myths from Tahiti. The Wikipedia entry on a portrait of Teha’amana by Gauguin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merahi_...) has modern scholars arguing that Gauguin's claim to have been taught such legends by his child-bride is part of his exoticisation of his trip:
In his account of their idyll together, Gauguin described how in the evenings Teha'amana would recount their ancient myths as they lay in bed. Teha'amana was nevertheless a Christian, as evidenced by the missionary dress she wears in the portrait, and would have known nothing of Tahitian mythology. Bengt Danielsson, the Kon-Tiki anthropologist, notes that Teha'amana recounting the old myths is an especially barefaced fiction, because not only were these largely forgotten, they had always been withheld from women. All Gauguin's accounts of ancient Tahitian religion in Noa Noa were copied from other sources without adequate acknowledgement.
And the novel reflects that with Gauguin telling Teha’amana legends rather than vice versa, although in the novel this is more her not wanting to share her people’s stories with an outsider:
Afterwards, you hold me to you, pressing your words to my hair, and ask if it is true, the story of offerings to the great god Ta’arao. And you tell it me, because I do not say yes, I do not say no.
Overall a lyrical and impressive novel.
Read
August 31, 2022The book jacket promises "this is a novel that gives Teha'amana a voice; one that travels with the myths and legends of the island, across history and asks now to be heard," but I personally could not tell the difference between Teha'amana's fictive voice vs. the voice she might have been given in a novel by Joseph Conrad. The voice felt overloaded with Western/colonial assumptions. She is sweet, innocent, sexually aware, submissive. She asks ignorant questions of her white overlord. She speaks in a register that mixes oral history and folklore--it's a way of writing an indigenous voice that has become the gold standard for novelists, but it's a voice that sounds disturbingly the same whether the novelist is writing about an indigenous character from North America or Africa or Micronesia.
I would venture to say that Teha'amana's story might work better as a poem, or as history/nonfiction, or, in very skilled hands, it might be told as fiction if written in the third person. Entering her body--speaking for her--felt violating to me. The danger is that you're replacing a real person up with modern-day assumptions about who she was and what she experienced. Good intentions, certainly, and other readers will have a different experience.
I would venture to say that Teha'amana's story might work better as a poem, or as history/nonfiction, or, in very skilled hands, it might be told as fiction if written in the third person. Entering her body--speaking for her--felt violating to me. The danger is that you're replacing a real person up with modern-day assumptions about who she was and what she experienced. Good intentions, certainly, and other readers will have a different experience.
July 20, 2022
In 1895 artist Paul Gauguin moved to Tahiti. There he met a 13 year old girl, called Teha’amana and married her. She was his muse and the subject of quite a few of his paintings, especially The Spirit of the Dead Watching. After 10 years Gauguin returned to France and Teha’amana married a Tahitian man and lived till 1918.
I am not your Eve is a novel which reimagines Teha’amana’s thoughts of being Gauguin’s muse. In the process she invokes Tahitian mythology, history and customs, all in the form of vignettes taken from different perspectives and diary entries. Normally this would be a mess but it executed brilliantly, the scene which hits hard is Teha’amana giving an account of what really happened during the making of Spirit of the Dead Watching.
As one can see in the picture, there can be many interpretations of why Teha’amana is lying on the bed like that . Gauguin has said that he walked in on her but, we as viewers may think that there could be something more sinister. This picture could be representative of colonialism or masculine dominance or a portrayal of abuse. What is important is that Devika Ponnambalam has given the voiceless a voice in order to warn the reader of the dangers of colonialism.
I am not your Eve is a powerful novel which combines the bizarre with brutal reality which a unique narrative voice. The inclusion of mythology and Polynesian rites add to the main plot. Due to the structure the book can be paced well but do not think that is is an easy read. There’s a lot to think about and having lived under two ex colonies one can see the unrest this may cause. Publisher Bluemoose have always come up with great books this could be their most mentally unsettling one to date.
I am not your Eve is a novel which reimagines Teha’amana’s thoughts of being Gauguin’s muse. In the process she invokes Tahitian mythology, history and customs, all in the form of vignettes taken from different perspectives and diary entries. Normally this would be a mess but it executed brilliantly, the scene which hits hard is Teha’amana giving an account of what really happened during the making of Spirit of the Dead Watching.
As one can see in the picture, there can be many interpretations of why Teha’amana is lying on the bed like that . Gauguin has said that he walked in on her but, we as viewers may think that there could be something more sinister. This picture could be representative of colonialism or masculine dominance or a portrayal of abuse. What is important is that Devika Ponnambalam has given the voiceless a voice in order to warn the reader of the dangers of colonialism.
I am not your Eve is a powerful novel which combines the bizarre with brutal reality which a unique narrative voice. The inclusion of mythology and Polynesian rites add to the main plot. Due to the structure the book can be paced well but do not think that is is an easy read. There’s a lot to think about and having lived under two ex colonies one can see the unrest this may cause. Publisher Bluemoose have always come up with great books this could be their most mentally unsettling one to date.
March 28, 2023
Despite being longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2023, I struggled with this. Actually, it might be more accurate to say I struggled through it. I liked the idea of giving a voice to the Tahitian child-bride of painter Paul Gauguin and I enjoyed the insights into Tahitian culture. Part of my problem was that I didn't really know much about Gauguin (other than his name, which is actually not mentioned in the book), his art or the painting on which much of the story focuses. Okay I could resort to searching online for information but should that be necessary in order to understand a book? My other problem was the proliferation of different voices - rarely identified - and the frequent changes from past to present which left me utterly confused. For me, it was not so much polyphony as cacophony.
I know I must be missing something because the book has had enthusiastic reviews and obviously impressed the Walter Scott Prize judges enough to include it in the longlist. Perhaps a case of right book, wrong reader.
I know I must be missing something because the book has had enthusiastic reviews and obviously impressed the Walter Scott Prize judges enough to include it in the longlist. Perhaps a case of right book, wrong reader.
April 6, 2022
A beautifully, richly told story of Teha’amana, the Tahitian ‘muse’ to French painter Paul Gaugin. A chorus of characters render this story tragic with many of the high Greek Tragic elements subtly embedded in the story of a picture and the voicelessness of women in some of Europe’s ‘greatest masters’
December 29, 2022
Asian Scottish writer Devika Ponnambalan’s first novel, I Am Not Your Eve, is a poetic and creative examination of French painter Paul Gaugin’s exploitative relationship with his Tahitian vahine (“woman” - a term applied to the short term marriages contracted between white colonialists and Polynesian women) Taha’amana and more generally with his appropriation of Polynesian culture for his art. With hypnotic prose Ponnambalan, who as part of her research for the novel traveled to Tahiti and spoke with many locals including some descendants of Gaugin, has created a polyphonic narrative in which voice is given not only to Taha’amana but also Gaugin’s daughter Aline, his estranged wife Mette-Sophie, Taha’amana’s adoptive mother, and a number of other persons and objects ( including Gaugin’s paintings, postcards…) and spirits of deceased Tahitians. That the majority of these voices are female, excepting Gaugin’s feels significant. And the author proposes that Gaugin’s obsession with finding his muse is derived from an Oedipal idealization of his mother, his “original Eve.” Similarly his daughter Aline’s adoration of her father despite his abandonment of her mother and herself seems rooted in an Electra complex…one which Gaugin himself encourages in a typically selfish manner.
Through this narrative Ponnambalam skillfully weaves the rich and diverse creation myths of Tahiti.
Gaugin himself is portrayed ( accurately) as an egocentric and abusive pedophile (he claimed Taha’amana to be 13 at the time of her church sanctioned “marriage” however in truth she was 11, younger than his daughter Aline). His exploitative artistic quest for an Eve who was a noble savage ( from whence the title is derived) and his forcing Taha’amana, against her own wishes, to assume this role just as he forced sexual relations on her are matters of history. What is striking about this book is the sensitive and respectful way in which Taha’amana herself is portrayed - as a complete girl who is compelled too soon to become a woman and then compelled once again to embody Gaugin’s idealized Eve. Yet she is not completely passive and the forms in which her resistance to him emerges are eloquently depicted in this narrative.
Ponnambalam’s prose is lyrical and infused with poetry though at times her Asian roots emerge with phrases such as “lamp dark night” ( a common trope in Indian poetry) and “ink dark moon” ( derived from a collection of Heian poetry), and these metaphors therefore ring false with me.
As with most first novels, this book could have benefited from more focus and editing. But this is undoubtedly due to the author’s passion for her subject. I am certain that an argument could be made about authenticity as Ponnambalam is an Asian writing in English and therefore outsider to the culture she is portraying- however to my read this was a carefully researched book which makes No unsubstantiated assertions and which is deeply respectful to Taha’amanaand Tahitian culture.
In the end I found this to be a beautiful book - slim but filled with big ideas and poetry. Four stars.
Through this narrative Ponnambalam skillfully weaves the rich and diverse creation myths of Tahiti.
Gaugin himself is portrayed ( accurately) as an egocentric and abusive pedophile (he claimed Taha’amana to be 13 at the time of her church sanctioned “marriage” however in truth she was 11, younger than his daughter Aline). His exploitative artistic quest for an Eve who was a noble savage ( from whence the title is derived) and his forcing Taha’amana, against her own wishes, to assume this role just as he forced sexual relations on her are matters of history. What is striking about this book is the sensitive and respectful way in which Taha’amana herself is portrayed - as a complete girl who is compelled too soon to become a woman and then compelled once again to embody Gaugin’s idealized Eve. Yet she is not completely passive and the forms in which her resistance to him emerges are eloquently depicted in this narrative.
Ponnambalam’s prose is lyrical and infused with poetry though at times her Asian roots emerge with phrases such as “lamp dark night” ( a common trope in Indian poetry) and “ink dark moon” ( derived from a collection of Heian poetry), and these metaphors therefore ring false with me.
As with most first novels, this book could have benefited from more focus and editing. But this is undoubtedly due to the author’s passion for her subject. I am certain that an argument could be made about authenticity as Ponnambalam is an Asian writing in English and therefore outsider to the culture she is portraying- however to my read this was a carefully researched book which makes No unsubstantiated assertions and which is deeply respectful to Taha’amanaand Tahitian culture.
In the end I found this to be a beautiful book - slim but filled with big ideas and poetry. Four stars.
July 26, 2022
Beautifully written novel that gives voice to the women in Paul Gauguin’s life and ultimately about the exploitation and appropriation that go with colonialism and the way art is used to obfuscate these realities.
Paul Gauguin’s Polynesian affair has long been the object of controversy (his going with young girls in Polynesia while he had a wife and children in France). His search for a simple, untainted life is couple with his exploiting of this allegedly simple world in any possible way while producing enticing, marketable images of naked women that would satisfy the taste for the exotic of his clientele (if you are unfamiliar with the issue of cancelling Gauguin read here https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/ar...)
This complex novel is told in alternating voices that include the wives, daughter, the painter himself, the voice of his paintings, the retelling of Polynesian myths. While this structure is not new, here it is used to offer a nuanced exploration of the life of Gauguin and those surrounding him touching a variety of topics including colonialism, exploitation, violence, appropriation, commodification and the transactional nature of marriage. Like in other novels reviving suppressed female voices, much is about male colonial privilege. In this we see that nothing is black and white and the native culture is far from being idealised. What I found very interesting is focus on the gaze of the artist, the model and the onlooker (the author has a background in writing for film) from a different culture. As an art buff, I enjoyed the constant tension to counter Manet’s controversial Olympia, a straightforward representation of a naked prostitute that departed from the canon of the Western nude.
The writing style is dense and lyrical, with fragments rather than chapters – we are in the territory of high quality, demanding literary fiction. Some characters are more recognizable and idiosyncratic than others. I would have preferred more distinctive voices, and a different structure but this is just me. All in all a very good, absorbing thought-provoking read.
Paul Gauguin’s Polynesian affair has long been the object of controversy (his going with young girls in Polynesia while he had a wife and children in France). His search for a simple, untainted life is couple with his exploiting of this allegedly simple world in any possible way while producing enticing, marketable images of naked women that would satisfy the taste for the exotic of his clientele (if you are unfamiliar with the issue of cancelling Gauguin read here https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/ar...)
This complex novel is told in alternating voices that include the wives, daughter, the painter himself, the voice of his paintings, the retelling of Polynesian myths. While this structure is not new, here it is used to offer a nuanced exploration of the life of Gauguin and those surrounding him touching a variety of topics including colonialism, exploitation, violence, appropriation, commodification and the transactional nature of marriage. Like in other novels reviving suppressed female voices, much is about male colonial privilege. In this we see that nothing is black and white and the native culture is far from being idealised. What I found very interesting is focus on the gaze of the artist, the model and the onlooker (the author has a background in writing for film) from a different culture. As an art buff, I enjoyed the constant tension to counter Manet’s controversial Olympia, a straightforward representation of a naked prostitute that departed from the canon of the Western nude.
The writing style is dense and lyrical, with fragments rather than chapters – we are in the territory of high quality, demanding literary fiction. Some characters are more recognizable and idiosyncratic than others. I would have preferred more distinctive voices, and a different structure but this is just me. All in all a very good, absorbing thought-provoking read.
July 4, 2023
Harrowing and gorgeous, this book imagines (from real-life pieces) the perspective of Paul Gauguin's muse and sexual obsession in Tahiti, Teha'amana. Only eleven years old when she "married" Gauguin (who kept wife and family in France), Teha'amana's tale is a coming-of-age account interwoven with Tahitian legend. In its staring view of European and male Christian egos, set against magic, it is relentlessly hard. Ponnambalam's prose is so excrutiangly beautiful, it urges the reader to finish, to try to comprehend.
May 23, 2022
I thought this was an excellently written book which completely drew me into the story of Teha’amana, Tahitian muse and child-bride of the painter Paul Gauguin.
The weaving through of the origin myths about Polynesia brought a very interesting perspective and sense of place to what was already a very engaging and compelling story. The use of Gauguin’s daughter Aline (the same age as Teha’amana) as a voice and character made even more vivid and, to me, shocking Gauguin’s ‘marriage’ to his ‘child-bride’.
The use of multiple perspectives and lack of naming of characters in the novel added depth and complexity but didn’t appear contrived or tricksy, instead it made me concentrate on what was written and enriched the story.
It’s a very rewarding read and very thought provoking without being preachy or worthy. The ideas are very well integrated into the story and Devika is a great stylist who writes beautifully. I’d recommend this to friends - in fact I have done and they’ve enjoyed the novel too.
The weaving through of the origin myths about Polynesia brought a very interesting perspective and sense of place to what was already a very engaging and compelling story. The use of Gauguin’s daughter Aline (the same age as Teha’amana) as a voice and character made even more vivid and, to me, shocking Gauguin’s ‘marriage’ to his ‘child-bride’.
The use of multiple perspectives and lack of naming of characters in the novel added depth and complexity but didn’t appear contrived or tricksy, instead it made me concentrate on what was written and enriched the story.
It’s a very rewarding read and very thought provoking without being preachy or worthy. The ideas are very well integrated into the story and Devika is a great stylist who writes beautifully. I’d recommend this to friends - in fact I have done and they’ve enjoyed the novel too.
May 22, 2023
I really wanted to like this book. I thought the premise was interesting and I liked the idea of giving a voice back to someone from history. This book was a mixed bag. The diary sections and myths really works and the myths in particular leap from the page. However this book needs more of an edit and more signposting as the different voices just blend into one and tend to get very confusing.
June 5, 2023
It’s far from an easy read but one of the most engaging and full filling ones I had the pleasure to dive lately. My copy has tabs, I barely tab a book.
So deeply lyrical, with myth and transfiguration as a core, and body and sickness and sex to explain sacrifice as love. Absolutely lovely and terrible at the same time.
So deeply lyrical, with myth and transfiguration as a core, and body and sickness and sex to explain sacrifice as love. Absolutely lovely and terrible at the same time.
August 20, 2022
I Am Not Your Eve is an exquisite, richly textured novel about Teha’amana the 13-year old (perhaps even 11) Tahitian ‘half-wife’ of the painter Paul Gauguin.
Teha’amana’s voice is woven with the myths and legends of Tahiti, joined by a chorus including a lizard watching from the rafters, Olympia, the subject of Manet’s painting, and the diary entries of Gauguin’s daughter, Aline, the same age as Teha’amana, a world away in Copenhagen. Aline adores her exciting father, looking down on the mother who brings up his children alone and penniless, while he explores his fantasies in Tahiti.
The novel circles, returning to the same moment: Teha’aman lying passive, immobile, posed in a sexually provocative position, as Gauguin paints his 'masterpiece' Manaò Tupapaú (The Spirit of the Dead Watching).
"You will ask me what I am, thinking. You will snort like a pig, when I reply, nothing. Nothing, you will repeat. Yes, you will say, it is better that way. I’ll put some thoughts in your head."
How to separate the art from the artist? In this case, where the art is an image of a real child, gazing in terror at her syphilitic rapist, who ‘explains’ her feelings to the world, they cannot be separated at all. The art is an extension of the rape.
This sounds distressing, and it is, but this is a beautiful, lyrical book, exploring colonialism, myth, patriarchal power and hypocrisy in thought-provoking, unforgettable ways. In short, this is a masterpiece.
Teha’amana’s voice is woven with the myths and legends of Tahiti, joined by a chorus including a lizard watching from the rafters, Olympia, the subject of Manet’s painting, and the diary entries of Gauguin’s daughter, Aline, the same age as Teha’amana, a world away in Copenhagen. Aline adores her exciting father, looking down on the mother who brings up his children alone and penniless, while he explores his fantasies in Tahiti.
The novel circles, returning to the same moment: Teha’aman lying passive, immobile, posed in a sexually provocative position, as Gauguin paints his 'masterpiece' Manaò Tupapaú (The Spirit of the Dead Watching).
"You will ask me what I am, thinking. You will snort like a pig, when I reply, nothing. Nothing, you will repeat. Yes, you will say, it is better that way. I’ll put some thoughts in your head."
How to separate the art from the artist? In this case, where the art is an image of a real child, gazing in terror at her syphilitic rapist, who ‘explains’ her feelings to the world, they cannot be separated at all. The art is an extension of the rape.
This sounds distressing, and it is, but this is a beautiful, lyrical book, exploring colonialism, myth, patriarchal power and hypocrisy in thought-provoking, unforgettable ways. In short, this is a masterpiece.
August 20, 2023
Intriguing idea for a story. I started reading expecting something pitched somewhere between the folk tale dreamscapes of Ben Okri and perhaps something of Barbara Kingsolver. I dont often buy contemporary fiction its often too formulaic, written for Film or a TV Mini series or worst yet the product of a creative writing course. Starts off well enough but then feels padded out with regurgitated research and repetitive descriptions. The use of Italics for the tahitian words is beyond annoying, it creates seperation from the subject and makes it feel like a children's book. The interesting history i expected this story to explore are condensed into the end like an apologetic foot note. The folklore is interesting but can be found elsewhere presented by better authors.
July 28, 2022
In 1895, Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin moved to Tahiti where he met 13-year-old Teha'amana and made her his "half-wife" (he was already married with children) and she proceeded to become his muse for numerous paintings including The Spirit of the Dead Watching.
This stark and hauntingly beautiful novel is the reimagining of the time that Teha'amana spent as Gauguin's muse.
Ponnambalam's prose is expressive and lyrical. It utilises the voices of Tahitian individuals, the mythical tales of Polynesia and diary entries from Gauguin's daughter who was left behind as he painted his "new wife" that was the same age as her.
The author explores themes that are thought-provoking and relevant to the present day such as the dangers of colonialism with its brutal reality.
The multiple viewpoints give depth and a layered complexity throughout the novel which is packed with imagery and rich language.
Ponnambalam, in this novel, is providing a voice to the previously silenced.
This stark and hauntingly beautiful novel is the reimagining of the time that Teha'amana spent as Gauguin's muse.
Ponnambalam's prose is expressive and lyrical. It utilises the voices of Tahitian individuals, the mythical tales of Polynesia and diary entries from Gauguin's daughter who was left behind as he painted his "new wife" that was the same age as her.
The author explores themes that are thought-provoking and relevant to the present day such as the dangers of colonialism with its brutal reality.
The multiple viewpoints give depth and a layered complexity throughout the novel which is packed with imagery and rich language.
Ponnambalam, in this novel, is providing a voice to the previously silenced.
January 17, 2024
Having been fortunate enough to receive several £££-worth of book tokens I made a conscious decision to choose new-to-me, and/or something different titles from indie publishers. Bluemoose Books Limited had earlier caught my attention, and it was not hard to find four titles which appealed. This (in paperback) was my first choice, with its link to the life of Gauguin (about whose life I knew very little). I knew even less about Tahiti; am not fond of legends and religions, and found the trio of story-tellers hard to distinguish. Nevertheless this was a real pleasure to read, and has left me intending to seek more.
May 7, 2022
I really loved the way the story moves through different viewpoints, and with the addition of the creation myths, the way the story was told really expanded my view of the culture and place the story takes place in.
It’s packed with images too and you can sense what a beautiful place Tahiti is and how much that must’ve inspired Gauguin. By the end, this collage of voices and images really deepened my understanding of the loss that's so central to the story and how complex that is. I also loved the story of Gaugin’s daughter back home, which made him even realer for me as a person.
It’s packed with images too and you can sense what a beautiful place Tahiti is and how much that must’ve inspired Gauguin. By the end, this collage of voices and images really deepened my understanding of the loss that's so central to the story and how complex that is. I also loved the story of Gaugin’s daughter back home, which made him even realer for me as a person.
May 25, 2024
*2.5 or 5/10
I have been excited for this book ever since it came out, but I was sadly disappointed. The writing was beautiful, but I felt that the narrative was being pulled in too many different directions - making it a bit confusing and repetitive at times. I also didn't feel as if I got to know this portrayal of Teha'amana; I didn't get to know her for her, away from Paul Gauguin, which is what I picked the book up for. Honestly, I found the rabbit hole the historical context led me down much more interesting than the actual book - I learnt a lot.
I have been excited for this book ever since it came out, but I was sadly disappointed. The writing was beautiful, but I felt that the narrative was being pulled in too many different directions - making it a bit confusing and repetitive at times. I also didn't feel as if I got to know this portrayal of Teha'amana; I didn't get to know her for her, away from Paul Gauguin, which is what I picked the book up for. Honestly, I found the rabbit hole the historical context led me down much more interesting than the actual book - I learnt a lot.
July 23, 2024
My choice for Woodend....a different perspective, the model posing for Gauguin. An approach being promulgated atm, the until now silenced voice. And by sheer coincidence, at the same time as several exhibitions of Gauguins work, with him being desrcibed as a sadistic, paedophile rapist.
The book intertwined Tahitian myths, legands, beliefs, with the story. No one 'enjoyed' it, but it generated great discussion. Hence the 3 stars, without the great discusson, it would have been 2.
The book intertwined Tahitian myths, legands, beliefs, with the story. No one 'enjoyed' it, but it generated great discussion. Hence the 3 stars, without the great discusson, it would have been 2.
March 8, 2022
Loved this novel about Gauguin's child-bride told from her point of view using myths & legends from the island. A beautifully written and captivating book and another winner from Bluemoose. Highly original and will live in me for a long while. I'm sure this will appear on a few awards lists and deserves to be.
July 11, 2022
This book was an absolute joy to read, magical, beautiful and moving. An amazing blend of well researched real history, myth and folk-law of Tahiti alongside the imagining of real lives and experiences of the artist, his family and his muse. A great read giving voice to those so often silent or silenced in history.
A must read.
A must read.
July 9, 2023
Porn for intellectuals
Devika Ponnambalam has claimed that Teha'amana, the main character was as young as 11. That didn’t stop her relating graphic sex scenes between a painter in his 40s and an 11 year old girl which is just bad taste if not worse. Devika Ponnambalam tarnishes the memory of Teha'amana, that is if she ever existed.
I found the book ugly and pretentious.
Devika Ponnambalam has claimed that Teha'amana, the main character was as young as 11. That didn’t stop her relating graphic sex scenes between a painter in his 40s and an 11 year old girl which is just bad taste if not worse. Devika Ponnambalam tarnishes the memory of Teha'amana, that is if she ever existed.
I found the book ugly and pretentious.
April 2, 2022
Very clever and beautifully written. I would love to reread it to have a better understanding of what I was seeing from the beginning. Also loved the structure and the choices made in whose life we were presented with and when. Would absolutely recommend it
May 23, 2022
I loved this book. Beautiful and clever without preaching. The story of a native girl. The story of a white European man. The story of Tahiti, it’s myths, culture, and the changes that occur by powerful visitors.
December 21, 2022
I Am Not Your Eve is a stunning book. It's beautifully written and unique. It gave a voice to Teha"amana, the child bride of painter Paul Guaguin whom he painted numerous times while in Tahiti. It's a really moving book and is something I want to read again as the writing is so rich.
April 7, 2023
I rarely say that a book is ‘important’ to read. But that is what it feels like reading this. It is incredibly honest and vicious in its understanding of the muse’s story, but although this story took place years and years ago…. It’s message has never been more important than right now.
August 23, 2023
The artist Paul Gaugin moved to Tahiti where he took a 13 year old girl as his muse/wife. This abstract novel tells the story from the POV of various females in Gaugin's life. It's beautiful and horrifying.
February 4, 2024
Tricky read because I found it hard to work out who was talking, but a second read unveilled the book for me. Interesting take on Gaughin - my enjoyment benefited from some background reading on him!
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