4.0 out of 5 stars

Loved the ghost story twist

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 July 2022

I enjoyed this book although I found it a little slow in places.

I knew very little of George Sands or Chopin so it was interesting to read about their lives and I felt the side story of the ghost and her history was fascinating.

I was gifted a copy off this book to review

'Briefly, a Delicious Life' by Nell Stevens is gorgeous, just gorgeous, and effortlessly refreshing for the palette. If you've been disappointed in the fiction of 2022 so far, READ THIS (and the upcoming 'Small Angels' by Lauren Owen next month)! The piece doesn't read like a debut fiction novel. It's assured; it's resolved, forthright.

The story finds its gravitational pull in the figure of George Sand, who has brought Chopin to Mallorca for convalescence. In the figure of Sand, Stevens draws a character with intense conviction. I found there was no need - and no room - for questions of 'truthfulness' or faithfulness to history. I felt no need to ask whether the text aligned with fact; the meat of the story sufficed, refreshingly outstripping other recent novels based upon historical figures. This delivers what I hoped Lauren Groff's 'Matrix' was going to last year; it does what 'The Flames' by Sophie Haydock failed to do earlier this year; it does what 'The Language of Food' by Annabel Abbs did last autumn, only better, and more gorgeously; more deliciously.

Everything is seen, smelt, felt, heard and tasted by Blanca, our narrator.  All the senses are exploited here. 'Briefly, a Delicious Life' is all about how living FEELS; how it is experienced greatly and most vividly through the senses, rather than through thought, or philosophically:

'Other consoling sensations: the rasping tongue of a dog greeting its owner; tree bark against the palms of a young person climbing; the rippling orgasm of a woman who had discovered how to use her fingers for herself; salt on the lips of someone who has been swimming in the sea. I liked to feel the soft, humming fur of a cat being stroked. I liked the taste of wine.'

And whose is the titular delicious life? I'd argue for the deliciousness of Blanca's involvement in Sand's life during the years George Sand lives with Chopin and her own two children; the brief life that Blanca inhabits with George and through George, observing her, desiring her, experiencing sensation through her:

'I imagined how it would be to press myself against her, in between her toes, into the crook of her elbow, the crease between her nostril and her cheek, though I never quite dared try. Instead, I placed myself under the wet drip-drip-drip of the clothes on the branches and thought of all that could be done between two women in possession of bodies, what effects could be achieved with fingers and tongues.'

As I've said in other reviews, when a novel is published that accurately and fairly represents sexual attraction between women, its importance in and to the book world cannot be overestimated. 'Briefly, a Delicious Life' does that, and does it graciously and genuinely, or generously, or gorgeously, or all of the above.

Blanca's afterlife as a spirit able to inhabit people's minds to 'live' through their senses, also allows us to view their memories and, thus, read their histories through glimpses of their memory. As a plot device, this didn't make me uncomfortable. I can see how it might be jarring for some readers, such a convenient authorial contrivance as it is. But I find that I could reconcile that cost with the wealth that it reaps in terms of opportunities to explore physicality and sensuality. Basically, Blanca could take me anywhere she likes, as long as she keeps describing what she sees, feels, smells, tastes, and hears:

'I felt a wrench in the silence that followed. There was something about Chopin's music that lodged itself between your teeth - where teeth had been - or slipped through your ribs - where ribs had been - and became a new part of your body - where body had been. There was something about it that gave you a body to borrow, and let you live in it, briefly, extraordinarily.'

In this regard, I would say disregard the blurb about 'Briefly, a Delicious Life': phrases like 'emotionally moving' and 'surprisingly touching' fall far short of the mark for Stevens's fiction debut and, in my opinion, 'romantic fixation' is the very last thing I'd identify as its subject matter. The core of this piece of writing is the impact upon the mind of the physical senses, as all of the quotes above demonstrate. Stevens achieves this in a manner that's vivacious, hefty, absolute, not - as the blurb would have it - merely 'charming' and 'original'.

'Briefly, a Delicious Life' will be something I'll reread, and have as a fixture in the STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS section of the library.

My thank you Picador, Pan Macmillan, for an ARC in exchange for my review.

I had never seen anyone like her. That was the thing. No woman had ever been as definite, as robust. No woman, no man, nobody had ever been so much like themselves as she was.

Briefly, A Delicious Life
I received this advanced eBook reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ever since I became a reader for pleasure, I have had a fascination with queer Literature. For the purpose of clarity, I define queer Literature as anything with a direct focus on the lives and experience of folk not falling under heteronormative standards/ideals. Or, stories from folks fitting this description. I try not to be too academic or prescriptive when to comes to this, as ideas are constantly evolving and I view this inevitable progression as both interesting and beautiful.

I digress: with this in mind, the perspective of a lesbian ghost who has been haunting a monastery in Mallorca was certainly one I was immediately interested by.

But it was not one I imagined would be as compelling as it was in the end.

As aforementioned, the story is told from the point-of-view of fourteen-year-old Blanca who dies in 1473 in a hilltop monastery in Mallorca. Despite having the ability to move, she predominantly stays here, haunting the men who live there for their violence and unfair treatment of women. It makes for fairly interesting feminist reading, I tell you that.

I wish there was more of this throughout the story though; as Blanca becomes more fascinated and motivated by her love for George Sand – based on the nineteenth-century French writer of the same name – her focus on teaching a feminist lesson are somewhat dampened. This, I found slightly disappointing as the humour and approach Blanca took for this self-directed mission were highly amusing.

From the start of the novel, we are teased with the unsaid promise of a queer love story:

Of course, it wasn’t the first time I had seen two boys kissing.

Briefly, A Delicious Life. Literally the first line.
Whilst this depiction of George Sand’s crossdressing was playfully managed and interestingly revealed, I did find the ‘queerness’ somewhat disappointing.

But this did not last forever. As the story unfolds, readers are revealed numerous believed truths about George Sand’s probable bisexuality (including an alleged affair with an actress), as well as the fictionalised queerness of Blanca (yes, our in-house ghostly narrator. Or should that be in-monastery? You get the idea.)

Something which strikes me given my 2022 context is the likelihood of this becoming a Dark Academic classic of the near future. With its featuring of religion, Gothic tropes, mental health, illicit affairs and family secrets, it is simply screaming for a place in BookTuber 2022 Wrap Up videos. And, to be fair, I do think there is a place for it.

George can tolerate being married to a brute, or to a philanderer, but not to a fool. That is, surely, too much to bear.

Briefly, A Delicious Life
The historical accuracy too is appealing to fans of Dark Academia: medical accounts of cholera and consumption for example were interesting to read about in this fictional setting. There is also something satisfying about feeling like you have truly learnt something from a book: a history not-yet discovered, like that of George Sand and the composer Chopin.

All of this said, however, the most interesting character I found was actually that of Solange: George Sand’s daughter. A child for the majority of the story, it is through this character that Stevens explores the topics of mental health, parental trauma and unlikely sexual exploration.

‘My little black cloud,’ George would say, looping Solange’s hair through her fingers as the child was falling asleep. It took me some time to understand this was intended as a term of endearment. Maurice was always: ‘my little cub’, ‘my bear’; Solange: ‘cloud’,‘thunder’,‘little tempest’. How many times do you have to call a cloud a tempest before it turns stormy?

Briefly, A Delicious Life
Without spoiling too much, it would be an understatement to say that Solange’s character is interesting. It is more than that: it is revealing. With the reader’s natural inclination to relate to and sympathise with Solange as a child, her journey becomes all the more jarring and subversive as she grows older.

Ultimately, I gave this book 4/5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and think it will become a favourite for many people. The historian in me was both fascinated and ashamed that I had not heard of George Sand before so this book allowed me to delve more into her very interesting life, something I would definitely be interested in reading more about.

For characterisation, historical appreciation and angry feminist ghosts, I would recommend ‘Briefly, A Delicious Life’ wholeheartedly.

Probably 3.5 stars rather than 3. Drawing the thread through centuries from the original life of the monastery to the "present" of the world of Chopin and Sands' holiday retreat via a child ghost narrator is a beguiling narrative conceit. It suits the sensory and sensual world of the novel. The ghost narrator leads the reader by the hand with curiosity and intrigue unfettered by life but deeply feeling nonetheless. Stevens' writing is elemental and sensory, without straying into grandiloquence. I really felt transported to the misery of the unwelcoming village, the highs and lows of love, attraction, crushes, and passion. I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this novel, such an original concept. I didn’t know much about the relationship between George Sand and Chopin but what I learned here inspired me to do a lot more research. Blanca is my favourite original character in a long time (although a very different story, I felt the same way about her as I did Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi) and I absolutely loved her voice. I would say I didn’t personally get as much of a queer love story as I think the author intended but I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

An evocative slice of historical fiction, as the ghost of a young woman watches over George Sand and Chopin. Richly imagined. I particularly enjoyed the passages about Blanca, the ghost’s, life and the events leading to her death.

Thank you for the copy in exchange for a review!
I was really excited about this, as it told the story of Chopin and George Sand when they were together. This is something I found quite interesting, especially with the added element of the narrator being a dead girl who has been stuck as a ghost for the last 300 years. I really enjoyed the different points of view but I found some parts were really strange and not executed too well.
I absolutely loved the ending, I thought it tied off nicely and it was also nice to find out what happens to the characters in the future (but more humanised than just reading about their past on Wikipedia). The author did a great job of humanising these already famous characters.

I would most likely pick this up in a bookstore as I did find it enjoyable and I would recommend.

Briefly, A Delicious Life is a beautifully spooky, mysterious novel full of joy and sadness, love and loss. It’s a gorgeous depiction of the human experience and I loved it.

Blanca, a centuries-old teenage ghost, immediately falls for the beautifully strange George Sand after she arrives, dressed like a man, at the remote Charterhouse which Blanca inhabits, with Chopin and her children in tow. What ensues is a simultaneously haunting and amusing journey through the characters’ pasts, presents, and beyond.

In 19th Century Mallorca, the locals have a deep distrust for this odd, foreign family. Beginning with a simple desire for peace and better health in the Mediterranean air after the wild days of their lives in Paris, their experience becomes something else entirely.

With prose which flows effortlessly in short, fast-paced chapters, a narrator who is one of my new favourite characters, and a whole lot of sapphic yearning, I will undoubtedly be making this novel my whole personality for the foreseeable future.

This novel does contain some difficult subject matter, so please check trigger warnings before reading.

(ARC received from Picador via NetGalley)

Happy pub day to this strange and wonderful novella. If you are looking for a hot, sad, little bit spooky little bit sexy little bit intellectual beach read then may I please introduce you to ‘Briefly, A Delicious Life’ by Nell Stevens.

The story follows George Sands escape to Mallorca with Chopin and her young children and features angry villagers, androgynous dressing and a queer ghost with the hots for George Sand.

Our narrator Blanca died in 1473, aged 14, and has mostly haunted the ancient monastery in her sleepy village ever since, roaming in isolation that is equal parts lustful and vengeful until quite unexpectedly, writer George Sand arrives with her ailing love and creative counterpart Chopin.

Blanca spends the winter swimming in and out of the family’s feelings and memories as she miserably watches the “queer” french city folk become demonised by the locals, all while Blanca falls even more in love with George.

The descriptions of desire and misery are indeed delicious and it was fun to lose myself in the doomed adventures of Paris’ creative aristocracy. Both light and a little haunting, it’s a true weirdo summer read.

Briefly, A Delicious Life is published today via Picador Books.

I absolutely loved this beautiful book. The language Stevens use is so vivid and striking throughout the novel. I felt this was a unique story with such an interesting perspective; written from the point of view of the ghost of a teenage girl from centuries past who falls in love with the writer George Sands and her family (including her lover, the composer Chopin) when they move to Mallorca. There are some absolutely stunning descriptions, particularly when Stevens describes nature, scenery, and Chopin's music.

I also really enjoyed how the book switches between POV's and timelines as we gradually build up a picture of both George's past and Blanca's (the ghost), learning about the struggles they've been through, their relationships, their loves, and also the circumstances of Blanca's death. This switching between multiple perspectives kept me intrigued and turning the page to discover more about these women.

One of my favourite things about this novel, was the way in which Stevens deals with identity and the prospect of being different and going against "social norms". I adore the character of George and how she goes through life doing what she wants, dressing how she wants, and behaving how she wants, blissfully unaware and unbothered by how other people view her. Stevens really digs into the treatment of women in particular, criticising how they are treated in a patriarchal society, both through the representation of George and her daughter, as well as the storyline involving Blanca and her pregnancy which ultimately ends in tragedy,

Though there are many serious and painful issues present throughout the narrative, there are also so many joyous moments of love and humour. I found this book to be an utterly bewitching and unique experience!

I wanted this book to grip my heart the way the premise did, but ultimately it felt underwhelming, which I think came down to the characters. They fell flat and I was never made to care for them.

Briefly, A Delicious Life is a novel that centres around an unconventional family who have just arrived in Mallorca in 1838. They have arrived in the pursuit of wellness, and find themselves living in an old monastery which just so happens to be haunted by our protagonist, Blanca. Blanca is the ghost of a teenage girl who was once enamoured with beautiful men, but who in death has allowed her focus to fall on beautiful women instead. The mother of the family, George, is a woman who dresses in men's clothes, smokes cigars and writes books. Blanca loves her immediately and follows George and her family, looking after them, travelling with and inside of them so that she too can feel the sensations that come with having a body which she has almost forgotten in her hundreds of years of being a ghost.

Stevens' stark and direct prose is beautiful. It delivers her unusual story with the ease of a much more experienced author. After the first few chapters, I had already stopped and reread a number of sentences and paragraphs.
There was so much promise in the beginning, and the premise of the story was so unusual, so different than anything I've read before, but unfortunately my interest waned a little toward the middle of the story. Much of what had made the story interesting seemed to have stagnated. Some of the characters were so richly developed, but others I lost and jumbled inside my mind. The story while interesting often seemed like snippets of different lives, rather than a fully fleshed out story. While there are things that happen, it feels as though the story never really moves anywhere. I normally enjoy books that are character driven rather than fully story driven, but I didn't feel that the characters were full enough or felt enough to truly feel myself engaged. There are also some questions left unanswered, which I won't discuss for fear of spoilers, but which made the story seem unfinished or not fully thought through. There's a change of pace toward the end which feels a little jarring in comparison to the slower pace of the book prior to that.

With all of that said, I enjoyed this book but I can't say that I loved it. I'll remember the story for one of the more unusual concepts and am glad to have had the opportunity to read it. Sadly, it won't quite make it to my favourites shelf, but I would be sincerely interested to read what Stevens writes next.

I adored this - beautifully written, utterly compelling and so original, with a really rich cast of characters and a perfectly drawn Mallorcan setting.

The writing style was good, interesting chapter names as this was a unique element of this novel.

We are taken to Mallorca where this ghost has been stuck for so many years watching the lives of those that has came and gone. Has literally ‘entered’ their body to feel what they feel. The setting of this novel was unique although it did feel a bit creepy at times. There is a lot of potential with the family in where I think this novel could have explored more instead of being stuck in the same frame. Yet, at the same time the consistency was a bit wish-washy.

Usually a novel has a beginning, middle and an end. The middle is supposed to have the whole build up of something that needs to overcome however there really isn’t much going on.

The main story line the ghost follows in this novel is of this boy dressed looking woman named George who I really wasn’t interested in at all, her children and Chopin who I think is her friend? He is dying and composes music and the plot just seemed to drag so much.

Overall I need a novel that is actually moving forward as a novel is supposed to be. Plus, characters usually develop and grow however in this one nothing really happens.

This inventive take on Chopin and George Sands told from the point of view of a Spanish ghost trapped in a nunnery is a fun, intriguing love story — thoughtfully and passionately told.

A haunting and enchanting story. I love the way this book drags you in. So beautiful and tragic at times.
I have to say that I haven't read a story as original as this in a long time.
It's so fun to naviagte through the story!

This is delicious and strangely compelling. A ghost, Chopin and George Sand all together in Mallorca. Just give it a go.

An ambitious story about a horny, lonely ghost who becomes obsessed with George Sand and her family. The ghost can also dive into peoples memories and somehow see the future. There’s a lot of time hopping which for me became a bit tedious and sometimes hard to follow.
The ending kind of lost the run of itself for a bit, becoming slightly “and then, and then, and then…”
All that being said, it’s a fun and entertaining read but I don’t think it should be taken too seriously.

Briefly A Delicious Life tells the story of the difficult months that Chopin spent in Mallorca with his partner, George Sand and her children. I didn’t know anything about the lives of Chopin or George Sand so I found this very informative. George is such an interesting character, a strong personality who dresses in men’s clothing, which doesn’t endear her to the local community. In fact nothing about the visitors goes down well with the villagers and they are faced with increasing hostility. I didn’t find the characters particularly likeable apart from Maurice, the son. The story is told by Blanca, a ghost who haunts the abbey and falls in love with George. I found myself more interested in her story than in Chopin and George’s. I also enjoyed her descriptions of the village and her insights into its inhabitants through the centuries. I thought that having a ghost as narrator was a clever device to tell a story over several centuries. This aspect reminded of I Mona Lisa by Natasha Solomon’s. Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC.

This book just wasn’t for me. The pace was too slow, the narrator’s voice felt too modern and there were too many ‘coincidences’ given to the ghost which allowed her access to people’s dreams, memories, her ability to know many other languages., for example. It is well researched, and the writing, particularly about the light and surroundings was very engaging however and I would be interested to see what Stevens writes next.