Set in a greek island, Elizabeth Clarke, an art historian wants a rare female sculptor. As she does the close inspection, it leads to close observation of a woman body and history. But it raises questions and she must find the answers. As for a debut, this was a good book. It definitely gave me a new perspective and I definitely liked the author’s observation.

Thanks to the Publisher

The Nude follows the story of a morally bankrupt art historian, Elizabeth, who goes a little mad on a business trip to Greece (as a little treat) to appraise a statue found of the coast. The Nude has a back drop of social and economic rebellion, reclamation and repressed sapphic desires.

This is a female dominated prose, which does contain several comments and questions regarding sexual assault and women’s complicity in their objectification by men - although it comes from the perspective of a woman who’s experiences with SA have been overshadowed by the judgement of her own mother at a hugely influential time in her life.

Elizabeth is more concerned about The Nude than anything else in her life, potentially due to her own projections of her need to protect her younger sister.

This was a really interesting read, although I feel it left me with some questions that the book didn’t have answers to, so I’m left to figure them out on my own. I would highly recommend this book for those who love to read about women’s rights and women’s wrong, it has weird girl book vibes, the protagonist isn’t an angel, she’s a complicated woman and her need to please is often infuriating but not to the point of putting the book down but instead ends up creating voyeuristic tension where you can’t stop watching.

This was such an interesting read and great commentary on ownership and the consequences of taking what does not belong to us. I found Elizabeth's interactions Theo and Niko and her subsequent relationship with reality and control particularly intriguing The rich description of the setting kept me hooked the entire time. Brilliant.