Sirens & Muses

A Novel

By: Antonia Angress

Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman

Four artists are drawn into a web of rivalry and desire at an elite art school and on the streets of New York in this “gripping, provocative, and supremely entertaining” (BuzzFeed) debut

National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree • “Captures the ache-inducing quality of art and desire . . . a deeply relatable and profoundly enjoyable read, one drenched in prismatic color and light.”—Kristen Arnett, New York Times bestselling author of With Teeth

FINALIST FOR THE MINNESOTA BOOK AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Glamour, PopSugar, Debutiful

It’s 2011: America is in a deep recession and Occupy Wall Street is escalating. But at the elite Wrynn College of Art, students paint and sculpt in a rarefied bubble. Louisa Arceneaux is a thoughtful, observant nineteen-year-old when she transfers to Wrynn as a scholarship student, but she soon finds herself adrift in an environment that prizes novelty over beauty. Complicating matters is Louisa’s unexpected attraction to her charismatic roommate, Karina Piontek, the preternaturally gifted but mercurial daughter of wealthy art collectors. Gradually, Louisa and Karina are drawn into an intense sensual and artistic relationship, one that forces them to confront their deepest desires and fears. But Karina also can’t shake her fascination with Preston Utley, a senior and anti-capitalist Internet provocateur, who is publicly feuding with visiting professor and political painter Robert Berger—a once-controversial figurehead seeking to regain relevance.

When Preston concocts an explosive hoax, the fates of all four artists are upended as each is unexpectedly thrust into the cutthroat New York art world. Now all must struggle to find new identities in art, in society, and among each other. In the process, they must find either their most authentic terms of life—of success, failure, and joy—or risk losing themselves altogether.

With a canny, critical eye, Sirens & Muses overturns notions of class, money, art, youth, and a generation’s fight to own their future.

©2022 Antonia Angress (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“The characters in Sirens & Muses wake up each day and choose chaos. . . . Angress’s strength is her ability to create an engrossing plot, allowing readers to watch as her messy characters navigate their way to the finish line.”—The New York Times Book Review

“[H]olds the reader’s attention like a gallery so compelling that a visitor is torn between staring at one work and rushing on to the next room.”—Glamour

“Convincing and moving . . . Angress’ portrayal of the intersection—or disconnect—of art, politics, idealism, and practicality within the web of familial, romantic, and professional relationships is painterly, in the best sense of the word.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

Incredible characters

I loved every second of this and felt like I was right there with every character. What a beautiful story.

Slow narrator, fine story

Incredibly effective depiction of art school and feeling of being an artist.
I’m not usually the biggest love story fan but I enjoyed this one. It felt real and not cheesy in any way.
Started out really disliking every character but slowly started to empathize with all of them at some point in some way.
It missed the mark for me a little bit, however, but may just be because it’s not my usual genre.

The narrator spoke infuriatingly slow and I had to speed it up quite a bit for it to be tolerable to listen to.

Love the messiness! Everyone’s a mess!

If I have to say anything, love how the story draws you in with its vivid descriptions but what kept me was how everyone was just a hot mess left and right! So relatable honestly

Fine but bloated

There were lovely aspects to this and overall I liked the arc and the concepts, but wow did it ever need an editor. Huge chunks felt unnecessary and lost the meat of the story and characters. By the end, I felt a bit tired and deflated. It felt a bit immature. But I got through it. Ha!

i wanted more!!!

i did not want this to end. i was shocked when it was over that there was no continuation:( so good so queer so sweet

Candid and beautiful

4.75⭐️
Absolutely loved this art immersive tale of flawed painters and artists, of young lovers, of jaded people, of life as it is for the 99 and 1%.
A meta story of art inside art.
The sapphic love story was candid and beautiful, pained and hopeful.
A coming of age, a love story, but also a great critique into the art business.