Life Drawing By Robin Black

[amazon_link id=”0330511769″ target=”_blank” ][/amazon_link]’Life Drawing’ is Robin Black’s first book.

Augusta and Owen have taken the leap. Leaving the city and its troubling memories behind, they have moved to the country for a solitary life where they can devote their days to each other and their art, where Gus can paint and Owen can write. But the facts of a past betrayal prove harder to escape than urban life. Ancient jealousies and resentments haunt their marriage and their rural paradise. When Alison Hemmings moves into the empty house next door, Gus is drawn out of isolation, despite her own qualms and Owen’s suspicions. As the new relationship deepens, the lives of the two households grow more and more tightly intertwined. It will take only one new arrival to intensify emotions to breaking point.

This book was a cleverly woven story about friendship and jealously and I enjoyed it immensely.

It originally starts in the present tense as the protagonist Augusta tells us her story from the past to the current moment in time. Augusta and her husband Owen are a creative couple. him a frustrated writer and her a talented painter. They moved away to a quiet disolate area where they only have each other for company. They have lived in companionable silence or so they thought until one day, they get a new neighbour called Alison, an aspiring artist who longs for peace and quiet and the three of them become close friends.

Augusta finds herself with a new friendship, who provides her with a fresh outlook and perspective on life and her relationship with Owen which is going through a bit of a bad spot. Together the trio enjoy leisurely dinners and Augusta sees a revival in her marriage as Owen now has to compete for her attention. But then one day, Alison’s daughter Nora turns up claiming to be a huge fan of Owen’s work and becomes a bit of a groupie, hanging onto his every word and providing Owen with inspiration to get back into his writing, which has been dispiriting for the struggling writer, especially as Augusta has been pressing on with her work.

The characters are quite complex and intriguing and all found of them are seen quite regularly as a threat to each other. As the safe sanctuary of Augusta and Owen’s private world is rudely interrupted by Alison and her world of problems.

Written entirely through the eyes of Augusta, we read about a woman who has lived a life that she seemed unprepared for, childless with a competitive husband, she finds solace and a chance to escape with Alison and confides in her new friend enjoying their girly relationship.

A dark and gripping story that is a wisely observed account of relationships, about betrayal, rivalry and tribulations, ‘Life Drawing’ is an emotional and enthralling story that pulls the reader in from the every first word.

You can buy [amazon_link id=”0330511769″ target=”_blank” ]Life Drawing from Amazon [/amazon_link]and is available to buy from good bookshops.