Reviews
Brighten the Corner Where You Are: A Novel Inspired by the Life of Maud Lewis by Carol Bruneau
kippylouwho's review against another edition
5.0
I've been fascinated by Maud Lewis since I saw the movie Maudie. This book did not disappoint and had so many interesting tidbits. And despite how awful her life seemed from the outside, the author makes her seem so understanding of herself, her world and her place in it.
morganmullin's review against another edition
4.0
Carol Bruneau nails it in this novel's introduction when she says that folk titan Maud Lewis's life has been cast in a candy shell—but over the following few hundred pages, the author is unafraid to raise a hammer and crack the coating open, imagining how big, deep, sad and beautiful a small life in Marshalltown, Nova Scotia, could be.
Recasting Lewis as a chain-smoking, socially awkward woman who has agency over her artistic vision (and hates being cast the victim) lines up with—and expands—my daydreams of who Lewis really was. Everything from nights out at the movies (and post-movie make outs) in a hamstrung youth to the later-life musings on the role of colour in a painting's composition fill the unfurling, loose-plot pages.
While I understand it's impossible to tell a story about Lewis without touching on her husband Everett—who, as Bruneau puts it, lived "cheek to jowl" with the artist—I do wish this novel could've made a stronger decision to de-centre the man: All accounts of Maud seem to spend equal time on husband and wife, a decision that male artists never fall victim to. A vivid portrait of a complicated marriage and of a life glossed over, Bruneau's book is required reading for all members of the Maud Squad.
Recasting Lewis as a chain-smoking, socially awkward woman who has agency over her artistic vision (and hates being cast the victim) lines up with—and expands—my daydreams of who Lewis really was. Everything from nights out at the movies (and post-movie make outs) in a hamstrung youth to the later-life musings on the role of colour in a painting's composition fill the unfurling, loose-plot pages.
While I understand it's impossible to tell a story about Lewis without touching on her husband Everett—who, as Bruneau puts it, lived "cheek to jowl" with the artist—I do wish this novel could've made a stronger decision to de-centre the man: All accounts of Maud seem to spend equal time on husband and wife, a decision that male artists never fall victim to. A vivid portrait of a complicated marriage and of a life glossed over, Bruneau's book is required reading for all members of the Maud Squad.
violettek's review
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.75
I was expecting to really, really love this fictionalized account of Nova Scotian painter Maud Lewis’ life - Lewis is one of my favourite visual artists and I am a sucker for a good character-driven story with lots of description. And so I was sorely disappointed when it turned out to be a solid 2.5-3 stars for me.
It really came down to the execution - transitions between time periods were sometimes really awkward or unclear, which distracted me from the story, and the writing could get rambly in a way that would make me count the pages until the end of the chapter. I think this book could have benefited from being much shorter.
I did really enjoy the historical insight into what rural Nova Scotia was like in the early and mid-20th century. Bruneau clearly did a ton of research into history and disability. I also loved some of the moments when the narrator waxed philosophical.
My copy is now sitting in a local little free library, in the hope that someone else will enjoy it as much as I wish I had!
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