Varying Degrees of Hopelessness

A young American art history student moves to London to escape her past and pursue graduate studies at the prestigious Brit School of Art History. She navigates academic life while developing an obsessive crush on her advisor, Professor Jeremy Rackham. Her small London flat becomes both sanctuary and prison as she alternates between studying Renaissance paintings and plotting encounters with Rackham. The supporting characters include her eccentric landlady Mrs. Ratner, fellow students, and the ghosts of art history that populate her research. The story tracks her increasingly complex relationship with London, academia, and her own desires as she tries to build a new life far from home. Her academic pursuits become intertwined with personal longings in ways that test her understanding of both art and reality. At its core, the novel examines how we create meaning through art, and questions the boundaries between observation and obsession. The parallel narratives of academic study and personal desire reveal the ways humans frame and reframe their experiences through different lenses of understanding.

Readers note the sharp satire and dark humor throughout the novel, particularly in its portrayal of academia and art criticism. The unconventional narrative style and stream-of-consciousness writing draws comparisons to James Joyce. What readers liked: - Biting wit and comedic observations - Complex wordplay and linguistic creativity - Commentary on gender politics in universities - Realistic depiction of grad student life What readers disliked: - Plot can feel meandering and unfocused - Some find the protagonist irritating - Dense writing style makes it challenging to follow - References and in-jokes about academia can be exclusionary Ratings: Goodreads: 3.65/5 (118 ratings) Amazon: 3.8/5 (6 ratings) One reader on Goodreads called it "brilliantly acidic," while another praised its "razor-sharp dissection of academic pretension." A critical review noted it was "too clever for its own good" and "exhausting to read." The book has limited reviews online compared to Ellmann's later works.

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🔖 Lucy Ellmann wrote this novel, her debut, while working as a temp typist in London, drawing from her own experiences in the workplace. 🎨 The protagonist is a failed art historian who becomes obsessed with a man named Harrison Hanafan and his collection of Early American paintings. 🏛️ The book's satirical take on academia and art history earned it comparisons to David Lodge's campus novels, though with a distinctly more feminist perspective. 🌟 Despite being Ellmann's first novel, it already showcased her characteristic sardonic wit and experimental style, which would later reach its peak in her Goldsmiths Prize-winning "Ducks, Newburyport." 📚 The novel's title plays on the various degrees offered in academia while suggesting the futility of pursuing higher education in a world where practical experience often matters more than theoretical knowledge.