Venus, Vanishing
Venus, Vanishing begins in Berlin in 1927. Hannah Sherman has run away from home to avoid marriage and to pursue her dream of becoming an artist. She soon meets Saul, a museum worker, who tutors her in both love and art. Eventually she juggles two lovers: Saul and Charlotte, a dancer. Both – like herself – are Jewish.
Hannah makes her money as a seamstress and washerwoman until an offer of patronage arrives. Her patron is Elke Grese, with whom she develops a close and obsessive relationship. But as Berlin slides from the hedonism of the 1920s to the fear and repression of the following decade, Hannah’s life starts to unravel. Work for Jews has disappeared, there is no food, and she fears for her life. Almost worse, she discovers that Elke is selling her paintings under an Aryan name, and that they are being purchased by Nazi collectors.
The author states that, although Hannah is a fictional character, her story is based on that of several Jewish women artists. At the start of the book she is strong, and socially and sexually liberated, spending her time painting nudes and drinking in late night clubs. But she is gradually weakened by events outside her control, not just the persecution of Jews but also the politicisation of art and culture. At the same time that she must hide her Jewish identity in order to survive, she is also losing her identity as an artist.
This is Birrell’s first novel, and an impressive debut. Her characters are well drawn, and she manages to draw together disparate themes: the struggles of an artist, the desire for emancipation, and the ways in which both society and individual lives can change almost overnight. Recommended.
