Camille Claudel - A Novel

Written by Alma H. Bond
Fiction
244 pages
ISBN #1424116708

"Bond's story of Camille Claudel will draw you in completely."

In Camille Claudel – A Novel, author Alma Bond tells the fascinating, fictional tale of the magnificent French sculptor Camille Claudel, known as much for her groundbreaking work as for her adulterous affair with lover and teacher Auguste Rodin.

Born in France in 1864, Camille was the oldest surviving child of a middle-class French family. Unable to replace brother Henri who died shortly after his birth, Camille spends her childhood and adolescence comforting herself for the complete absence of her mother’s love and attention. Trying to compensate for his wife’s coldness, Camille’s father frequently indulges Camille, encouraging her early love for drawing and sculpting.

As Camille grows older, she urges her father to enroll her in art school in Paris. While willing to satisfy his oldest daughter’s wishes, Monsieur Claudel finds it quite difficult to find an affordable art school that will enroll women as students. Eventually finding private schooling for Camille, the family moves to Paris to accommodate Camille as she begins a fruitful but frustrating sculpting career with a handful of teachers, including the famous sculptor Auguste Rodin.

Told from Camille’s perspective, the novel unfolds the story of the sculptor’s life highlighting her relationship with her family and her sexual discovery and undying passion for Rodin. As she reaches adulthood, Camille is faced with the painful reality that female artists in Europe are not honored or respected as men are. Struggling to share her work with the world while earning a living, Camille is constantly struck down or compared to Rodin. The novel follows Camille into her 30s and 40s as she grows increasingly paranoid and slovenly, leading her eventual downfall and admittance into the Asylum for the Insane in Montdevergues. The remainder of the book is focused on Camille’s life in the asylum up until her death at age 79.

While based on real people and places, author Bond readily admits that she took artistic license in recreating conversations and events that took place during Claudel’s lifetime. With an amazing flair for the written word, Bond succeeds in not only bringing the deceased sculptor back to life but she does so with such depth that it is easy to become enraptured by the story.

Bond’s writing is witty, poignant and multi-faceted, slowly unveiling Camille’s personality from several viewpoints while remaining true to the star of the story. Bond paints Camille in such a light that those who do not know of Camille’s work will likely wish to study her. At the same time, the novel is a well written character study showing how one can slowly, but easily, slide into the unknown world of insanity.

Whether or not you are a fan of French art or are familiar with the sculptor herself, Bond’s story of Camille Claudel will draw you in completely.

Book review © 2006 by Dana Blozis for Virtually Yourz