Anna is a 24-year-old opera student, living in London. To earn money, she sings jazz in a bar, where she meets Max. He’s 39, separated, works in finance. They are soon sleeping together. Max is mysterious and elusive and, while Anna is mesmerised, red flags about his character are raised for the reader.

Anna feels alive when she sings but she is worn down by poverty and the competitiveness of the opera world. It’s easier to drift and be guided (or is it controlled?) by Max.

Anna starts to question the sacrifice to be a singer, where she buys food on sale, shares a bed and room with her best friend because they can’t afford anything else, and attends endless auditions.

She is unravelling, both personally and professionally, as her passion for singing conflicts with her passion for Max.

Inspired by Jean Rhys’ Voyage in the Dark, this is a modern take on the power dynamics in a relationship between a young woman and an older wealthy man. The world of opera adds another layer, with its stories of women suffering for, or because of, men. The struggles of Anna’s generation are dispiriting but this novel is compelling rather than depressing.

Reviewed by Melinda Woledge

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Imogen Crimp studied English at Cambridge, followed by an MA in contemporary literature at UCL, where she specialised in female modernist writers.

After university, she briefly studied singing at a London conservatoire. She was born in 1989 and lives in London. A Very Nice Girl is her debut novel.