Books by and for independent women

Cover Stories: The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite by Beatrice Colin

I walk into a bookshop and wander, wide-eyed like a kid in a candystore. A book cover catches my eye. I buy. An adventure into an unknown literary land – who said you should never judge a book by its cover?

This is the story of a young girl born to a Berlin cabaret dancer in the dying moments of the 19^th century. The murder of her parents leaves Lilly orphaned and we journey with her through a childhood fixation with guardian Sister August, friendships and losses, dark days in war torn Germany and on to the silver screen. If you’re after a book packed with tawdry glamour, rich prose and a compelling historical narrative, The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite should jump to the top of your shopping list.

Lilly is a fairly passive character, showing us the world through her eyes rather than showing us how she feels. The stronger character, particularly in early chapters, is the feisty Hanna who becomes Lilly’s friend and co-conspirator whilst at the orphanage. Each time the girls drift apart and together again, their exchanges capture the pain and desperation of personal struggles, love affairs and rejections. Lilly faces upset after upset but resolutely marches on, a strength and determination made all the more moving in the context of Berlin during the wars. Berlin is a character rather than a backdrop; the story is so specific to the changing face of the city as it moves through pre and post-war economic crises, social and political shifts and artistic movements. It’s a welcome change to read about the wars from a German perspective, and Beatrice Colin evokes a city that is at once magical and on the verge of collapse.

When she is older, Lilly, unaware of the power of her striking features, becomes a silent film star, able to convey emotion with a simple glance. Each chapter starts with a notation about cinema or filmmaking, which frames the narrative and emphasises the gulf between reality and the silver screen. We are transported to the heady days of cinema and artistic expression in the Weimar Republic, a time when Germany’s film industry was the experimental, progressive challenger to Hollywood’s glittering crown. There’s something intoxicating about this ‘golden age’ of cinema, where stars were made and tingle-tangle clubs were full of girls seeking stardom and women resigned to never finding it. Fittingly, Beatrice Colin does not deliver a Hollywood happy ending pay-off, and the book is far more interesting for it.

This isn’t a sugar coated tale of glitz and glamour, something which cropped up in a few reviews I’ve since stumbled upon – “It isn’t ‘luminous’! How dare she! I was lied to!!” But One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest didn’t see Randle instigate an air-borne avian attack and Moby Dick, well, you see where I’m going with this. The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite is a story of survival, at times bleak and filled with desperation, but the beautiful writing and vivid imagery make it a rewarding read. It is well researched and I never once felt that the narrative was sacrificed for the sake of historical accuracy, or vice versa. Seductive, intelligent storytelling at its best.

If you liked Cabaret, you’ll love this.

Published by John Murray in 2009, you can find Lilly on Amazon for £5

When reading this book, I was bewitched by Berlin. Can you recommend any other ‘City as character’ novels? Let us know in the comments section!

Post by Alex Herod