Genre Fiction
![Chelsea Martin - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_chelsea_martin.jpg)
Tell Me I'm An Artist
"Portrait of the artist as a broke and brilliant, hungry and funny young woman" (Lynn Steger Strong, author of Want), this hilarious and incisive coming-of-age novel about an art student from a poor family struggling to find her place in a new social class of rich, well-connected peers is perfect for fans of Elif Batuman's The Idiot and Weike Wang's Chemistry
At her San Francisco art school, Joey enrolls in a film elective that requires her to complete what seems like a straightforward assignment: create a self-portrait. Joey inexplicably decides to remake Wes Anderson's Rushmore despite having never seen the movie. As Tell Me I'm An Artist unfolds over the course of the semester, the assignment hangs over her as she struggles to exist in a well-heeled world that is hugely different from any she has known.
Miles away, Joey's sister goes missing, leaving her toddler with their mother, who in turn suggests that Joey might be the selfish one for pursuing her dreams. Meanwhile, her only friend at school, the enigmatic Suz, makes meaningful, appealing art, a product of Suz's own singular drive and talent as well as decades of careful nurturing by wealthy, sophisticated parents.
A masterful novel from an author known for her candid and searching prose, Tell Me I'm An Artist examines the invisible divide created by class and privilege, ruminates on the shame that follows choosing a path that has not been laid out for you, and interrogates what makes someone an artist at all.
At her San Francisco art school, Joey enrolls in a film elective that requires her to complete what seems like a straightforward assignment: create a self-portrait. Joey inexplicably decides to remake Wes Anderson's Rushmore despite having never seen the movie. As Tell Me I'm An Artist unfolds over the course of the semester, the assignment hangs over her as she struggles to exist in a well-heeled world that is hugely different from any she has known.
Miles away, Joey's sister goes missing, leaving her toddler with their mother, who in turn suggests that Joey might be the selfish one for pursuing her dreams. Meanwhile, her only friend at school, the enigmatic Suz, makes meaningful, appealing art, a product of Suz's own singular drive and talent as well as decades of careful nurturing by wealthy, sophisticated parents.
A masterful novel from an author known for her candid and searching prose, Tell Me I'm An Artist examines the invisible divide created by class and privilege, ruminates on the shame that follows choosing a path that has not been laid out for you, and interrogates what makes someone an artist at all.
Editorial Reviews
A NYLON Most Anticipated Book of the Year
A Millions Most Anticipated Book of the Year
"Tell Me I'm an Artist is jammed with dialogue, female friendships, family dramas and Internet search results. ('Lee Krasner,' alongside 'Pop-Tart nutritional value.') Readers might find something of an even more youthful Sally Rooney in these things . . . [Martin's] humor and nuance keep the reader going . . . Though Martin's novel shows the influence of Rooney's brilliant ear for dialogue, both online and IRL, Tell Me I'm an Artist is a direct rebuttal to the notion that novelists must ignore precarity if they want to be marketable." -Jessica Ferri, Los Angeles Times
"It's the larger feminist question ungirding these pages that gives the book its weight: What do women owe their families? And what happens when they cut those ties to become artists? . . . Even though Joey doesn't end up making any great art, her path is a reminder that pursuing one's vision of an artistic life is its own reward, and a messy personal life is often part and parcel of the art journey." -Anisse Gross, San Francisco Chronicle
"In this extraordinarily moving story about class, art and family life, Martin delicately uncovers the ways in which the university acts only as a superficial equalizer, and students who grow up in generational poverty contend with burdens invisible to their peers . . . Something this book does better than any campus novel I've read is highlight the way that class differences really manifest." -Emmy Levy, The Seattle Times
"Even while Tell Me I'm An Artist distills some pretty heavy subjects, Martin does so in her signature breezy, humor-infused style. Joey is unapologetically self-deprecating, but completely relatable in her awkward attempts to fit in and discover her artistic purpose." -Chey Scott, The Inlander
"A novel for anyone who's ever thought, 'WTF am I doing?' about their art." -Sophia June, NYLON, One of the Must-Read Books of the Month
"An intimate, funny, and poignant portrait of a youthful, artful life in flux." -Sarah Neilson, Shondaland
"Martin is certainly a duchess if not a q...
A Millions Most Anticipated Book of the Year
"Tell Me I'm an Artist is jammed with dialogue, female friendships, family dramas and Internet search results. ('Lee Krasner,' alongside 'Pop-Tart nutritional value.') Readers might find something of an even more youthful Sally Rooney in these things . . . [Martin's] humor and nuance keep the reader going . . . Though Martin's novel shows the influence of Rooney's brilliant ear for dialogue, both online and IRL, Tell Me I'm an Artist is a direct rebuttal to the notion that novelists must ignore precarity if they want to be marketable." -Jessica Ferri, Los Angeles Times
"It's the larger feminist question ungirding these pages that gives the book its weight: What do women owe their families? And what happens when they cut those ties to become artists? . . . Even though Joey doesn't end up making any great art, her path is a reminder that pursuing one's vision of an artistic life is its own reward, and a messy personal life is often part and parcel of the art journey." -Anisse Gross, San Francisco Chronicle
"In this extraordinarily moving story about class, art and family life, Martin delicately uncovers the ways in which the university acts only as a superficial equalizer, and students who grow up in generational poverty contend with burdens invisible to their peers . . . Something this book does better than any campus novel I've read is highlight the way that class differences really manifest." -Emmy Levy, The Seattle Times
"Even while Tell Me I'm An Artist distills some pretty heavy subjects, Martin does so in her signature breezy, humor-infused style. Joey is unapologetically self-deprecating, but completely relatable in her awkward attempts to fit in and discover her artistic purpose." -Chey Scott, The Inlander
"A novel for anyone who's ever thought, 'WTF am I doing?' about their art." -Sophia June, NYLON, One of the Must-Read Books of the Month
"An intimate, funny, and poignant portrait of a youthful, artful life in flux." -Sarah Neilson, Shondaland
"Martin is certainly a duchess if not a q...
