The Nude
1999: An island off the southern coast of Greece. Art historian Elizabeth Clarke arrives with the intent to acquire a rare female sculpture. But what begins as a quest for a highly valued cultural artifact evolves into a trip that will force Elizabeth to contend with her ambition, her desire, and her troubling history.
Disoriented by jet lag, debilitating migraines, and a dependence on prescription pills, Elizabeth finds herself enthralled by her new surroundings - and equally, by her translator's inscrutable wife, a young artist named Theo.
As the nude's acquisition proves to be riskier than she could have ever imagined, the fates of Elizabeth and the sculpture are called into question. To find a way out, Elizabeth must grapple with the role she's played in the global art trade and the ethical fallout her personal and professional decisions could leave behind.
'As thought-provoking as it is propulsive, The Nude is a tense and sultry tale of art, beauty and power. A richly detailed read for the salty summer months.' – Chloë Ashby, author of Second Self
'Set on a Greek island, wrought in a delirium of desire and loss, The Nude looks unflinchingly at the violent contestation of the female body – as artifice and art, and object and agent alike...Exhilarating, terrifying, and brilliant.' – Emily Fridlund, author of History of Wolves
'At once cerebral and hallucinatory, seductive and unsettling, The Nude is a fever dream of a debut.' – Antonia Angress, author of Sirens & Muses
'A remarkable debut, a slow-burn page-turner that turns a sweltering Greek island into a haunting house of mirrors. C. Michelle Lindley would have made Patricia Highsmith and Graham Greene proud.' – Chris Bohjalian, author of Hour of the Witch
'Thrillingly taut and magnetically told, The Nude pries apart the pristine veneer of classical art and allows something sublimely twisted to emerge.' – Alexandra Kleeman, author of Something New Under the Sun
'The Nude offers an incredibly sensitive and perceptive exploration of femininity, ownership and beauty... A tale that will keep you guessing up until the last page.' – Hanna Johansson, author of Antiquity
'Stunning, complex, and carefully crafted...The Nude depicts the gray areas of cultural appropriation, ethics, and sexuality so seamlessly, I had to remind myself to breathe.' – Ling Ling Huang, author of Natural Beauty
C. Michelle Lindley's writing has been featured in The Georgia Review, Conjunctions, and more. She has an MFA in creative writing from Cornell University and a BA from the University of Berkeley in English and art history. The Nude is her first novel.
