The Rape of the Muse - Hardcover

Michael Stein is the author of five novels. His most recent, In the Age of Love, was a national Booksense/Indie Reader's Choice selection. His first book of non-fiction, The Lonely Patient: How We Experience Illness, won the 2007 Christopher Award. The New York Times called his second non-fiction book (2009), The Addict: One Patient, One Doctor, One Year, idiosyncratic, gripping and illuminating.
He teaches at Brown University.

The story below the surface becomes an examination of an artist's fidelity and responsibility to himself and his art. It also touches on what it is that acts as artistic inspiration. The surface story is equally enthralling and successful. After years of little or no attention after being hailed as one of the greats, Montrose, a sculptor, is given a show in a Manhattan gallery of his new work: computer-
manipulated two-dimensional prints...It's an exceptional novel. --The New York Journal of Books

Author Michael Stein uses an effective set-up and approach in detailing the characters and unraveling the court case. He interweaves courtroom settings with earlier events. This novel keeps your mind engaged. The Rape of the Muse is about friendships, competition, artistic integrity and passions. Author Michael Stein writes in an alluring and erudite manner. He describes a scrappy, cut-throat, exuberant creative world of ups and downs. The art world vacillates between fame and glamour and starving artist. In a moment one can become the most talked about artist in New York and the next one can drop off the scene completely. The vocabulary and phrases make this a desirable, fulfilling read. The Rape of the Muse is one of the best novels I've read all year. --Amy Steele, Entertainment Realm

...an engrossing meditation on what it means to create art. --Publishers Weekly