The Modern by Anna Kate Blair: A Review

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Set in New York, The Modern by Anna Kate Blair explores sexuality, marriage, art, and yearning through the vulnerable first-person narration of its protagonist, Sophia. 

Sophia finds herself entangled in a relationship - not just with a person, but with the Museum of Modern Art itself. The descriptions of MoMA are tactile and transportative; their intimacy is no doubt shaped by the author’s own experience working there in the Department of Architecture and Design.

Blair cuts deeply in her exploration of bisexuality and heteronormativity within the confines of marriage and friendship. These themes don’t sit on the page - they ask for self-reflection, for perspective to shift.

Moments that gesture to rural Australia, leaving home, and confronting the vastness of a new city offer sharp, refreshing bites between the novel’s deeper meditations on identity and purpose.

Katrina Gibson, author of Women I Know, describes Blair’s work as ‘cerebral and sensual’ - a description I firmly echo.

Truthfully, it’s been a long time since I’ve read writing this considered and poignant. I’ll be first in line for whatever Blair does next.