The opening line in the prologue of Angelica, "I can't remember dying" should give the reader warning this is an unusual book. On the face of it, Angelica is the autobiography of Angelica Kauffman, an artist. The story, after the prologue, in which the title character is dead, starts in 1765 Venice and ends in 1809 Rome. Between these dates Angelica lives, loves and creates. She paints both portraits and history paintings. In doing so she achieves a great degree of fame and becomes friends with several historical figures, most notably Goethe.

While that summation might seem to give the plot short shrift, in this novel the plot is not the thing. Angelica is billed as a historical novel. In a sense, it is. In another, it is nothing of the sort. Angelica is depicted as living in historical time, but other than for its art and writing, little sense of the age comes through. The title character is shown as living in England during the American Revolution, and in Europe at the time of the French Revolution and of Napoleon. One would never know that from Angelica. Major events aside, even mundane details of everyday life are not given. It may be true that people living in an age seldom think its details remarkable, other than for those concerning themselves, but true historical novels give a sense of the age they are set in. Angelica doesn't.

Which isn't to say Angelica is a bad book. Far from it. The novel is filled with lucid prose that wraps around the skeleton of Angelica's life: her loves, disappointments and passions. It is an exploration of the creative spirit and the immortality that can be bestowed on mortals. Is it allegorical? Perhaps in part, but not consistently. Angelica is a book that defies category and deifies Art. This reviewer did not find it "unputdownable" but more something that one reads a chapter at a time, goes "hmmm" and does put down. It does get picked up again, however--frequently.

But if Angelica is not a historical novel, what is it? To some extent it is related to the "novel of education" (Entwicklungsroman) or "novel of development" (Bildungsroman) in the tradition of works such as Hermann Hesse's Magister Ludi, which is also concerned with the intellectual and spiritual odyssey of its title character. Unlike the protagonist of Hesse's novel, however, Angelica concludes that a life of spirit is not only worth living, but perhaps is the only sort of life that is. Is the book philosophy then? Religion? Inspirational? Well, yes and no to all those--it is a bit of each but does not truly fit anywhere, other than on a PDA, e-reader or bookshelf. It is a work that produces more questions than answers. Which is probably as it should be. Questions that can be answered are not worth asking, are they?

Angelica isn't a novel everyone will like but anyone interested in the creative process should give it a chance. While one is entitled to be sceptical regarding much of what is said, it is said so well, and with such intense, quiet passion, as to be both intriguing and thought-provoking. Few books like that exist and Books Unbound is to be commended for publishing this one.