3.5*

I LOVED this book. Even though it is a sad, rough story, the format is really perfect - written in short entries by various different voices and giving different perspectives (ala Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon). It tackles the sexist, capitalist, nepotistic art gallery scene, as well as life as a middle-aged women who is not conventionally attractive, and it also writes about the dying process in some of the most powerful, truthful writing I've ever encountered. This book is just brilliant.

This is one serious good book, not only for the plot that it's interesting enough, but most of all for the way it is told. Harry is not a very famous artist, but when some other male artist show her works, she is famous. Siri Hustved wrote something precious this time.

Questo libro non é solo bello, ma é proprio particolarmente bello, per il modo in cui é scritto, per la modalitá con cui la scrittrice veicola la storia di Harry questa artista che come donna non veniva presa sul serio, forse, ma che mette in circolazione le sue opere attraverso le sue maschere ed improvvisamente arriva al successo.

I gave up ... life is too short to waste time with such pretentious, mind-numbingly boring nonsense. This book was selected for book club so I am disappointed I couldn't get into the story.

Thanks for the recommendation, Nancy Pearl! This was unlike anything I've read before.

I love books about art. I enjoy a mock-documentary style. I'm a feminist.

So why am I having such a hard time slogging through this book?

I loved loved loved the idea, didn't really like the execution. In a way, it confirmed one of my ignorant suspicions about the art world - that it is full of pretentious people and is basically BS. Regardless, the book was a bit too long for my liking.

I have no idea what I just read. Fiction, non-fiction, hybrid.

I can't even begin to understand how someone had the ability to dream up this book, but I'm so glad it was written. I fell in love with the story: a fictional professor who compiled texts (interviews, written statements, journal entries) in defense of a fictional artist after her passing. Even though the diary entries were incredibly dense and consistently went over my head, I'm blown away by the intricacy, the sheer creativity, and the beauty of this book. That being said, it's definitely not something to read if you're hoping for a tidy ending that brings it all together.