A heartbreakingly beautiful work. Or beautifully heartbreaking work. Or beautiful. And heartbreaking. And warming, and compelling, and terrifying, andA heartbreakingly beautiful work. Or beautifully heartbreaking work. Or beautiful. And heartbreaking. And warming, and compelling, and terrifying, and enriching, all at the same time. Makkai rips open our hearts with a deep dive into Chicago's gay scene during the height of the AIDS crisis in the mid-1980's. In parallel stories she transports readers across the ocean to Paris, both post 9/11 and in the 1920's. Art, beauty, love, loss, parenthood, childhood, loyalty, integrity, ethics, pain, suffering, joy, and sentiment make up the yarns that hold the tales together, spinning ever more tightly towards their inevitable core. The young men she describes live a beautiful yet tragic life of love and exploration and anger and frustration and trying to cope with a world in which it seems as though they are being slaughtered and left to their own devices to deal with it. And, so much more. A wonderful book. Highly recommended. So glad I found it....more
Oh I loved it. Mia and Pearl and Izzy and how everyone struggles to understand themselves and find their place in this world. Wish I had more to writeOh I loved it. Mia and Pearl and Izzy and how everyone struggles to understand themselves and find their place in this world. Wish I had more to write, but I loved it....more
Almost a coming of age collection, as Chee's writing meander around the turning points in his life, focusing seemingly on the years in which he transiAlmost a coming of age collection, as Chee's writing meander around the turning points in his life, focusing seemingly on the years in which he transitions from a starving artist to, well, a published still-starving artist. He writes of his father's death, his passion for art, his waiting jobs, living in New York, moving from New York, returning from New York, the AIDS crisis, activism in the 90's, being a Korean-American novelist, trying to just be a novelist, and the pain and passion behind becoming, or just being, a writer. The essays nestle so cozily together it is as if they were written as one. Equal parts memoir as it is short stories. Interesting, moving, and inspiring....more
Jessa's life is turned upside down and inside out when she takes over the family taxidermy business following her father's suicide - which he makes suJessa's life is turned upside down and inside out when she takes over the family taxidermy business following her father's suicide - which he makes sure to rest almost squarely on her shoulders. As her mom reels with the sexual and emotional freedom following years of a repressed marriage, Jessa struggles to accept her mother's, um, less traditional artistic expressions - the medium of which are primarily the product of the family business, mostly dead, and now mounted, animals.
At the same time, Jessa continues to reckon with the fact that her childhood love has left her to marry her brother, and while tending to her niece and nephew, she sees in them the love of her life that got away - but not so far away. Not to mention a complicated relationship with her mom's art dealer who is promoting the very art that makes Jessa so sick.
All and all its a tough life for this tough cookie which makes the book an interesting and compelling read. Looking deep into that which upsets us is often one of the best ways to connect across humanity, to understand the love and fears and insecurities and frustrations that cover all our familial and romantic relationships. Oh, and it just so happens to take place in Florida, of course....more
A delayed review so I'll likely never capture how much I absolutely loved this book. Every single page rips through the veneer's we use to gloss over A delayed review so I'll likely never capture how much I absolutely loved this book. Every single page rips through the veneer's we use to gloss over our lives and lays bare the reckonings that are at the heart of family, love, lust, hate, race, fear, violence, empathy, and compassion. Wally Lamb is such an incredible writer in his ability to move a novel forward while pulling the reader so deep inside. There are lessons upon lessons to be drawn from this book that could be re-read a hundred times. From the every changing tides of romantic love and its effects on family dynamics, to an almost unimaginably compassionate understanding of the trauma experienced by perpetrators of sexual violence and their difficulty relating to the world yet with a very clear picture of the harm their actions nonetheless wrought. And, of course, the sweetness and yet sickly persistence of revenge and it's ugly brain children. What a powerful and moving read. I loved it....more
A great coffee table book that explores the various forms of public/urban art. From graffiti to installations, performance to photograph, TrVery cool.
A great coffee table book that explores the various forms of public/urban art. From graffiti to installations, performance to photograph, Trespass explores the intersection of space, art, and ideas at the boundaries of our polity's 'accepted behaviors.'
The short text accompanying each section is thought provoking, helping to refrain the photos that follow. The pictures themselves are captivating, exploring artists' own work, the work of others, and some seemingly haphazard finds. Some carry explanations. Some are left up to the reader.
Trespass challenges readers to reconsider how they view public art, urban space, and the creative individuals who bring their ideas to life in the view of others.
Kinda makes ya' wanna get out there, and, well, make something!...more
Whoulda thunk that a book about business, employment and the modern economy would revolve around the concept of art!
Godin does an excellent job of outWhoulda thunk that a book about business, employment and the modern economy would revolve around the concept of art!
Godin does an excellent job of outlining the 'new' workforce component, the linchpin, in contrast to the two most notable market players, owners and laborers. A linchpin, Godin goes on to argue, is an indispensable part of the modern workforce, not because she owns the means of production or because she operates them, but rather because the linchpin creates something that would otherwise not exist.
It is from this creation that Godin argues for the artist in all of us. While a job will always be a job, the work that one does has nothing to do with predetermined tasks, but rather the emotional labor that one brings with them when they clock in each day.
As a recent graduate trying to find his place in this world, it is reassuring, and simultaneously scary, to hear these ideals I have in my head reiterated by a highly successful author and businessman. I often find myself wondering how, or even if, I can contribute in a unique way that doesn't require me to be absorbed into the workforce as just another cog. According to Godin, I, or anyone else, need not!
What gets tricky is the idea that art, this meaningful change that can be produced by anyone, need not be created in a void. Godin does not posit that only entrepreneurs, businessmen or idea-people are artists, but rather, everyone is. Again, as art comes from work, not a job, the implication is that anyone, in (almost) any setting, can find a way to become a linchpin. So long as they're ready to make the commitment.
Sign me up!
A great read for recent graduates, job hunters, or simply those who feel stuck in a rut and don't know how to break out! Godin's positive go-get-'em attitude is uplifting and encouraging making linchpin a fun, easy, and insightful read!...more
What a literary trip this story is! Tom Robbins at his absolute best, whatever that means! Each page is filled with such beautiful prose that I feHA!!
What a literary trip this story is! Tom Robbins at his absolute best, whatever that means! Each page is filled with such beautiful prose that I felt as though I were examining a piece or art, not simply reading a book. Ironic in that the book is primarily about the importance of art and the pursuit of all things, well, non-tangible.
Tom Robbins simply has a way with words that I have never come across in any other reading. With each new book I am forced to read with a pen and paper in hand to scrawl down the dozens of new words I am faced with and the innumerable quotables that can be found with every turn of the page.
TR doesn't simply use words to convey an idea but rather to paint a picture, so vivid, yet so abstract that the reader can do whatever they want with it in one's own head.
Following a spoon, painted stick, conch shell, can 'o beans and dirty sock on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem couldn't possibly be made interesting by anyone but Robbins.
How glad I am that I was given the opportunity to read this book and the 'discoveries' made by Ellen Cherry at the end of the book are well worth reading, and re-reading as they likely hold more weight than I was able to derive from them in simply plowing through it, not wanting to stop!