could be convinced for 4 stars. lots of interesting ideas here about the relation of spirituality and art, and on the nature of art itself. only criticould be convinced for 4 stars. lots of interesting ideas here about the relation of spirituality and art, and on the nature of art itself. only critique is it can be a bit technical, jargony, drag a bit. solid book though, glad i read it....more
Good lil book. The writing itself is fantastic. He does a great job capturing a dreamlike, surreal vibe. The only problem is there isn't much of an acGood lil book. The writing itself is fantastic. He does a great job capturing a dreamlike, surreal vibe. The only problem is there isn't much of an actual story, sort of just a brief glimpse into the ghosts and spirits and memories of the town. Also certain elements of how the story was told made it confusing. Overall though, the writing was fire and I loved the mystical aspects. I just wish there was more of a coherent story. ...more
If you are anyone else, I think you will like this book more than me. But I have mixed feelings about this one. Akbar manages to hit almost all of my If you are anyone else, I think you will like this book more than me. But I have mixed feelings about this one. Akbar manages to hit almost all of my personal writing pet peeves, the biggest offense being a relentless mention of contemporary brands e.g., "hair the color of Pepsi," Rumi drinking a "red Solo cup" and smoking a "Swisher," scenes that remind him "of a show with Sandra Bullock on TNT." Type of shit that makes me want to blow my brains out.
But it's a testament to the actual story and characters that I finished (and even liked) this book, the style of which I would normally have DNF'd in a heartbeat. In other words, I found the writing kinda mid (though there are some great moments), but the story itself was good enough to pull me through. I also thought the themes of addiction, martrydom, and the aspects of Iranian culture/history/identity were really interesting as well. Like I said, if you're anyone else, I think you'll like this more than me. But for Big Nate it's a high 3-star/low 4-star....more
banger little book. picked this one up very spontaneously and found it genuinely insightful into the nature of artmaking. very readable, highly recommbanger little book. picked this one up very spontaneously and found it genuinely insightful into the nature of artmaking. very readable, highly recommend if you're interested in this stuff....more
Tons of good stuff in here. Love a tormented, unreliable, philosophical narrator. Feels like the germ-text for all the themes Dostoevsky goes on to wrTons of good stuff in here. Love a tormented, unreliable, philosophical narrator. Feels like the germ-text for all the themes Dostoevsky goes on to write about.
I do have critiques: the writing is a bit all over the place, the tone and style of part 1 and 2 are super different, etc. But overall, a banger. I've been book clubbing this w some homies and it's been fire discussion....more