Welcome to Litsy!

#BlazingWorldBR
This one is going to stick with me- it reminded me of why I love art so much in the first place but also how mysterious the process of evaluating art can be. It also reminded me of a time when I recognized a bias in my reading toward male authors and less cultural diversity. Correcting that has made a huge difference in the richness and satisfaction of my reading life, and even my broader social and political outlook.👇

#blazingworldbr buddies, I made myself stop for a while before the final chapter. I am so heartbroken to continue.

#BlazingWorldBR @batsy @saresmoore @Cathythoughts @erzascarletbookgasm @vivastory
My review is coming, but for now....some fun. I love anagrams, as is probably clear from my prior post. I took all the letters of HB's notebooks compiled by I.V. Hess (itself a suspect name) and looked for messages. I think I found one that sounds like a wink from Hustvedt. I'll post it with a spoiler mask in the comments- feel free to give it a try 🤓

#BlazingWorldBR
I know some of us are finished (I'm 10 pages away!) but I still want to reflect on the events in Part 3:
-I'm curious what everyone thinks of The Barometer whose taped account opens this section- The theme of Maisie's film seems relevant.
-Rune is creepy- both with Maisie and how he seems to genuinely appreciate the long discussions with Harry at times, but throws in unsettling, cryptic comments that are hard to decipher👇

In the fierce & intelligent protagonist, "Harry" Burden (that name!), Hustvedt has created an unforgettable portrait of a female artist. Creativity, sexism, ageism, responsibility, the feminine grotesque—the novel's themes are vast & complex. Identity is shown not to be static but fluid; subject to the relations you have with those around you. By the time I got to the end I was so moved. A deep, poignant book that I'll be mulling over for awhile.

This book tells the essential story of 10 women, each of whom ‘made her way out of the shadows of famous men of Surrealist art, stepping down from the muse‘s pedestal to claim her own identity‘.

#coolbooks #muse

This may be a good background read for #blazingworldbr buddies. The book and article: https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/amp/Whitney-Chadwick-studies-love-war-and-the-w...

#BlazingWorldBR As we cross the halfway mark, lots to chew on from the 2nd section. There's a 2nd exhibition- one more completely H. Burden and also more confused by the author mask. We also meet Rune, and even though he and HB hit it off, their art seems entirely different: HB seeks for others to understand her more completely; Rune appears indifferent, and to actively resist having an identity, which seems to fuel more audience speculation.👇

Oof. Out of nowhere there will be lines that completely floor me and I'll have to put the book down and recollect myself.

(They're talking about Le Guin talking about Tiptree and of women artists adopting male personas.)

#blazingworldbr @Billypar @Cathythoughts @erzascarletbookgasm @saresmoore @vivastory

This is a wonderful and intense read so far. But custard donut and coffee first, then book 😁

#blazingworldbr