BlazingWorldBR

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#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.👇

Billypar It also made me think a lot of how easily we accept dominant narratives with untruths and simplified explanations for complex individuals. Hustvedt's ability to address all this and still manage to make such an entertaining & readable novel is a true achievement. Thanks @batsy @saresmoore @Cathythoughts @erzascarletbookgasm @vivastory for all your insights and discussion! I had fun and enjoyed sharing this with you 😃 7y

Cathythoughts Great review 💫Thankyou for this buddy read & this book & this author. Very artistic picture... it‘s all in there ❤️❤️❤️ 7y

vivastory Stellar review! This one seems to have made a big impact on all of us. 7y

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erzascarletbookgasm Love your review and the pic is 👌 spot on! Thanks for hosting and introducing me to this author. I‘ve already ordered another book of hers

What I Loved: A Novel

BarbaraBB @erzascarletbookgasm that one is so good too. @Billypar what a wonderful review! 7y

batsy Love your review! Great picture too 👌🏽 Thank you for hosting our buddy read and I loved our discussions and just seeing everyone's impressions of the book ❤️ 7y

Billypar Thanks @Cathythoughts @vivastory @erzascarletbookgasm @BarbaraBB @batsy ! Although I still like buddy reads where there is disagreement about the book, it's great to see when everyone's high opinion converges 😀 7y

Billypar @erzascarletbookgasm What I Loved was the other Hustvedt I read- also really excellent- hope you enjoy that as well! I'm thinking about my next read- possibly The Blindfold or her book of essays.

A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women: Essays on Art, Sex, and the Mind

GatheringBooks sounds great! stacking it now. 6y

Billypar @GatheringBooks Hope you enjoy it! 6y

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erzascarletbookgasm

The Blazing World | Siri Hustvedt

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

saresmoore, batsy, vivastory, Billypar, Cathythoughts

Billypar It's interesting how there aren't many surprises- you are told from the beginning what happens to HB, but seeing it play out is heartbreaking. Save the last chapter for when you have some time to read straight through, not broken up as I did. And keep a tissue box handy- sad but uplifting too. 😢😖😧😭 7y

batsy I agree with @Billypar, reading the last chapter straight through is perfect, but as you already know it packs an emotional punch 💔 7y

Cathythoughts @erzascarletbookgasm @batsy @Billypar she fought her corner in life so dearly & so creatively.. and then to hear her say : “ I have been attacked from within, and I live in a a state of continual envy of people with cells that havnt multiplied into killer legions . “ I want to quote Rumi to her , I want to say Harriet .. “ if you want to hold the beautiful one , hold yourself to yourself” , & (edited) 7y

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Cathythoughts Oh, if I could take away the suffering in Maisies face. You are too good, Maisie. I told her that. She said , No , I‘m not. I‘m not. But only the good feel that they aren‘t good. I want her to live & work & soar. And Maisie leaned over & kissed my head. I admire you so much Mommy, she said. She has not called me mommy sinse she was six. “ the mother .... @erzascarletbookgasm @batsy @Billypar 7y

Cathythoughts Yes I am heart broken too. 💔 7y

erzascarletbookgasm @Cathythoughts The part where Harry said Bruno was the Beauty and she‘s the Beast also 💔 7y

erzascarletbookgasm @Cathythoughts have you finished the book? I have read the last chapter straight through as advised by @Billypar and @batsy . Going to post something on the last chapter in my next comment. 7y

erzascarletbookgasm There‘s something about Sweet Autumn that is so calming, I‘m glad she was given the final chapter. She was able to ‘open up‘ Ethan. And I love it that she discovered Harry in one of the little figures in her art. And the final scene is beautiful, all the aura in the room. ❤️ I also love it that Phinny came to say goodbye to Harry, he was a good man, just like Bruno. 7y

Cathythoughts I did. I agree , a very beautiful & magical ending. @batsy @Billypar @saresmoore @vivastory 7y

batsy @erzascarletbookgasm @Cathythoughts Yes, you described it perfectly. And that idea of artwork imbued with aura, I loved that so much. 7y

batsy @Cathythoughts Oh, that's a beautiful Rumi quote. I think we all need that with us ❤️ 7y

Billypar So true about Sweet Autumn- at first I thought it was strange for her to have the last word, but it's interesting to compare her to the art world- they were so wrong in their perceptions of HB but they shared a common and accepted language of critique. Sweet Autumn's language and belief system is not accepted by anyone in the novel, but she is inherently empathic, regardless of the underlying reasons. 7y

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Billypar

The Blazing World | Siri Hustvedt

#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 🤓

Billypar 'Mad to doubt cock' The opening line has the RB quote about art faring better if the audience can 'locate a cock and a pair of balls'. When HB tried to claim her work, Rune called her mental state into question and the art world seemed to agree it would be mad to doubt his authorship. Plausible, or a stretch? 😋 7y

vivastory I'm completely convinced! 7y

vivastory Hey, could you give me your email address, or send me a message on Goodreads. I'd like to email you a little something for hosting this fantastic buddy read! 7y

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batsy Haha, I love this interpretation! I'm convinced, as well 😆 7y

Billypar @vivastory Sure and thank you! vinny.grande@gmail.com Never hosted one of these before but it was fun- can't beat having an awesome book and group to engage with it 😃 7y

erzascarletbookgasm I‘m very curious, but shall wait till I‘m finished with the book. 7y

Cathythoughts Thankyou so much @Billypar for hosting this buddy read. I really loved the book. And will read more of this author.... 🙏🏻❤️ 7y

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Billypar

The Blazing World | Siri Hustvedt

#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👇

Billypar The theme of AI and robotics that Rune is interested in vs Harry's humanistic perspective seems central to the novel 🔥🌏 The literal mask scene with HB and Rune is a standout- it dramatizes HB's experiment and puts it in a different light🔥🌎 Beneath may be the most mysterious of all of HB's work- what has HB gleaned from 'wearing' Rune?🔥🌍 Ethan's dream analysis seems to connect Felix, Rune, and HB- both this & Beneath foreshadow Part 4 events. 7y

Billypar (The photo is a public work in NYC I passed this weekend that seems to be one of Burden's 😀) @batsy @saresmoore @Cathythoughts @erzascarletbookgasm @vivastory 7y

vivastory The interview with the Barometer has really stuck with me. Definitely some intriguing hints about Burden's missing art work amidst the delusions. Rune is a fascinating character. There's a lot of hints about a darker sinister side to him. I thought the difference in the anecdote about his pet cat was telling. Oswald Case told a different version about who was to blame for its death. 7y

vivastory I completely agree with you on Rune's fascination with robotics. Harry has maintained a humanist perspective, often idiosyncratic. I love her derision of postmodernist theory that she finds absurd. When HB & Rune wore their masks and reversed their gender roles, it seemed like HB glimpsed the destructiveness of toxic masculinity & was repulsed by it. Not because she was unaware of this aspect of men, but she glimpsed that she'd be capable of it 7y

Billypar @vivastory That explanation of the mask scene makes a lot of sense- I didn't think about that. It's almost like the art experiment let Harry feel the freedom taken for granted by male artists- something that all artists should enjoy. But the little drama with Rune let her glimpse a dark side of masculinity- having coercive power over another person (a female stereotype specifically in Ruina). 7y

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batsy

The Blazing World | Siri Hustvedt

pick

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.

batsy Thank you for organising #blazingworldbr @Billypar ! I found it hard to stop once I kept going 🙂 @Cathythoughts @erzascarletbookgasm @saresmoore @vivastory 7y

erzascarletbookgasm Wonderful review! Well said. You‘re on 🔥, blazing through the book like that! 7y

Billypar Great review! So glad you enjoyed it: I keep finding that portions of it are playing on my brain at random points in the day. And even though it's not easy to dip in and out given the complexity, once you sit down with it, it's nothing if not compulsive 😀 7y

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Cathythoughts Great review & echoing @erzascarletbookgasm ... you are on fire 🔥. Love your post pic too! & the box & match. Never thought about her name that way till you said it there now. Deeply moving story. Almost finished too. ❤️ 7y

batsy @erzascarletbookgasm @Cathythoughts Thank you both 🔥😘 I felt so much for Harry and the people around her; I would like to pick this book apart from the inside out to see how Hustvedt did it ❤️ 7y

batsy @Billypar Thank you! And yes, you put it so well. It does become hard to put down as you progress. I was initially worried that I might find it somewhat distant, or a book that keeps me at arm's length, but it really pulled me in :) 7y

saresmoore 🙌💪💥 7y

RohitSawant Awesome review! 7y

emilyhaldi #stacked! 7y

batsy @saresmoore 😘 7y

batsy @rohit-sawant Thank you!! 7y

batsy @emilyhaldi 👍🏽😁 7y

mabell Great photo! 7y

batsy @mabell Thank you :) 7y

kspenmoll Great review ! 7y

batsy Thank you @kspenmoll ❤️ 7y

vivastory Great review! I absolutely loved this one. Layers upon layers. But with a strong presence & I was incredibly moved by the ending. 7y

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erzascarletbookgasm

Farewell to the Muse: Love, War and the Women of Surrealism | Whitney Chadwick

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...

Linsy, saresmoore, batsy, vivastory, Billypar, Cathythoughts

Cathythoughts Sounds interesting! Great title & cover 💫💫💫 7y

batsy Thank you; that was an interesting review! 7y

saresmoore Thank you for sharing! 7y

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Billypar What a perfect complement to TBW- thanks for the recc! 7y

Linsy This looks great! 7y

vivastory This sounds great! 7y

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Billypar

Blazing World | Siri Hustvedt

#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.👇

Billypar The name 'Rune' seems to tie into the whole alphabet theme- that and HB's lettered notebooks call to mind whether identities have building blocks like languages. Bruno's conflict with HB over her experiment and Rune in particular made me think about the contrast between poetry and visual art- something that Suffocation Rooms seems to address. I also like how HB's calls Bruno 'Brune'...still pondering what this says about two seeming opposites. 7y

Billypar Happy reading in the 2nd half! @batsy @saresmoore @Cathythoughts @erzascarletbookgasm @vivastory 7y

erzascarletbookgasm Ah, I need to catch up 🙂🏃‍♀️ 7y

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Cathythoughts Thanks. @erzascarletbookgasm I need to catch up too. I just need to finish my bookclub read & then focus on The Blazing World 7y

vivastory I just finished week 2. Hustvedt's ability to synthesize (as @batsy perfectly noted) concerns (domestic/public); representation & identity are astonishing. And the way she inhabits each character (even the obnoxious ones ie Oswald Case) in the story as they provide their perspective is yet one more brilliant layer. 7y

Billypar @vivastory As interesting as it is to see the ideas take shape, it is her ventriloquism that allows everything to hang together and be as compelling as it is. I'm getting more curious about Hustvedt herself too- reading interviews, watching YouTube videos, etc: she's just as fascinating in those. I can't wait to read more of both her fiction and non-fiction after this one. 7y

vivastory She seems like a fascinating person. I can't wait to explore her work more, I've been astonished by Blazing World 7y

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batsy

The Blazing World | Siri Hustvedt

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

Billypar I've always wanted to read Le Guin but the reflections on gender in this is really making me want to pick up Left Hand of Darkness soon. And yeah, this entirely novel is filled with such quotable moments- the reading experience of this for me is similar to when I read Atwood or Nabokov. But based on this and What I Loved, Hustvedt has a really unique style that I'm enjoying getting lost in. 7y

UrsulaMonarch Wow, between the quote & @Billypar 's nabokov / Atwood mention, I HAVE to read this! Stacked & thanks to you both! 7y

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batsy

The Blazing World | Siri Hustvedt

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

#blazingworldbr

Cathythoughts Lovely combo 👍🏻❤️ 7y

merelybookish Yum!😋 7y

saresmoore Mmm delicious and well-deserved! 7y

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Mdargusch Looks so good! 🤤 7y

Redwritinghood That looks yummy! 7y

batsy @Cathythoughts @merelybookish @saresmoore @Mdargusch @Redwritinghood Not a crumb was left ☺️❤️ 7y

Sace Looks so yummy! 7y

Jess_Read_This Looks absolutely delicious! Custard donuts are the best! 7y

batsy @RestlessFickleBookHoarder @Jess_Read_This They are the best! It was delicious :) 7y

tammysue Looks delicious! 😋 7y

readordierachel Yum. It's important to fortify yourself so you can give your full attention to the book :) 7y

Leftcoastzen Looks yummy ! Need to read this! 7y

batsy @whatshesreadingnow It was indeed 😁 7y

batsy @ReadOrDieRachel I knew you guys would understand 😄 7y

batsy @Leftcoastzen I think it's a book that you'll appreciate 🙂 It's both a personal and theoretical look at the art world and its various dynamics, very interesting 7y

mabell Yum! 😄 7y

batsy @mabell 😁 7y

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