by Jennifer Krebs | Mar 21, 2019 | Books
Blood, Water, Paint, by Joy Mccullough. I picked up this book because it was about Artemesia Gentileschi & I thought I’d be re-reading a book that I read a decade ago about her. No, that book,The Passion of Artemesia, by Susan Vreeland, had a different span and scope.
Blood, Water, Paint covers Artemesia’s late adolescence shortly after the death of her mother. Artemesia’s lonely, in a house full of boys and men, and her only real engagement is with the paintings that she does under her father’s name. As the book progresses, she is raped by an artist, and wishes him to be punished. In 17th Century Italy, however, it is mainly she that is punished. The book is a quick read about the injustices and lonelinesses of adolescence. One leaves the book wondering if art will save Artemesia.
The Vreeland book follows Artemesia throughout her life and provides different perspectives on her relationships with her family, and the art world of the 17th Century, and the legacy of her rape throughout her life. I think I’ll read it again.
In the meantime, should you visit Mexico City Soumaya Museum, you’ll find 3 canvasses of Artemesia’s. She is definitely looking to the heavens for answers.
by Jennifer Krebs | Mar 21, 2019 | Books
Happy Spring Solstice! The full moon was huge this morning. Ozzie and I had a lovely walk. I’ve been reading (which is mainly listening to audio books as I walk Ozzie) but my “writing time” has largely been “work time” or “entertaining time” or “traveling time.” As my goal for 2019 is to record all I read on this blog, I’m going to try to catch up in one post.
Asymmetry, by Lisa Halliday. An amazing book In three distinct parts. The first part is a story of a relationship between a 20-something young woman and a 70-something old man at different points in their love lives and writing careers. What stands out is that there doesn’t seem to be a discomfiting power imbalance between the two of them. Published in 2018 and not centered on me-too. They joke, they eat, have sex, write, watch baseball, struggle with their various issues independently and together. Halliday is witty and sensitive to both of them. In section #2, an Iraqi-American man is held in limbo in Heathrow Airport while the British customs agents try to figure out if he might be a terrorist, or a terrorist-to-be. This character, too, is sensitive and reflects on politics, his life choices to date, and his family. Section 3 features the 70-something writer, this time being interviewed a British radio station. While some book reviewers found this coda the best part of the book, for me the best part of it was a compilation of musical pieces purportedly the character’s choices. Not so much deep or haunting, but engaging. Halliday’s next will definitely be on my list.
