mysteries bostonians unsichtbare enchantment

books:

11 reviews
Siri Hustvedt

Henry Holt and Co., 2008

Just This Side of Madness
This is a complex novel that reads like a literary mystery and at other times like a psychological drama. Everyone in the book hovers at the edge of the abyss. Even the mild-mannered, kind psychoanalyst, Erik Davidsen, who narrates the story which takes place in the year following the death of his father, Lars. Excerpts from Lars memoir appear occasionally: descriptions of his service in World ...

The Bostonians (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (Barnes & Noble Classics)
Henry James

Barnes & Noble Classics, 2005

The Bostonians , by Henry James , is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics : New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of ...

What I Loved: A Novel

54 reviews
Siri Hustvedt

Picador, 2004

What I Loved
This is a cerebral and compelling book, I think especially for those who are interested in art and the art scene. It is also very, very sad. A story of losing everything that mattered to the central character. Most in our book club liked it, but not all.

The Enchantment of Lily Dahl: A Novel

11 reviews
Siri Hustvedt

Picador, 2004

Great coming-of-age novel
This book reminded me a lot of the movie "Ruby in Paradise," a coming-of-age tale starring Ashley Judd. Both characters are young, female, have dead-end jobs and are on the road to becoming mature women. In the movie, Ruby is nearly raped by a guy she knows; in the book, Lily has to fend off the affections of an odd young man she knows. The book has a mysterious twist and ominous tone to it ...

Mysteries of the Rectangle: Essays on Painting

1 review
Siri Hustvedt

Princeton Architectural Press, 2006

Hustvedt Gives the Paintings Back to Us
Siri Hustvedt is a fine writer and an even finer essayist. She is able to communicate volumes of historical and observational information while reassuring the reader that what she is sharing is not THE way of approaching her subject, but rather merely HER musings about art and the concept of the meaning of art. It is a relaxing manner of writing, allowing the reader to learn from her inquiries ...

A Plea for Eros: Essays

6 reviews
Siri Hustvedt

Picador, 2005

A Varied Collection of Thoughts, Incantations, Musings from a Very Bright Mind
Siri Hustvedt is one fine writer. Her skills go beyond the technical expertise of honing in on a thought, relishing it, dissecting it, relating it, and offering it back to the reader. Here is a writer whose depth of knowledge about literature is vast and whose spectrum of sensibilities about living and the hurdles involved is uniquely her own. A PLEA FOR EROS is a collection of twelve ...

The Blindfold: A Novel

19 reviews
Siri Hustvedt

Picador, 2003

A sexy and smart slow burn of a book
Siri Hustvedt's novels, to me, are like the literary equivalent of Edward Hopper's paintings: portraying that haunting sense of abandonment and alienation in an anonymous American city landscape. Coincidentally, both The Blindfold and The Enchantment of Lily Dahl has a a voyeur protagonist watching people through the windows of their apartments at night, a recurring subject of Hopper's work. ...

Yonder

1 review
Siri Hustvedt

Henry Holt and Co., 1998

Some compelling essays
Considering the attention and praise Siri Hustvedt's novels have received, I was surprised that this book was published almost invisibly a year ago. I just discovered Yonder a few weeks ago (mid-1999) and haven't found any reviews of it outside of the trades -- which is unfortunate, since I'm pretty sure that fans of her novels (as well as Auster's novels) would enjoy these essays if they ...

A Convergence of Birds: Original Fiction and Poetry Inspired by Joseph Cornell

5 reviews
John Burghardt, Mary Caponegro, ...

D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, 2001

the blackbird whistling
I received this book from an old friend who I hadn't seen in nearly twenty years--she showed up unannounced, spent a few hours sitting in the sun, and then disappeared just as unexpectedly. I still don't know if she meant to leave the book behind, but I've decided that I won't give it up. Cornell's boxes have a strange beauty that seems to attract strange birds--deceptively simple, at first you ...