3.5
Artful
ByPublisher Description
Ali Smith melds the tale and the essay into a magical hybrid form, a song of praise to the power of stories in our lives
In February 2012, the novelist Ali Smith delivered the Weidenfeld lectures on European comparative literature at St. Anne’s College, Oxford. Her lectures took the shape of this set of discursive stories. Refusing to be tied down to either fiction or the essay form, Artful is narrated by a character who is haunted—literally—by a former lover, the writer of a series of lectures about art and literature.
A hypnotic dialogue unfolds, a duet between and a meditation on art and storytelling, a book about love, grief, memory, and revitalization. Smith’s heady powers as a fiction writer harmonize with her keen perceptions as a reader and critic to form a living thing that reminds us that life and art are never separate.
Artful is a book about the things art can do, the things art is full of, and the quicksilver nature of all artfulness. It glances off artists and writers from Michelangelo through Dickens, then all the way past postmodernity, exploring every form, from ancient cave painting to 1960s cinema musicals. This kaleidoscope opens up new, inventive, elastic insights—on the relation of aesthetic form to the human mind, the ways we build our minds from stories, the bridges art builds between us. Artful is a celebration of literature’s worth in and to the world and a meaningful contribution to that worth in itself. There has never been a book quite like it.
In February 2012, the novelist Ali Smith delivered the Weidenfeld lectures on European comparative literature at St. Anne’s College, Oxford. Her lectures took the shape of this set of discursive stories. Refusing to be tied down to either fiction or the essay form, Artful is narrated by a character who is haunted—literally—by a former lover, the writer of a series of lectures about art and literature.
A hypnotic dialogue unfolds, a duet between and a meditation on art and storytelling, a book about love, grief, memory, and revitalization. Smith’s heady powers as a fiction writer harmonize with her keen perceptions as a reader and critic to form a living thing that reminds us that life and art are never separate.
Artful is a book about the things art can do, the things art is full of, and the quicksilver nature of all artfulness. It glances off artists and writers from Michelangelo through Dickens, then all the way past postmodernity, exploring every form, from ancient cave painting to 1960s cinema musicals. This kaleidoscope opens up new, inventive, elastic insights—on the relation of aesthetic form to the human mind, the ways we build our minds from stories, the bridges art builds between us. Artful is a celebration of literature’s worth in and to the world and a meaningful contribution to that worth in itself. There has never been a book quite like it.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesArtful Reviews
3.5
“I found I struggled to understand everything she was saying, but there were some nice points throughout that will stay with me. I liked exploring art through the lense of grief”
“Audiobook—audible. Narrated by the author.
Artful by Ali Smith seems quite experimental. The essay is written like a story, with a bit of stream of consciousness with one thought, one word leading to a whole stream of thoughts. She examines craft and form and expression through examples in various mediums of art from literature to cinema to photography and painting.
She uses the story and the conversation therein to string all the different artforms and her points together.
The ideas per se are not thought-provoking, but their presentation is quite unique.
I've ordered the book so I can read the book this time, look up all the references and after that I'll do an immersive reading again, but with the audiobook this time.
The essay would be highly appreciated both by academics and fans of Ali Smith, though I felt quite at sea and felt the pinch of a lack of a university education.”
“Definitely a good read, well written, eloquent, and included a lot of artworks and poetry interspersed throughout.
Although, I found it was a little complicated to follow as it followed the narrators referred to as “I” and her recently passed lovers lectures referred to simply as, “You.”
It discussed some key themes about grief, longing, and dealt with ongoing relationships between lovers even after parting through the underworld.
The writer does a great job introducing new poetry and writers who were very influential in her past lovers lectures, although I wish there was more explanation throughout about how it coincided with her work. (Maybe I just need to spend more time with the book).
I did love the metaphors and analogies “I” uses, and the intimacy the narrator provides.
The storyline about the Greek words that the ghost of “You” speaks and leaves behind in her lectures are very interesting and seemed to leave a lasting impact, the way the story unravels and lends to learning the definition of the Greek words, then the incorporation of the meanings in the lectures was truly a beautifully developed storyline.
The connection to the Greek singer, Aliki was really adorable and really endearing. “You” related the idea of “I” and interwove it into her lectures in a lovely way, she saw “I” as a manifestation of Aliki and that really tied the ending together beautifully.
A great book, definitely needs some time to process, but is such a great modern example of dealing with Grief, trauma, and loss in a very Artful way :)”
“This is literary criticism in the most creative way, by comparing a fictional story dealing with grief with a non-fiction mosaic of all Smith’s literary beliefs. Enjoyable and very interesting.”
About Ali Smith
ALI SMITH is the author of many works of fiction, including, most recently, Companion Piece, the "Seasonal Quartet," Public library and other stories, and How to be Both, which won the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction, the Goldsmiths Prize, and the Costa Novel of the Year Award. Her work has four times been short-listed for the Man Booker Prize. Most recently, she won the George Orwell Prize for Fiction for Summer. Born in Inverness, Scotland, she lives in Cambridge, England.
Other books by Ali Smith
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