provocative but with disappointment
Many good thoughts and items and situations worth pondering. Raises the thorny question of judging art versus judging the creator. But to my taste too much intense personal recollections and thumbsucking. Flow of book gets bogged down and starts to meander. i would prefer a more direct and pointed approach. Still even though I didn't read all the way through it was an intellectual exercise. Part of the emotional difficulty dealing with wayward celebrities is when you begin to idolize and worship them and feel personally betrayed...one big message (?) I think I got. Not saying this well documented and thoughtful book isn't worth reading,skimming,glancing over...just not what i expected.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Art, creativity, behavior, and feet of clay.
As someone who has spent a life of reading books, watching films, listening to music (lots of music!) I am grateful for Dederer’s challenge: to fully consider the creators. Their lives, their behavior, and their work. Dederer’s conversational style made me forget I wasn’t across a table from her but instead on the subway to work. The essays contained here will roll around your brain long after you close the book.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Expanded my critical thinking on creative work
"This tension - between what I've been through as a woman and the fact that I want to experience the freedom and beauty and grandeur and strangeness of great art - this is at the heart of the matter. It's not a philosophical query; it's an emotional one." (p.74) In this nonfiction, critic Claire Dederer offers up an examination of how we react, both ethically and morally, as consumers of the great art of monstrous geniuses. She considers the work of artists, filmmakers, and writers, both male and female, who are legendary creative geniuses, but also committed heinous acts, or held views considered appalling by society. She explores in great depth the complicated moral feelings, and layered ethical dilemmas we encounter as fans of these different art forms. This was an incredibly thought-provoking collection by Dederer, who is both in control of the writing and also vulnerable in her own revelations. I read the traditional book, but also supplemented my reading with the audiobook, and enjoyed both. The audiobook is read by Dederer and I have to say it is the best audiobook I've listened to this year. The author reading her own writing lends a personal note to the voice that was very engaging. I highly recommend this book to everyone who appreciates consuming art in all its many forms. It will elevate your critical thinking as a reader and viewer of film, books, and art.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com