Siri Hustvedt - The Blazing World

Details
Paperback - Used

Rating
3.7/5 Goodreads

Synopsis
From internationally bestselling author Siri Hustvedt comes a brilliant, provocative novel about an artist, Harriet Burden, who conducts an experiment after years of being ignored by the art world: she conceals her female identity behind three male fronts.
The three solo shows are successful, but when Burden finally steps forward triumphantly to reveal herself as the artist behind the exhibitions, there is a public scandal. Doubts grow as acclaimed artist Rune, whose name was on the final exhibition, denies Burden's role in its creation. What no one doubts, however, is that the two artists were intensely involved with each other. As Burden's journals reveal, she and Rune found themselves locked in a charged and dangerous game that ended with the man's bizarre death.
From one of the most ambitious and internationally renowned writers of her generation, The Blazing World is a polyphonic tour de force. An intricately conceived, diabolical puzzle, it explores the deceptive powers of prejudice, money, fame, and desire. Emotionally intense, intellectually rigorous, ironic, and playful, Hustvedt's new novel is a bold, rich masterpiece, one that will be remembered for years to come.

"As in her previous masterpiece, What I Loved, Hustvedt paints a scathing portrait of the art world, obsessed with money and the latest trend, but superb descriptions of Harry's work-installations expressing her turbulence and neediness-remind us that the beauty and power of art transcend such trivialities... It's the emotional content that seizes the reader.... Blazing indeed: not just with Harry's fury, but with agonizing compassion for all of wounded humanity." - Kirkus Reviews