The female artist in siri hustvedts new novel is a creative titan whose career has been blighted by the art establishments sexism. Siri hustvedt is not going to give up writing for making art. Longlisted for the prestigious man booker prize and hailed by the washington post as siri hustvedts best novel yet, an electrifying work, the blazing world is. Siri hustvedt is the author of a book of poetry, three collections of essays, a work of nonfiction, and six novels, including the international bestsellers what i loved and the summer without men. A fictional editors note reads, all intellectual and artistic endeavours, even jokes, ironies, and parodies, fare better in the mind of the crowd when the crowd knows that somewhere behind the great work or the great spoof it can locate a cock and pair of balls. A novel by siri hustvedt and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. This book is set in the new york art world and recounts the provocative story of artist harriet burden. All intellectual and artistic endeavours, writes the female painterprotagonist of siri hustvedts new novel, even jokes, ironies, and parodies. The blazing world, by siri hustvedt siri hustvedt s latest uses fragmented documents to tell the story of an artist who chooses men to present her work. In 2003, i ran across this provocative sentence in a letter to the.
Hustvedt juggles the many voices and many truths masterfully, drawing the reader into an intricate and a puzzling web. The absence of women artists in the history of painting is an old feminist topic, but it is one the blazing world approaches headon. The blazing world, siri hustvedt s sixth novel, plays on the same art world gender bias as this protest campaign by a group called the guerrilla girls. Challenging readers perceptions about truth and reality, the blazing world is a brilliant sendup of the art world. Hustvedts 2014 novel, the blazing world, longlisted for the man booker prize, was a kind of revenge fantasy in which she imagined a marginalised female sculptor, harriet harry burden. After the 1995 death of her husband, art dealer felix lord, harriet burden embarked on a project she called maskings, in which she engaged three male artists to exhibit her work as their own, to expose the. Siri hustvedts new novel, the blazing world, follows a sculptor and mixedmedia artist, harriet burdena woman unknown to collectors and unknowable to her friends and family. Jeffrey brown interviews author siri hustvedt about her novel, the blazing world, at miami book fair international 2014. As hustvedt writes, interpretation is always multiple and there is a multiplicity of ideas being played with. The blazing world, picking up on themes explored in an earlier hustvedt novel, what i loved, is more than just the story of a life. The precision of the language makes each detail jewellike and tangible. It gives off the warmth and light by which to read, understand.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the blazing world. Harriet burdens rage, turbulence and neediness leap off these. Longlisted for the 2014 man booker prize, siri hustvedts sixth novel inspires nothing quite so much as a feeling of inadequacy. The blazing world, by siri hustvedt the new york times. The blazing world is siri hustvedts best novel yet, an electrifying work with a titanic, poignantly flawed protagonist. In 2012 she was awarded the international gabarron prize for thought and humanities. Siri hustvedt frames her 2014 novel, the blazing world, as a. Honestly, i dont even know where to begin with the blazing world. The blazing world by siri hustvedt is a difficult and complex book that in another sense is almost too simple.
This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the blazing world by siri hustvedt. Siri hustvedts the blazing world seeks to explore the mystery surrounding the last years of one fictional spurned artist, harriet burden. An embittered female artist plays a trick on critics that goes badly awry in hustvedts latest the summer without men, 2011, etc. Theres a central mystery to unravel in the blazing world, but its real pleasures come from hustvedts startling talent for voice and register. Siri hustvedt is the internationally acclaimed author of a book of poems, six novels, four collections of essays, and a work of nonfiction.
Now in paperback, this is the latest novel from the author of the blindford, what i loved and the summer without men, who. The blindfold book by siri hustvedt official publisher. Messuds book reminded me very much of hustvedt when i read it last year, and in turn the blazing world reminds me of the woman upstairs both about women being betrayed and both have detailed descriptions of their artwork. I said of siri hustvedts the blazing world in my last post that it crosses the binary so much that it starts to cross it out. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. The blazing world, by siri hustvedt siri hustvedts latest uses fragmented documents to tell the story of an artist who chooses men to. Artist harriet burden, consumed by fury at the lack of recognition she has received from the new york art establishment. The blazing world is siri hustvedt s best novel yet, an electrifying work with a titanic, poignantly flawed protagonist. Her early career left her a failure, patronized by sexist critics and seething with righteous fury.
But around this core swirl many ideas and philosophies. It is a sophisticated commentary on celebrity, mythmaking. Hustvedt paints a scathing portrait of the art world, obsessed with money and the latest trend, but superb descriptions of harrys work installations expressing her turbulence and neediness remind us that the beauty and power of art transcend such trivialities. The novel begins with an editors note, which is part of the overall work and is not a. The blazing world consumes its readers march 15, 2014 siri hustvedts latest uses fragmented documents to tell the story. Siri hustvedts sixth work of fiction takes the form of an archive of documents gathered after burdens death by the scholar i. Shop now all intellectual and artistic endeavors, even jokes, ironies, and parodies, fare better in the mind of the crowd when the crowd knows that somewhere behind the great work or the great spoof it can locate a cock and a pair of balls.
The blazing world is thus manifestly more adventurous formally than the sorrows of an american than what i loved as well, but of course as a form of epistolary fiction such an approach is hardly new and could not be cited in support of a claim that this novel shows siri hustvedt to be a postmodern writer. Through the statements from burdens family, close friends and acquaintances, we get to know the story behind burdens decadeslong experiment to. Its a struggle of competing voices, setting burdens furious, hilarious, inspired scribblings beside the testimony of her friends and family but also against a chorus of naysayers, footnoters, hobbyhorsemen and bores. Brooklyn author siri hustvedt reads from her 2014 novel, the blazing world, which explores perception, prejudice, identity, and gender bias in the art world through the struggles of. Widow of the infamous art dealer felix lord, burden decides to play a prank on the art world. Siri hustvedt on the blazing world at miami book fair youtube. Her novel the blazing world was longlisted for the man booker prize and won the lost angeles book prize for fiction. The blazing world, siri hustvedts 6th novel, goes for the jugular from its opening paragraph. The blazing world, siri hustvedts sixth novel, plays on the same artworld gender bias as this protest campaign by a group called the guerrilla girls. Even by siri hustvedts extremely high standards, the blazing world is an extraordinary book. The blazing world by siri hustvedt, paperback barnes. After she moved to brooklyn, my mother collected strayshuman strays, not animals. Harriet burdens rage, turbulence and neediness leap off these pages in a skillfully orchestrated chorus of voices both dark and brilliant.