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The Blazing World

Siri Hustvedt

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What Members Thought

Mar 28, 2014 Jen rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2014-reads, 2014-releases

Artist Harry (Harriet) Burden, despite her imposing stature and fierce intelligence, has spent most of her life in the shadows of the misogynistic, New York-based art world. Her art dealer husband – who, conveniently, claims nepotism as his rationale for not promoting her work – takes center stage throughout their marriage while she hosts successful dinner parties and raises their two children.

Felix dies circa 1995, and after a period of profound grief, Harry emerges, blazing her way onto the ar Artist Harry (Harriet) Burden, despite her imposing stature and fierce intelligence, has spent most of her life in the shadows of the misogynistic, New York-based art world. Her art dealer husband – who, conveniently, claims nepotism as his rationale for not promoting her work – takes center stage throughout their marriage while she hosts successful dinner parties and raises their two children.

Felix dies circa 1995, and after a period of profound grief, Harry emerges, blazing her way onto the art scene, through an orchestrated, rage-induced project she calls ‘Maskings’ – in which she exhibits her work through the personas of three male artists (her ‘masks’), in order to expose “how unconscious ideas about gender, race, and celebrity influence a viewer’s understanding of a given work of art.”

So far, that may sound like a clichéd story covering well worn ground (ie sexism in the art world). But instead it is something entirely new – not least because of the brilliant construction of the novel, presented as a curated artifact of sorts, comprising a mix of letters, interviews, written statements, art reviews and most significantly, Harry’s carefully alphabetized notebook entries (she is awkward and stilted in person, but pure eloquence in her writing). Despite the disjointed nature of these components, a compelling narrative emerges that builds slowly and carefully, revealing itself at a perfectly pitched pace.

The scale of emotion, in the context of this premise, is also something new. It delivers what the title promises: a blazing, unbridled account of a woman scorned, warts and all.

As far as her project goes, things don’t go quite as planned for Harry. The last of the three male artists – Rune, already well established when he presents Harry’s installation, “Beneath”, as his own – denies her role as artist creator. Couple this with the dangerous, spiraling series of manipulative mind games between her and Rune and her undoing is sealed. Harry (and the reader) is left grappling with important questions: what does ownership mean in the context of art? What is the nature of denial? Is the value of art (and of everything else, for that matter) driven entirely by perception?

There is so much feeling here and at times it is almost unbearable. It is easy to forget that this is fiction. Harry’s vengefulness, her pain, her love for Bruno (her partner post-Felix) and her eloquence in expressing it all in writing is messy and real and I couldn’t help but feel enraged on her behalf.

For its charged emotional content and for its lengthy passages of philosophical and other musings (plus endless literary and scientific references) this isn’t an easy book to read. But you don’t need to catch all the references (I didn’t) to fully absorb yourself in Harry’s story – and they add something to the reading experience.

Despite its many pages of unbridled fury, The Blazing World ends on a peaceful, meditative note. The ending is beautiful and surprising.

I listened to the Simon & Schuster audio version (brilliantly narrated by Patricia Rodriguez and Eric Meyers). The audio was wonderful – but I’d recommend a paper (or e-) copy to accompany it, particularly if the philosophical passages and literary references interest you.
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6 likes · Like · see review

Aug 17, 2014 Elise rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction, women, read-in-2016, 2010s

My favorite piece of contemporary art is a graffiti conversation written on a stall in the girls' room of my high school:
"I shit on guys for a living"
"Keep up the good work!"

Hustvedt examines the relationship between art, feminism, identity, authorship, perception, and interpretation through an assortment of documents (interviews, articles, reviews, and journal entries) about the life and works of Harriet Burden, ignored and underappreciated artist. I was excited about the premise, but the execu ...more

Like · see review