Author: Kristine Ong Muslim
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Queen's Ferry Press
Publish Date: April 2012
Source: I received a copy from the author. This did not affect my review.
Why You're Reading This Book:
- You're an art lover.
- You like flash fiction.
From Goodreads.com: "We Bury the Landscape is an exhibition of literary art. Ekphrasis, collected. One hundred flash fictions and prose poems presented to view. From the visual to the textual, transmuting before the gallery-goer’s gaze, the shifting contours of curator Kristine Ong Muslim’s surreal panorama delineate the unconventional, the unexpected, and the unnatural. Traversing this visionary vista’s panoply of “rooms of unfinished lives,” the reader unearths and examines and reanimates—revealing the transcendent uncanniness that subsists underfoot."
My Two Cents:
This is sort of an interesting, conceptual book. The author looked at many different paintings some well known and some not so well known, and wrote short stories (some very short) about it. All of the writing is flash fiction, which is especially interesting. It's definitely an interesting concept. Some of the stories tell you exactly what you can see in the painting and not much more. Other stories go a little bit further and really use the painting as a basis for a real story.
I read this book in the Kindle format meaning that there were no pictures to look at. Each story is titled by the name of the work of art, which meant I spent a lot of time looking up what all of the various paintings were, which was definitely a little disruptive to my reading. It did; however, introduce me to a lot of new paintings and artists, which was interesting.
I'm a casual art fan. I enjoy going to museums. I love wandering around but I don't really have any sort of art education and I can't help but to wonder if that would not have helped me enjoy the book more. I could see someone that really loves art and is familiar with the various artists and techniques in the art in this book really enjoy this one.
Bottom line: For the true art lover.
I felt the same way about this one. I liked it but I think that someone with more of an interest in art would have appreciated it more.
ReplyDeleteI think so. I spent tons of time having to look up the painters and their paintings, which really took me out of reading mode.
DeleteOoh, this sounds like something I would enjoy IF it were a print book. I would not have the patience to look up the paintings. Do you know if a print book may become available.
ReplyDeleteI love flash fiction.