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mario_dimoser's review
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
I want to like it and I adore the way Cole writes - but I simply don't adore his photos in the same way. They are still very interesting and often provoke something in dialogue with the text, but they do not blow me away in the same way, his writing does.
mikelchartier's review against another edition
4.0
An adult picture book that reminds you that you'll never be, like, that smrt. Ever.
davygibbs's review against another edition
4.0
Cole's photos don't always hit me in the same way that they obviously hit him. That's a given, of course, any time we look at photographs, but since Cole is such a prolific communicator when it comes to his images, there's a degree of expectation there that is a bit more demanding, even intimidating. In Blind Spot, every single image is accompanied by a short lyric essay. They vary in tone, clarity, and directness. The conversational ones seem, in the moment, to be more successful ("Oh, yes, I too see the image of a face in that water stain"), while the more oblique passages can confuse the issue all the more. So there are instances, many of them in fact, where the demanding quality Cole's work is emphasized. But about 2/3 of the way through, something magical happens. The oblique references begin to enhance the parallel structures in the images, they begin to talk to one another. You find yourself flipping back several pages to hone in on a new frequency. Connections are made. The mind races. It's a dazzling effect, and one not arrived at easily. I would encourage frustrated readers to slow down and stick with it. Give the text room to breathe, dwell on the images, even idly. Shapes will emerge. The book will come together.
thematinee's review against another edition
4.0
Truly stunning and inspiring. Pale imitation as they are, I need to get back to recording words and images.
egilmore's review against another edition
5.0
This is definitely cerebral... feels like something I would have read in some multi media English class in college. I could talk about this for a long time, but Goodreads doesn’t feel like the right place. The right place is some house party with wine and cocktails, probably in Brooklyn at age 24, with a bunch of other liberal arts grads. Yeah, that sounds unbearable and completely unfair to Cole, who is - unquestionably - brilliant. I’m glad I can savor it now, untainted by my pretentious younger self.
You could read this one hundred times and still find more connections to unravel between the places and photos and vignettes. I don’t recommend for everyone. If you read, try reading it front to back first, then in different orders (like by place or by conceit). Thinking about the idea of blind spots and optics is what helped me piece some sense together, but there’s a lot left to discover. I borrowed this from the library, then had to buy it so I can keep coming back.
You could read this one hundred times and still find more connections to unravel between the places and photos and vignettes. I don’t recommend for everyone. If you read, try reading it front to back first, then in different orders (like by place or by conceit). Thinking about the idea of blind spots and optics is what helped me piece some sense together, but there’s a lot left to discover. I borrowed this from the library, then had to buy it so I can keep coming back.
keight's review against another edition
4.0
I was especially curious about this book after reading Known and Strange Things as the last essay there is also called “Blind Spot.” That one is about Teju Cole’s sudden loss of vision while he was attending an artists’ residency. This book version doesn’t seem directly related right away, as it contains around 150 of photographs from his travels around the world accompanied by vignettes. But Cole doesn’t just connect this book to the previous essay, but rather all of his works, calling them “a quartet about the limits of vision.” Now I’m curious to go back to his first book Open City with that perspective. Read more on my booklog
dogtrax's review against another edition
5.0
I read this in one rainy day ... blown away by the power of text and image, and the way Cole explores both humanity and the ‘blind spots’ of our world ... thx to Tellio for recommending this one (now I may need to splurge and buy, instead of library version)
thomasgoddard's review against another edition
3.0
Teju Cole's book is an interesting one. It has this detached air to it. This strange sense of presence and absence.
However, it was things missing that cost this one a decent rating.
I wanted more of a concrete tone and narrative. It was all over the place. And that was charming, to an extent. But I think it lacked enough of a cohesive style to endear it to me. Too many pages dropped like ephemera. I needed more of the pages that really hit the heart. And many did. Just not enough of them.
However, it was things missing that cost this one a decent rating.
I wanted more of a concrete tone and narrative. It was all over the place. And that was charming, to an extent. But I think it lacked enough of a cohesive style to endear it to me. Too many pages dropped like ephemera. I needed more of the pages that really hit the heart. And many did. Just not enough of them.