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4.63 AVERAGE
4.63 AVERAGE
The Atlas of Beauty by Mihaela Noroc is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in early September.
Noroc makes it clear at the very beginning that, behind each of the 500 photos, are several women, who, despite their inner strength, kindness, and outer beauty, could not have their picture taken, due to feelings of fear, interpersonal reasons, or societal pressures. That being said, the inset stories behind a photo or the conversations that Noroc had with each person give a photo extra depth. So diverse and very beautiful in their own way.
Noroc makes it clear at the very beginning that, behind each of the 500 photos, are several women, who, despite their inner strength, kindness, and outer beauty, could not have their picture taken, due to feelings of fear, interpersonal reasons, or societal pressures. That being said, the inset stories behind a photo or the conversations that Noroc had with each person give a photo extra depth. So diverse and very beautiful in their own way.
Loved seeing such variety of races, ages, dress, activity. A beautiful representation of women.
Really enjoyed the way similar activities were paired together- police officers in uniform, gay couples, rickshaw/carriage/ tram driver.
Really enjoyed the way similar activities were paired together- police officers in uniform, gay couples, rickshaw/carriage/ tram driver.
It feels like cheating, add a photo book to my reading challenge, because there is hardly any text in it and it doesn't take a lot of time to browse through it. On the other hand, there are rather a lot of very good pictures of very beautiful women in it. All shot in natural light. I was a bit put of by the unfailing optimism and positivity in the authors comments. For many people in this book life is a never ending struggle. They may struggle with dignity, but I suppose they would gladly trade this dignity for some financial stability.
Funnily, this is the best rated book I have a read on Goodreads so far. Maybe more people are pleased to read a book they can finish this fast.
Funnily, this is the best rated book I have a read on Goodreads so far. Maybe more people are pleased to read a book they can finish this fast.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
This photo book is a stunning visual documentation of female beauty and strength, and at the same time an homage to cultural diversity. The life stories of the women pictured are just as moving and impressive as the photographer's undertaking of traveling the world in search (or recognition) of everyday beauty.
Gorgeous pictures and an interesting concept, but I don't think it's as effective in execution, as it is noticeable that large chunks of the total book come from the same places and within the pictures from one individual area there isn't a lot of diversity. Also, I would argue that most of the pictures are of younger (35 or younger), slender women so there isn't a ton of body diversity. There are also only a handful of more queer, androgynous, gender-nonconforming women and only 1(?) trans woman. The caption quality also varied wildly.
I absolutely adore this book. The photographer has travelled to 50 different countries to capture images of 500 women of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds to prove that beauty is everywhere. She shares the stories of the women she has photographed from around the world - from London and Italy to the Amazon Rainforest and North Korea. The stories are varied but generally they are warm and full of hope.
I first saw this in a bookshop in Boulder, Colorado and knew that I had to have it; however hand-luggage-only travelling didn’t allow this so borrowed it from the library and it was as good as I expected. Definitely need to buy this for myself! It would also make a fantastic gift or book for a coffee table or guest room.
I first saw this in a bookshop in Boulder, Colorado and knew that I had to have it; however hand-luggage-only travelling didn’t allow this so borrowed it from the library and it was as good as I expected. Definitely need to buy this for myself! It would also make a fantastic gift or book for a coffee table or guest room.
This book/album is just like travelling the whole earth in a few hours
What I love about this book:
The whole idea of this book is just so wonderful. Photographing diverse women all around the world, telling their stories. It is the kind of project I want to support.
There are so many inspiring stories, and not in a way that you'd think you have to go out there and create something. But also in the story of resilience, and accepting who you really are and have a complete and beautiful peace with it (what I admire the most in everyone).
Why it's 4 star instead of 5:
There is one tiny thing that bothered me a bit about this book. While I do understand that anyhow books like this tells the story from the photographer's point of view (and Mihaela Noroc is a wonderful person!). But for a book about beauty, this really feels like it's in the eye of the beholder (in this case, the photographer). For instance, you can really tell that she's fascinated about women with red cheeks and big eyes.
There are also more pictures being taken of women in certain countries than others, which makes me wonder a little if it's because she just hasn't been traveling so much in those regions, or are they not as fascinating than the women in other regions?
I hope there will be an Atlas of Beauty 2, where she would explore more facets of beauty in a more complete view of the world!
The whole idea of this book is just so wonderful. Photographing diverse women all around the world, telling their stories. It is the kind of project I want to support.
There are so many inspiring stories, and not in a way that you'd think you have to go out there and create something. But also in the story of resilience, and accepting who you really are and have a complete and beautiful peace with it (what I admire the most in everyone).
Why it's 4 star instead of 5:
There is one tiny thing that bothered me a bit about this book. While I do understand that anyhow books like this tells the story from the photographer's point of view (and Mihaela Noroc is a wonderful person!). But for a book about beauty, this really feels like it's in the eye of the beholder (in this case, the photographer). For instance, you can really tell that she's fascinated about women with red cheeks and big eyes.
There are also more pictures being taken of women in certain countries than others, which makes me wonder a little if it's because she just hasn't been traveling so much in those regions, or are they not as fascinating than the women in other regions?
I hope there will be an Atlas of Beauty 2, where she would explore more facets of beauty in a more complete view of the world!