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susannah_n's review against another edition
3.0
I hoped this would be better. Niven Govinden set the scene of the novel really well, but the pretentiousness of the main character (the otherwise nameless "Maestro") and the way the focus of the story moved back-and-forth didn't work for me. The secondary characters were appealing, but that wasn't enough. And the story really lost me with its references to the film that the Maestro is promoting: an adaptation of William Maxwell's The Folded Leaf. I read The Folded Leaf before I read Diary of a Film because I knew it referenced Maxwell's story, but I don't actually know why Govinden bothered to call it an adaptation since it basically just used the names of that book's title, author, and main characters, and changed the rest. And yes, I realize that adaptations often just use the names of a book's title, author, and characters, but in a book about a director in which his latest movie's plot is not even secondary to the novel's plot, it hardly seemed necessary.
tattic's review against another edition
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
connorgirvan's review against another edition
5.0
5 / 5 stars
I honestly loved this book. I didn't expect to like it so much but I just did.
Story follows the main character, a director, screening his latest film at an unidentified Italian Film Festival and reflecting upon his career/the process of shooting the film. The two main characters from the film Tom and Lorien feature heavily in the book and I loved their relationship/the relationship between director and actors. Moreso, I liked the relationship between Cosima (a novelist and art critic) and the director.
Idk what to say but I just really liked the book?
I honestly loved this book. I didn't expect to like it so much but I just did.
Story follows the main character, a director, screening his latest film at an unidentified Italian Film Festival and reflecting upon his career/the process of shooting the film. The two main characters from the film Tom and Lorien feature heavily in the book and I loved their relationship/the relationship between director and actors. Moreso, I liked the relationship between Cosima (a novelist and art critic) and the director.
Idk what to say but I just really liked the book?
emily1602's review against another edition
Extremely pretentious, but in a nice way. Man character is completely up his ass about his art, but he sees art in everyone. The fans screaming outside the movie premiere, who are probably as obsessed with movies as he was as a teen, the projectionist, the random old woman he encounters at a cafe. The novel follows the premiere of Call Me By Your Name-esque film. Took me right to Italy. For how sweet (and wish-fulfilling) the rest of the novel was, the ending was sad.
m_b_k's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
3.0
nosaltres_les's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
isscnls's review against another edition
4.0
I love anything that centers on an artist's ruminations, especially when the art they make is something as close to me as film. Admittedly though, ventures into portraying the artist's mind can feel a little pretentious, privileged, or maudlin to the point of navel-gazing, so it's a genre (?) that is difficult to get right. All methods can be exhausted and we still would not know how to write about it.
I think what this book gets right is the tenderness it looks upon art, mixed with a worldliness taken from its gentle film auteur protagonist. Art is a passion, but it is also the experience of our personal inner lives. The narrator has been in it enough to recognize the vices it breeds alongside the freedoms it creates — knowing they are part and parcel of the endeavor to a masterpiece. There is a softness with which the book looks upon the difficult task of storytelling, the ideas we cultivate to do it, and the connections we make and lose because of it. The art of creating and the art beyond — that is what this is about.
I think what this book gets right is the tenderness it looks upon art, mixed with a worldliness taken from its gentle film auteur protagonist. Art is a passion, but it is also the experience of our personal inner lives. The narrator has been in it enough to recognize the vices it breeds alongside the freedoms it creates — knowing they are part and parcel of the endeavor to a masterpiece. There is a softness with which the book looks upon the difficult task of storytelling, the ideas we cultivate to do it, and the connections we make and lose because of it. The art of creating and the art beyond — that is what this is about.
happeningalmond's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kylaoren's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
pretentious but kind of in a good way? snobbish but beautifully written i guess...also never want to read the word maestro ever again