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sdoncolo's review
5.0
This book was so good. I read the introduction first, which I didn’t initially like, but then it did help frame the book — and the book was more than I’d expected. The texts build upon each other, following themes in chapter-like groups and exploring the overarching concept of seeing and blindness. Some of the photos and texts together are really great.
cally_mac's review against another edition
4.0
Teju Cole might be one of the coolest dudes in the world. Art historian, novelist, photographer, globetrotter. These photos are not awesome natural landscapes or vibrant, stunning portraits that you'd want to put on your wall. They're mostly of the fairly mundane and banal, or of wonderful places, framed in obscuring ways. Perhaps if they were devoid of text, I wouldn't enjoy them as much, as I'm not very good at thinking deeply about visual art. But the prose is a helping hand that takes you through the book, points things out or simply suggests them; makes you think critically about the photos, as well as about religion, politics, philosophy. It feels very in-keeping with the themes of Known and Strange Things. Maybe now it's time for me to read his novels.
eastofesten's review
3.0
Teju Cole's prose is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read. Following him throughout the world, I kept piecing together the narratives to create his travels. The pictures were less interesting for me, and often felt at odds with the prose.
gonza_basta's review
4.0
Impressive, strange, gave me a lot of food for thought.
Strano, bello, complesso, mi ha dato parecchio da pensare.
Strano, bello, complesso, mi ha dato parecchio da pensare.
hwks's review
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
I am pretty sure I am not the correct audience for this. This is perhaps very evocative for artists and/or people with a background in art history, able to craft a through-line across this work and appreciate what are (in my own uneducated judgement) often mediocre photographs and their prose-pairings. So much of this felt deeply pretentious and overly academic. There were some that I did find beautiful or interesting in their own way, but so much of the prose was really esoteric and made this a frustrating read for me. Might be great for some, definitely not for me.
mario_dimoser's review against another edition
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
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.