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spooky_mulder's review
4.0
Absolutely fantastic. There is so much going on that I feel like to really appreciate it I have to read it again.
emmettmaroo's review
5.0
I don't know about this reviewing stuff, but for this one, all I can say is this: it's the best book I've ever read. Period. End of review.
percystjoan's review
4.0
this was an Experience, capital E, there's no other way to describe it. i told a friend this when i was halfway through and i stand by it now that i've finished it: it feels like being told a story by someone who is incredibly smart and incredibly drunk? i did not understand it pretty much at all, but even with that i still loved it because of how absolutely amazing the writing is. the only thing that put me off was how much i fucking hated handel, like i know he's not Meant to be likeable in any way but still i could NOT stand him and had to skim through his sections to get through them - LOVED picasso and sappho's sections though, they were amazing.
so yeah, did not understand this at all, winterson is a genius, it was kind of like getting punched in the face over and over again and i loved it, dear god i need to read something with a followable plot now to give my brain a break
so yeah, did not understand this at all, winterson is a genius, it was kind of like getting punched in the face over and over again and i loved it, dear god i need to read something with a followable plot now to give my brain a break
theycallmechiara's review against another edition
3.0
i wouldnt say i enjoyed reading it, but there were some beautiful quotes. i thought this would actually be about händel, picasso and sappho so i was a bit disappointed lol
audreybethc's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
this was really hard for me to get through. there were a lot of really beautiful passages but it was confusing and I’m still not 100% sure I understand it fully.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Incest, and Pedophilia
ghostbird12's review
4.5
hard to follow at times but loved the different characters and each of their little worlds. great writing as usual
amgel's review
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
maccee's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
misslezlee's review against another edition
3.0
"This is not a novel but an extended rift on art, sex, religion, social repression, the dangers of patriarchy, and everything that is wrong with the contemporary drift to the right.”
Another pick from my to-be-read shelf, probably purchased from Daedelus Books back in the dark ages, twenty-some years ago, when they sent you a paper catalog and you sent in an order.
Art & Lies is set in some dream time, in the 20th century, maybe in London. The characters, Handel, Picasso and Sappho aren’t *the* Handel, Picasso and Sappho, although Sappho actually is even as she unwittingly interacts with Picasso, in some kind of time space meld. There are threads of a story but they are interspersed with the extended riffs so it doesn’t read like a novel. The writing is amazingly beautiful. I needed to read this book slowly so I could savor the words. Even if I sometimes didn’t quite understand the meaning of the words.
I think, in another previous time, I might not have had the mental capacity to handle this book, but, now, in the midst of this pandemic, when we are in our very own dream time, sometime in the 21st century, maybe wherever we are at this moment, it was easier to slip into the surreal setting and events. It’s a shorter book but worthy of a long, slow read.
Another pick from my to-be-read shelf, probably purchased from Daedelus Books back in the dark ages, twenty-some years ago, when they sent you a paper catalog and you sent in an order.
Art & Lies is set in some dream time, in the 20th century, maybe in London. The characters, Handel, Picasso and Sappho aren’t *the* Handel, Picasso and Sappho, although Sappho actually is even as she unwittingly interacts with Picasso, in some kind of time space meld. There are threads of a story but they are interspersed with the extended riffs so it doesn’t read like a novel. The writing is amazingly beautiful. I needed to read this book slowly so I could savor the words. Even if I sometimes didn’t quite understand the meaning of the words.
I think, in another previous time, I might not have had the mental capacity to handle this book, but, now, in the midst of this pandemic, when we are in our very own dream time, sometime in the 21st century, maybe wherever we are at this moment, it was easier to slip into the surreal setting and events. It’s a shorter book but worthy of a long, slow read.