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A review by mpho3
Scorch Atlas by Blake Butler
3.0
I have wanted to read this for such a long time, but now that I have, I hardly know what to say or how to feel about it. Some of it is exquisite. Much of it is deeply troubling. Parts of it I read feeling like someone was droning in one of my ears while the words rapidly escaped out the other, however, I will remember some of it for a long time. What I will remember is Butler's love of words and his deeply dark imagination, which reflects where we are and we may one day be.
Sometimes I look at art work that causes me to feel sorry for the artist - sorry for the fact that such images are in their head. Usually this is art that I consider pretty bad and typically hung in cafes and diners. I think I would not like what's in Butler's head to take up residence in mine, but what differentiates him from the "cafe artists'" is that their unappealing images ironically lack "real" imagination, which is compounded by a lack of skill or talent. Butler does not strike me as unskilled, but I hope the things that happen in this book never come to pass. 3.5 stars
Sometimes I look at art work that causes me to feel sorry for the artist - sorry for the fact that such images are in their head. Usually this is art that I consider pretty bad and typically hung in cafes and diners. I think I would not like what's in Butler's head to take up residence in mine, but what differentiates him from the "cafe artists'" is that their unappealing images ironically lack "real" imagination, which is compounded by a lack of skill or talent. Butler does not strike me as unskilled, but I hope the things that happen in this book never come to pass. 3.5 stars