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A review by half_book_and_co
Known and Strange Things: Essays by Teju Cole
4.0
„Can my photograph convey an experience that others have already captured so well? The answer is almost always no, but you try anyway. I might feel myself to be a singular traveler, but I am in fact part of a great endless horde.” (Teju Cole, “Far Away from Here”)
Teju Cole is of course not only known for his writing but also his photography (and the ways he has tried to utilise social media). Consequential, “Known and Strange Things” not only thinks about specifics photographs but also about the process of taking photos. As someone who also loves to take photos and is tired of too simple complaints such as “now all the people take photos and no one really appreciates anymore” (for me, it is actually often the opposite, when I take a photo I really take the image in, it’s often also what I remember later), there was a lot to consider in Cole’s essays. I did not always agree but when I wanted to debate a point, following his thought-process also helped me sharpen my arguments.
It took me almost five years between picking up this book and actually finish reading it – which was mostly on me and not on the book. But this essay collection is packed full. There are 54 essays in the four sections named “Reading Things”, “Seeing Things”, “Being There”, and “Epilogue”. Cole peels back layers from literary works, dissects visual works of arts, their making and other works they talk to, and he writes about his own experiences. With so many texts, there will always be some bound to speak less to your interests. In some of the essays, I found the descriptions too dominating and would have wished for more direct analyses (though detailed descriptions of art can also partially already be some kind of analysis or interpretation). Then, Cole engages with some art that I am less interested in – though I love the incredible spectrum of works he does reference. That said, this is a fantastic collection which made me miss going to the gallery even more than I already did. But at least we still have books.
Teju Cole is of course not only known for his writing but also his photography (and the ways he has tried to utilise social media). Consequential, “Known and Strange Things” not only thinks about specifics photographs but also about the process of taking photos. As someone who also loves to take photos and is tired of too simple complaints such as “now all the people take photos and no one really appreciates anymore” (for me, it is actually often the opposite, when I take a photo I really take the image in, it’s often also what I remember later), there was a lot to consider in Cole’s essays. I did not always agree but when I wanted to debate a point, following his thought-process also helped me sharpen my arguments.
It took me almost five years between picking up this book and actually finish reading it – which was mostly on me and not on the book. But this essay collection is packed full. There are 54 essays in the four sections named “Reading Things”, “Seeing Things”, “Being There”, and “Epilogue”. Cole peels back layers from literary works, dissects visual works of arts, their making and other works they talk to, and he writes about his own experiences. With so many texts, there will always be some bound to speak less to your interests. In some of the essays, I found the descriptions too dominating and would have wished for more direct analyses (though detailed descriptions of art can also partially already be some kind of analysis or interpretation). Then, Cole engages with some art that I am less interested in – though I love the incredible spectrum of works he does reference. That said, this is a fantastic collection which made me miss going to the gallery even more than I already did. But at least we still have books.