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A review by whatpageareyouon
What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt
3.0
My favorite aspect of this book is its ambition. I think there’s a lot of potential to dissect a lot of themes in the story, mostly concerning perception and possibility. Whether from Leo’s wise, yet detached, presence as an art historian to examine situations objectively, or evaluating Mark’s chameleon personality, or even determining nature vs. nurture, there’s just so much going on. The catch is that I think all of Part 1 gives too much of a sense of possibility and sort of overstays its welcome with laying a foundation for the story, often making me wonder what was going to be the moment that pushes the story along (and there’s certainly that “moment,” you’ll know it).
Another concern I had is that I thought Hustvedt found herself restrained by the plot choices she ended up making, as the story begins to veer in tone like a roller coaster in comparison to the patience of the first half. The writing never falters though, as Hustvedt is almost relentlessly making the reader aware of Leo’s continuing turmoil, she doesn’t degrade or sacrifice his sense of always thinking through problems, relationships, and the “meaning” of it all. I think “meaning” is the one-word theme I’d use for this story (I think of that one scene between Leo and Giles discussing it), whether applied to art, people, and/or memory.
Another concern I had is that I thought Hustvedt found herself restrained by the plot choices she ended up making, as the story begins to veer in tone like a roller coaster in comparison to the patience of the first half. The writing never falters though, as Hustvedt is almost relentlessly making the reader aware of Leo’s continuing turmoil, she doesn’t degrade or sacrifice his sense of always thinking through problems, relationships, and the “meaning” of it all. I think “meaning” is the one-word theme I’d use for this story (I think of that one scene between Leo and Giles discussing it), whether applied to art, people, and/or memory.