kla313 's review for:

White on White by Ayşegül Savaş

4.75

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I finished this book a few days ago, and I am still pondering the ending. The last several chapters of this book held a lot of suspense.

The ending captured my attention, but I’m not sure I fully grasp it. I am sure there are purposeful gaps left open for interpretation. Reinforced by the quote “Wasn’t it true of all art, that its power lay as much in absence, in the deliberate choice of what was left out, as in what was revealed..” I interpreted the ending as the observed becoming the observer. The narrator has been passively analyzing Agnes’s every move not realizing what their silence has revealed about them. Agnes has observed the narrator to be passive and incidentally also similar to herself; soon to be resentful about her art and life. 

I almost felt this was the opposite of a coming of age novel. You get to slowly watch Agnes’s life unravel; her poised demeanor crumble before the narrator’s eyes into a resentful and rather pitiful person. At the same time, why do I feel like I relate to Agnes?

A good read on vulnerability, identity and authenticity and how we choose what to reveal vs conceal to others.