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A review by oczerniecka
Known and Strange Things by Teju Cole
3.0
It's hard to select rating for the book. I did not read in all, I selected essays that I liked, that when started reading I wanted to know more, wanted to keep reading. There are not many of essays like this in the book.
First of all, most of the essays were just not for me, they were too thick with detailed information and were overwhelming. I did not enjoyed essays that presented life of a fictional character through this characters eyes as presented by Teju Cole. This is something that many people will definably enjoy, something that for certain readers and art enthusiasts or art historians, will be extremely interesting and worth reading. But not for me.
However essays that were about Cole's personal experiences, his travels, his life or how art affects him were really good and I enjoyed them. Those felt just real, without overthinking. Teju Cole has a very interesting view on the modern technology, how art can be a part of everyday life, how it can be seen and made every single second, how effortless it can be, how easy to access. He writes what he thinks about Instagram (he follows only one photographer there, and himself does not post anything) and Snapchat. I especially likes his essay that mentions Snapchat, how photography often is a proof for existence and a proof of destruction. Photos stay, and items in the photos often do not. Snapchat is a way of communicating without leaving a proof that something looked like this at this specific moment and in future it will cease to exist.
Definitively not a book for everyone, but everyone will find at least one essay that will speak to them. So many it is a book for everyone after all? You decide.
First of all, most of the essays were just not for me, they were too thick with detailed information and were overwhelming. I did not enjoyed essays that presented life of a fictional character through this characters eyes as presented by Teju Cole. This is something that many people will definably enjoy, something that for certain readers and art enthusiasts or art historians, will be extremely interesting and worth reading. But not for me.
However essays that were about Cole's personal experiences, his travels, his life or how art affects him were really good and I enjoyed them. Those felt just real, without overthinking. Teju Cole has a very interesting view on the modern technology, how art can be a part of everyday life, how it can be seen and made every single second, how effortless it can be, how easy to access. He writes what he thinks about Instagram (he follows only one photographer there, and himself does not post anything) and Snapchat. I especially likes his essay that mentions Snapchat, how photography often is a proof for existence and a proof of destruction. Photos stay, and items in the photos often do not. Snapchat is a way of communicating without leaving a proof that something looked like this at this specific moment and in future it will cease to exist.
Definitively not a book for everyone, but everyone will find at least one essay that will speak to them. So many it is a book for everyone after all? You decide.