A review by sarahbringhurstfamilia
Glittering Images: A Journey Through Art from Egypt to Star Wars by Camille Paglia

5.0

This was a fascinating, unusual book, and my first by Camille Paglia. In a relatively small, slim volume, she takes the reader on a sweeping tour of the history of Western art. Each chapter contains a photograph of a piece of art, and then a short essay. Although I diverged with Paglia in some of her opinions, her insights were invariably illuminating. I really loved that she devoted an unusually large portion of the book to more modern art, and most of the modern pieces she used were new to me. I will admit that I initially picked up this book for its titular promise to treat Star Wars as serious art, and yes, I was tempted to turn to the end and read the Star Wars essay first. I didn't, and I'm glad I read the rest of the book first to give me context, because the Star Wars essay was great, and I think I understood it better than I would have if I'd just flipped to the end and read it. This book is totally worth a read, whether you're interested in Star Wars or art or both.