A review by twistsandtomes
Pop Song: Adventures in Art & Intimacy by Larissa Pham

4.0

Gorgeously written essays about love, loss, and art. The subtitle "Adventures in Art & Intimacy" perfectly captures the journey that takes place throughout the essays; all of the pieces stand alone, but there's also an overarching narrative of a relationship that's woven throughout each chapter. Pham is a gifted writer, and her writing about art specifically is electric. At one point in the book she speaks about how she likes the idea of an ekphrasis—a literary device that employs written description of a piece of visual art—more than the actual form itself. "Wasn't the point of looking at a painting to feel something wordless? Why not let it remain in that realm?" she writes. Even though it's difficult to capture the aura of a piece of visual art in words, Pham does so to great success. I'm looking forward to reading more of Pham's work in the future!