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A review by bookedandborrowed
Acute Misfortune: The Life and Death of Adam Cullen by Erik Jensen
3.0
I saw the film first (which I obviously enjoyed enough to come back for more), so I can't help but compare certain aspects of the book.
I was extremely worried when reading the opening pages of Acute Misfortune, which consist of email transcripts of extreme ego stroking and at times flirtation - i.e. total wank. Fortunately this eases up quickly, but both writer and subject come across as totally narcissistic so be warned.
Not sure how effective dividing the book into sections was; some are definitely stronger than others, and I feel disconnecting aspects of Adam's life in this way made it hard to look at things as a whole.
Both the film and the book fail to really get at the heart of Adam's long term relationship, which I'm curious about as it's described as being very formative and impactful on Adam's art, life, behaviours, but we don't really get much insight into it. I believe that behind every creatively brilliant man there is a long-suffering, stifled woman, and I would be much more interested in hearing her story!
I was extremely worried when reading the opening pages of Acute Misfortune, which consist of email transcripts of extreme ego stroking and at times flirtation - i.e. total wank. Fortunately this eases up quickly, but both writer and subject come across as totally narcissistic so be warned.
Not sure how effective dividing the book into sections was; some are definitely stronger than others, and I feel disconnecting aspects of Adam's life in this way made it hard to look at things as a whole.
Both the film and the book fail to really get at the heart of Adam's long term relationship, which I'm curious about as it's described as being very formative and impactful on Adam's art, life, behaviours, but we don't really get much insight into it. I believe that behind every creatively brilliant man there is a long-suffering, stifled woman, and I would be much more interested in hearing her story!