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A review by tgwood505
Stone Arabia by Dana Spiotta
5.0
Stone Arabia is the story of Nik Worth, a musician and obsessive chronicler of an imagined life. For twenty-five years, Nik has compulsively manufactured and documented the artifacts (including the music -- bootlegs, liner notes, album covers, etc...)of a fictional music career. The reality of his life, however, is that he is a recluse who has not performed his music in public for decades. The narrative of Nik's life is given to us through his sister, Denise's, own first person "Chronicles" (which are the purported "truth"). We also see Denise through the more objective lens of a third person narrator. I've been reading a lot of this (post?) post-modern stuff lately (Girl ChildA Visit from the Goon Squad)...and while its narrative form certainly adds layers to the story, I was actually more entranced by the ruminations on memory and art.
Denise is losing her memory (or fears she is anyway), and so her recollections are both precious and faulty. Conversely, Nik has spent his entire life documenting an imagined life...creating an alternate history out of thin air. Lastly, Denise's daughter, Ada, a film maker, becomes obsessed with documenting her eccentric uncle's actual life.
During an interview between Ada and Nik, Ada asks Nik, "Who is your audience?" The assumption here is that art requires an intended audience. That without an audience, there is no such thing as art (the whole tree falling in the forest business). Nik answers, "Myself. Other than that, I don't have one, I suppose. Some family and friends." Yet Nik is an artist: he creates, he is passionate, he is consumed. And he is talented. And the most riveting aspect of his character is the absence of resentment or regret. Even without an audience, he has led an artful life.
Initially I resisted Denise as narrator. I didn't care enough about her; she was dull in comparison to Nik. However, I think this was a conscious and critical decision on Spiotta's part. It serves to elevate Nik's character and his work.
I highly recommend this novel. Really, really brilliant work.
Denise is losing her memory (or fears she is anyway), and so her recollections are both precious and faulty. Conversely, Nik has spent his entire life documenting an imagined life...creating an alternate history out of thin air. Lastly, Denise's daughter, Ada, a film maker, becomes obsessed with documenting her eccentric uncle's actual life.
During an interview between Ada and Nik, Ada asks Nik, "Who is your audience?" The assumption here is that art requires an intended audience. That without an audience, there is no such thing as art (the whole tree falling in the forest business). Nik answers, "Myself. Other than that, I don't have one, I suppose. Some family and friends." Yet Nik is an artist: he creates, he is passionate, he is consumed. And he is talented. And the most riveting aspect of his character is the absence of resentment or regret. Even without an audience, he has led an artful life.
Initially I resisted Denise as narrator. I didn't care enough about her; she was dull in comparison to Nik. However, I think this was a conscious and critical decision on Spiotta's part. It serves to elevate Nik's character and his work.
I highly recommend this novel. Really, really brilliant work.