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keight's review against another edition
4.0
As a collection, Forty-One False Starts falls to the side of indiscriminate, especially the several shorter essays at the end that felt like they were included more because they fit the theme of artists and writers than because they had something truly remarkable to say. Maybe they were victims of placement, but they probably stand out more because most of the essays are so good, most especially the titular, opening essay in which Malcolm composes a profile of the artist David Salle through forty-one possible openers for the essay, an exploration of an artist’s process that also exposes its own process. Read more on my booklog
katrinepoetry's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting, though not what I’d originally expected. The essay on Gossip Girl however was a true unexpected surprise.
tifferschang's review against another edition
3.0
I have always respected the ability of the pen. But I have never seen the sharpness and strength of the pen until I had read a Janet Malcolm piece. Malcolm's writing has always either opened my eyes to the art world, or forced me to appreciate how everything either stems from this world or attributes to it; everything contributes to everything, and has meaning. This collection of her essays has only served to deepen my respect for her and the pen as her instrument of wonder. I will honest that this collection should not be used as an introduction to Malcolm, but rather for those who are already familiar with her work. While some of the essays hit the mark, otherwise did fly by me. But therein lies the genius of Malcolm, though she may be ten times more intelligent than me, there is no other journalist that I am as willing to cede that statement to.
whitneyborup's review against another edition
4.0
I got a little bored with a couple of these essays (surprisingly, the one about Virginia Woolf and family) but others (especially those on artists and photographers) were just brilliant.
kevinsmokler's review against another edition
4.0
Could have used another edit as there's at least three essays here that are giants (60 pages or more) that throw the collection out of balance (most of the other pieces are around 12-15 pages). But Janet Malcolms eye and prose-- piercing, probing, curious, and singular-- makes just about anything she writes beautiful. And a little scary.
harrietnbrown's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not a fan of literary or art criticism--too much talking about art by people who can't make it, usually. But this book goes far beyond the usual artspeak to say real and important things about the artists and writers represented here and about their work. The title essay is a smart and evocative meditation not just on its subject, the painter David Salle, but on the absurdly difficult process of trying to capture the essence of a person in words. Together the 41 "false starts" make a complete story, one that conveys more between the lines than among them. Perhaps my favorite essay in the book, "Capitalist Pastorale," is a brilliant and down-to-earth explication of the work of Gene Stratton-Porter, author of "A Girl of the Limberlost" and many other works, most of which have thankfully been lost, or at least not widely read. This is a book to be savored, kept on your nighttable (I kept it on mine for a year), dipped into and re-read.
notedhermit's review against another edition
4.0
There was so much to love here. I think she skewers both directions so well.
fmclellan's review
4.0
Janet Malcolm is a genius. Her gifts are on full, and often chilling, display here. Full of erudition, razor-sharp judgments, icy observations. Learned and scary and admirable. Would not want to be on her bad side. Agree with other readers that the last two "chapters" are disastrous additions--are there any editors left? The chapter on Bloomsbury perhaps the best. I have read this collection over a day or so and feel as if run over by a truck--in a good way.
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