Reviews

What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt

fbroom's review against another edition

5.0

An intense reading experience. I don’t think I’ve experienced this intensity with any other novel. Leo, a professor of Art History looks back at his life and tells stories from his past. The stories revolve around his best friend and the women in their lives. Some of these stories are happy and some are extremely sad and painful. Some of these stories are also so romantic and filled with love that it takes you to another place. The stories felt very real and filled me with so many emotions.

There is definitely some similarity to Paul Auster’s work. Looking up this novel, it turns out many events are autobiographical. Violet is based on her. Bill is based on Paul and it seems like Mark is based on Daniel Auster.

itsmoleyreads's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

3.75

popcornporridge's review

dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

4.5

carly23r's review against another edition

4.0

I hate that I loved this book so much.

I remember reading “The Blazing World” years ago and liking it a lot - but since then I saw that Hustvedt was one of many who signed the 2009 petition supporting Roman Polanski, which made me a lot less amenable to her views on feminism and morality.

But damn, this was a good read - so affecting - and with so much to chew on.

annac11's review

challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

mirazgc's review

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

nlgeorge73's review against another edition

4.0

At times a heartwarming and diverting depiction of the friendship of Bill and Leo, their wives, their sons, and art and literature at the core. The descriptions of Bill's art pieces and how his art intermixed elements of their lives was intriguing. The major events took a sad turn and then this novel about relationships and art became a psychological thriller, which deviated from what appeared to be the major premise of the book based on the title. Some great concepts and overall an interesting read, but lacked some finesse in direction and execution.

wxlamora's review

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

chris_tyson's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

clarissagioia's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5