Night Theater exposes everything we humans tell ourselves, about what it means to lead a good life, as meaningless.
And after that, the novel takes evNight Theater exposes everything we humans tell ourselves, about what it means to lead a good life, as meaningless.
And after that, the novel takes every article of faith that we humans like to believe, about the dignity of humanity, and the possibility of redemption, and smashes it to bits.
And then, miraculously, after every virtue is exposed as meaningless, and every hope is smashed to bits, the novel rises up from the ashes, phoenix-like, and becomes a story that's mythic, and true, and powerful. It is honestly one of the most uplifting and life-affirming books I've ever read. ...more
From the first page, I was immediately and intensely endeared to the narrator of Optic Nerve. I would follow this narrator on any reading journey, wheFrom the first page, I was immediately and intensely endeared to the narrator of Optic Nerve. I would follow this narrator on any reading journey, wherever she would lead me, because the places she leads me, sentence by sentence and chapter by chapter, are unexpected, wonderful, startling, and humane.
The chapters hang together loosely. There is no plot to speak of. And yet the pieces and digressions come together again and again to become something whole and true.
The novel situates you in the mind of an insightful person, and makes you wiser as she herself becomes wiser. Her epiphanies come to her through the experience of viewing art, and thinking about art deeply. She lets her experience of art reverberate through her life experience.
So, of course I love this novel, because at its core it is championing the idea that contemplation of the arts can be life-changing, enriching, devastating, and above all, an essential part of what makes us human.
To have an entire novel make this case, at a time in the world where there is so much ugliness, and so much attention given to economic utility over aesthetic utility, is a gift.
Gorgeous writing, utterly heartbreaking. The sentences gallop. They left me breathless. They left me so sad. There is a continuous sadness to the storGorgeous writing, utterly heartbreaking. The sentences gallop. They left me breathless. They left me so sad. There is a continuous sadness to the story, actually, almost unbearable, where each page is full of the pity of humanity. The story combines the very harsh with the very tender, the two of them balanced together exquisitely, and the two of them also in conflict with one another. Harsh and tender tough it out, sometimes in the same sentence.
The author never allows the sadness of events, the disappointments of her characters' lives, to slide into the cynical. She loves her characters deeply, and because of her love for them, their small tragic lives are imbued with dignity, with majesty....more
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