What I Loved
Back of the Book
A powerful and heartbreaking novel that chronicles the epic story of two families, two sons, and two marriages. Siri Hustvedt's What I Loved begins in New York in 1975, when art historian Leo Hertzberg discovers an extraordinary painting by an unknown artist in a SoHo gallery. He buys the work; tracks down the artist, Bill Wechsler; and the two men embark on a life-long friendship.
Leo's story, which spans twenty-five years, follows the evolution of the growing involvement between his family and Bill's-an intricate constellation of attachments that includes the two men; their wives, Erica and Violet; and their children, Matthew and Mark. The families live in the same building in New York, share a house in Vermont during the summer, keep up a lively exchange of thoughts and ideas, and find themselves permanently altered by one another. Over the years, they not only enjoy love but endure loss-in one case sudden, incapacitating loss; in another, a different kind, one that is hidden and slow-growing, and which insidiously erodes the fabric of their lives.
Intimate in tone and seductive in its complexity, the novel moves seamlessly from inner worlds to outer worlds, from the deeply private to the public, from physical infirmity to cultural illness. Part family novel, part psychological thriller, What I Loved is a beautifully written exploration of love, loss, and betrayal-and of a man's attempt to make sense of the world and go on living.
Why You Should Read It
In a review for the Guardian for Siri Hustvedt’s What I Loved, Geraldine Bedell writes (regarding the characters behavior in book one): “[Hustvedt’s] characters inhabit a rarefied world of SoHo art galleries and universities and are so preoccupied with interpreting their lives that you wonder how they manage to live them.” Much of the intellectual rigour of the book is exercised in this cold austerity inherent to the characters and the lofty episodes of their lives. The book becomes a much more conventionally propulsive read in its third part, whilst somehow retaining the analytical mode from the beginning—which one might begin to sense is inherent to Hustvedt herself. In increasing the crises of real life that begins to infect the lofty academic atmosphere at the center of the characters lives, the author reintroduces a warmth inherent to the human condition, a clear preoccupation of Hustvedt’s despite how rarely it is obliquely acknowledged in her work—like life itself, always about something else.
Memorable Passage
I don't want the words to be naked the way they are in faxes or in the computer. I want them to be covered by an envelope that you have to rip open in order to get at. I want there to be a waiting time -a pause between the writing and the reading. I want us to be careful about what we say to each other. I want the miles between us to be real and long. This will be our law -that we write our dailiness and our suffering very, very carefully.
About the Author
Siri Hustvedt, born on February 19, 1955, is a versatile and highly respected American author, essayist, and scholar whose work spans fiction, nonfiction, and interdisciplinary studies. With a background in literature, psychology, and neuroscience, Hustvedt's writing explores the intersections of art, science, and the complexities of human consciousness. Her novels, including What I Loved and The Blazing World, showcase her intellectual prowess and narrative dexterity, earning critical acclaim for their exploration of identity, memory, and the mysteries of the mind. Beyond her fiction, Hustvedt's essays delve into a wide range of subjects, from neuroscience to feminism, demonstrating a keen curiosity and insightful engagement with contemporary intellectual discourse. Her distinctive voice, intellectual rigor, and interdisciplinary approach make Siri Hustvedt worth knowing for her multifaceted contributions to literature, philosophy, and the broader cultural conversation.
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