Paperback, 391 pages
English language
Published June 1, 2003 by Picador (UK).
"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 and tracks down the artist, Bill Wechsler, and the two men embark on a lifelong 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 …
"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 and tracks down the artist, Bill Wechsler, and the two men embark on a lifelong 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.
Sad, but not only sad. I felt close to the characters, and comfortable with our narrator. It’s so Artsy and New York-y that it is almost a literary parody. But the important thing is the friendships.
I loved the story and how it progresses from a chronicle of relationships and the stages of development of a young artist to a psychological thriller and the rise of post-modern, popular culture with its grotesque, hedonistic and dehumanising characteristics.
Several themes are present in this book. Hysteria, eating disorders and psychopathy. Also, the harrowing subject of children that give way to crime, drugs and dishonesty. Are the reasons of this lack of principles genetic, is it the impact of their parents’ actions and behaviours, or it is the popular culture that corrupt them?
A book that leave you thinking long after you have finish reading it.
