Hardcover
Published by Rowohlt Verlag GmbH, Rowohlt Verlag Gmbh.
« Reno a trois passions : la vitesse, la moto et la photographie. Elle débarque à New York en 1977 et s'installe à Soho, haut lieu de la scène artistique, où elle fréquente une tribu dissolue d'artistes rêveurs, qui la soumettent à une éducation intellectuelle et sentimentale. Reno entame alors une liaison avec l'artiste Sandro Valera, fils d'un grand industriel milanais, qu'elle suit en Italie. Tous deux sont bientôt emportés dans le tourbillon de violence des années de plomb. Un roman d'apprentissage virtuose au centre duquel Reno, jeune femme « en quête d'expériences », se construit face au miroir déformant de l'art et du mensonge. »--
Loved this book. Great writing, set in a gritty New York City amongst artists and activists. One of the best novels I've read in a long time.
Rachel Kushner 's writing is awesome. This is a long novel, and even if I didn't always know where it was going, it held my attention. The characters and situations are intriguing in this memorable novel about a young woman coming into her own during an interesting time.
First off, as a whippet owner, I have to make clear there's no such thing as a "miniature whippet." The author means an Italian Greyhound. Anyway, I'd give this novel 3.5 stars if I could -- the first 3/4 is a bit of a slog, but it's worth it for the remaining 1/4. The character development of what's initially an irritatingly young and naive ingenue is well-written and believable, and it presents interesting questions about what constitutes art and/or a meaningful life. The secondary characters are colorful and carefully drawn. The story, although slow to develop, ultimately ties all its threads together in an interesting way, and I found the ending very satisfying.
Beautifully written; dull characters; not enough plot. Wanted to like it but did not.
