Bluets

English language

Published Oct. 30, 2009 by Wave Books.

ISBN:
978-1-933517-40-7
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
303931395

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (20 reviews)

1 edition

Review of 'Bluets' on 'Storygraph'

3 stars

Didn't really enjoy this one. It is intriguing, reading a book written only about a colour. But at the same time I feel as if the author was trying too hard. The writing style was good, though. It's a new way I've explored of expressing oneself. But the thoughts, opinions, comments (? Idk, honestly) did not really seem to connect (at least to me) and were way too random and seem to come one after the other without any purpose whatsoever.

Review of 'Bluets' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

Maggie Nelson's Bluets packs a punch despite its small size. It can be read over the course of two days (one, really) as I did, but it could as easily be studied over a much longer period of time. There were some passages that eluded my understanding, but were beautifully written all the same. The most unique part of this piece is her style -- the book is written as a numbered list. I would definitely recommend this book, especially because even if you don't end up liking it, it doesn't take that long to read so you wouldn't lose much time.

Review of 'Bluets' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars


Writing the story of one’s life it is challenging; writing about your life must be one of the hardest things that one has to do. Autobiographies is one of most beloved forms of writing. A good autobiography can be fun and fascinating. A good autobiography must also be brutally honest.

An autobiography can take several forms, historical, philosophical, or poetic. Maggie Nelson’s Bluets is an experimental memoir, a blend of autobiographical writing, literary realism, analysis, and philosophical quotations and comments.

Bluets is a personal exploration, a captivating, candid, funny at times, book about the blue colour, about what blue means to Nelson, where blue is identified with love, loss, depression, sex, loneliness, shame, pain.

Bluets is written in fragments, the way Wittgenstein did, in order to think sequentially. Some of the fragments may seem district but together they create a unified, intense and beautiful narrative

Review of 'Bluets' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This extraordinary book is one of those gems, a raw and vivid piece of Lapis lazuli, that I’m inclined to say very little about so as to leave it all for you to discover. Told in numbered fragments, this biblio-bijou is many things. It’s a memoir, philosophical and emotional meditation, and a scientific study of Nelson’s lifelong love affair and obsession with the color blue, all of which are interwoven with her efforts to navigate intense heartbreak, ongoing longing and existential isolation, and the life-altering injury of a dear friend. This makes it the book sound like a very heavy read, and indeed it had me in tears throughout, but its format keeps it from ever feeling punishing. Perhaps it’s also part of the enigmatic magic of the color blue.

avatar for maxbittker

rated it

4 stars
avatar for whohanley

rated it

1 star
avatar for sorcerer

rated it

3 stars
avatar for caseyanderson

rated it

5 stars
avatar for otrops

rated it

5 stars
avatar for tealtorch

rated it

4 stars
avatar for velvet_shrimp

rated it

5 stars
avatar for hearse

rated it

5 stars