The Artist in Question

Written by Michael J. Seidlinger

Published by Civil Coping Mechanisms

Review by Emma Harrison

Receives:

I appreciate what this novel is trying to do. It is an avant-garde, part poetry, part stream-of-consciousness, and part prose look at how difficult writing is. A writer struggles with trying to articulate his thoughts to complete his novel, and he goes off on a desperate dream-like tangent of ideas. I am all for experimenting with the written word, and if the only purpose of The Artist in Question is to play with words, then it succeeded. If the intention was to draw readers in and feel for the angst-filled artist, then it did not. It’s as if the author is trying so hard to be experimental that reader comprehension is left aside. Even the blurb on the back cover is wordy and nearly impossible to understand. Was it not well-edited, or is the author trying extra hard to sound literary? Was it all supposed to be written by the artist as he descends into insanity? It's impossible to tell, and I didn't care enough about the artist to worry about it. This goes back to the old argument about whether or not it's possible to be experimental without alienating readers. Maybe others will be more patient with this book than I was. I like stories, as old-fashioned or boring as that might seem to the author of this novel. I think it is possible to be experimental within a story. Think Gabriel Garcia Marquez. There is a hint of a story in The Artist in Question, but not enough to win me over. I’m not interested in other people’s brain farts, and that's how this novel reads to me. If you want to read it just as a stream-of-consciousness experimental work of poetry, then you might like it. _______________________________________________________________

Emma Harrison is a writer who is starting a blog reviewing books, movies, television, and anything else that needs reviewing. Look for her blog coming soon.