Pure Colour by Sheila Heti

JOINT REVIEW~PURE COLOUR

I cant do justice to the feeling this provoked. Published in February, this book will undoubtably spawn many academic papers, with myriad interpretations developed. I would happily read them all. It’s an eclectic masterpiece, pure art. It made me gasp with its perspicacity & insight, I put it down intermittently as this was so profound my brain had splattered inelegantly around me. 

Heti is known for weaving philosophy & social commentary into her work. The setting of the world as a draft, God as a painter, is the backdrop to a truly bizarre plot but the prose transcends the story, something I’ve never come across in literature. I now understand why she is revered by so many (Cusk says she has broken new ground, Rooney that she made her want to write). 

People will either love this with the ferocity of a thousand suns or be absolutely unmoved & confused, it’s divisive, creative, downright weird & I loved every minute reading it. I will never look at a leaf in the same way ~ C

It is difficult to describe how this novel made me feel. It was almost like an experience in & of itself —mystical, philosophical, unique, strange & rich with deep wisdom. In the world Heti has created, the very first draft of the world itself, we learn of love, life, grief and what comes thereafter. 

There were moments I found myself completely & utterly unsure of what was actually going on; when Mira, the central protagonist, goes home to her ailing father who then dies, she returns to a tree they liked & enters a leaf, where she finds herself in her father’s company. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that it is, in many ways, profoundly abstract & not one that’s for everyone (though is any book for everyone, really?). 

Yet, once I’d finished, I realised I’d tagged almost every page because Heti’s observations are so acutely on the money, I wanted to make sure I never forget them. So no, not for everyone, but if it is for you, I reckon Pure Colour is one you’ll drink up, savour, & never forget ~ S

Ad:PR Copies Profuse thanks to our friends at @harvillseckerfor the advance proofs, surprise bookmail that becomes treasured is the best type of post!

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