What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt

T H E S U P E R B. B E S T S E L L L E R Y O U M A Y N O T H A V E R E A D

Scrolling through #bookstagram makes it clear that there is a plethora of books that it feels as if *everybody* is #currentlyreading and, usually for very good reason too. Now, while I often love to read these myself, I personally also love to get lost in something that might not fall into that category — something that feels like a bit of a discovery for me, a hidden gem, that I can share with others. Though this book — What I Loved — is an international bestseller, I’d never actually heard of it until a friend urged me to read it about six years ago (@vfragisx, I’m pretty sure it was you). Published in 2003, I bought it for a holiday and it was *that good* that I read it on a number of car journeys that we took on that trip, despite it causing me to feel incredibly nauseous. 

The book follows the life-long friendship between Leo and Bill, the former an art critic and the latter an artist, and the close relationships between their respective families. Indeed, the two men are soon living with their other halves above each other in the same apartment block. Their wives give birth to their sons at a similar time. 

This is a novel about art and ideas but it is also about tragedy, grief and love. It had me on the edge of my seat (in the car!) throughout. What has stayed with me in the years since I read it is the magic, power and total beauty of Hustvedt’s prose as well as the feeling I had whilst I was reading it — of being in sunnier climes, my head firmly in a book and my mind completely, utterly and unapologetically captivated. Have a read. You won’t regret it ~ Sophie

On a side note, it’s Friday and that means we’ve made it through to the first weekend of lockdown 3.0. Whether you’ve been working, homeschooling, or doing both, or none of the above ~ our proverbial hats go off to you. Well done everyone!