The Collages of Helen Adam (Part II)
Many of Adam’s collages from this period marry images of society women with various, often fright-inducing creatures which in their juxtaposition create a psychological dichotomy of public versus private desires amidst expectations of beauty and femininity.
Cries for Help, Various – Padgett Powell
While Powell’s disengagement is unnerving, what is somewhat infuriating is a lack of critical response to his blatant sexism. Reviewers praise Powell as a visionary and kooky weirdo.
An understanding of craft should set us free.
In the 1950s, the Adams sisters shifted from their childhood practice of scrapbooking and bookmaking to a collaborative collage project—focused on representations of women in the media, witchcraft and magic, and their homeland of Scotland.
Not on Fire, but Burning – Greg Hrbek
If I could only praise Not on Fire one time, I would applaud its ability to make immediate and pressing a question that ordinarily feels naive and pointless: What if things had happened another way?
Now and At the Hour of Our Death – Susana Moreira Marques
Moreira Marques captures something essential about death in her book’s first half by touching only lightly on the specifics of the people she encounters, and rarely mentioning herself.
Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl – Carrie Brownstein
Brownstein doesn’t need to vomit to show us what’s inside her. She has the supernatural capability to unstitch her skin and show us her insides without bile or blood.
Memory Theater – Simon Critchley
For all his clarity in explaining philosophical concepts, Critchley is also adept at the use of ambiguity to create an aura of mystery that invites speculation long after the book is done.
Our favorite features from 2015, spanning topics from dinosaurs in philosophy to hucksterism in American literature.
This year, we read books like maps. Collected here are ten of our favorite reviews published in 2015.