The Art of Love (& Loathing)
A Novel
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3 months free
The Art of Love (& Loathing)
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Narrated by:
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Patrick Zeller
About this listen
All that Arthur Kimble wants is for life to return to the way it was, but as a pill-popping alcoholic reluctantly fighting addiction, the nostalgic ex-husband of an unwanted marriage, and the close friend to a quick-witted imaginary pigeon, the odds aren't exactly in his favor.
With expectations in his writing career diminishing, Arthur invests his hope into the love of his two teenage children. But it is the fear of change that leads him on a path bound for isolation and perhaps prison, a path that not even his personal heroes may be able to save him from.
The Art of Love (& Loathing) is the narrative of a human in the modern world trying to find what truths are hidden beneath all the contradictions of life. This novel seeks to inspire fresh perspective, self-examination, and the exploration of answers that might otherwise seem too intimidating to face. Perhaps, it may even spark a little courage.
©2019 Stephen Daniel Ruiz (P)2024 Stephen Daniel RuizListener received this title free
The audio version is certainly enhanced by the narrator's voice acting. The laconic delivery at the start sets the tone and he is able not just to differentiate between male and female characters, but makes each one distinctive. It is read with understanding and intelligence.
The plot is simple in describing a writer who hero worships another writer and discovers their secret. The book our main character wants to write has an anti-hero at its core. The first meta level is that our author is writing about an anti-hero who wants to create a work of art as legacy. The main character has alcohol and drug addictions, suffers from a degree of hubris, confronts ethical dilemmas, his marriage and relationship with his children is falling apart and his job is in jeopardy. The descriptions are so vivid and the character's mantra is "write what you know" it made me wonder about the author's own story. Although this is an audio, the script is good at "showing, not telling" and lets the audience make their own deductions and draw their own conclusions. There is a small section of exposition of the character's take on loving and loathing, but these feelings for self and others are explored throughout the book. Another quirk of our anti-hero is his relationship with the character he created in his youth - a crime solving London pigeon. Meta comes in again as he also says the characters he creates have a life and purpose of their own.
I received a free copy, and am leaving this review voluntarily.
Literary fiction at its meta meta best.
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