Girl Reading by Katie Ward is a book of short stories inspired by art of women (or girls) reading.
To be honest most of the stories went in one ear and out the other, as the saying goes. No quotations were used to denote speech which didn’t seem like a big deal at first but I found it distracting and annoying the more I read. I would have actually liked a little more about the art itself although the stories did get better toward the last ones in the book.
For me there are two stories that stand out. The first one being Angelica Kauffman and it got to me very much because of a personal loss. One of the main characters is in mourning and she brings in the artist to draw a portrait of her lost love reading. It’s a really beautiful story but like I said I think it may be one of those things where it was reaching me on a personal level. Yet it did help. It made me feel better.
Sincerity Yabuki Sibil is the last story and it’s the one that actually ties all the others together. It’s a vision of what art and appreciating art might look like in our future. It’s the most interesting of the stories and not the most pleasant of visions but it actually makes you think about where we are going and even know how we are interacting with “art” in our present times.
Like I said the book was well-written and it ties together nicely at the end. I liked it but mostly for personal reasons and that last vision of our future.