September book review: 'What I loved', by Siri Hustvedt

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Book: What I Loved, Siri Hustvedt


Publication date: 2003


WCRG Meeting: 14 September 2016


Rating: 6.1


This was a relatively small meeting in which there was an animated discussion of Siri Hustvedt’s much admired novel published in 2003. Most of the group had found the book readable after some initial difficulty in getting into the story but were left with a feeling of dissatisfaction, asking themselves ‘What was that about?’ When we analysed the dissatisfaction it seemed to relate to the multiplicity of themes that were introduced. The book takes the theme of grief for the death of the narrator’s son Matt who dies suddenly and unexpectedly. It shows how this tragedy affects both the father and the mother and shows them unable to understand each other’s grief to the extent that the wife, Erica goes away to California. 

This is only one of many themes that are picked up at some point in the novel. The ongoing theme of the narrator Leo is his friendship with and admiration for the artist Bill W. This was much more than an analysis of male friendship as the writer who is also an art historian, weaves in from the very beginning, a commentary on the paintings and constructions of the artist. One member of the group thought that this was extraneous and not an organic part of the novel although the symbolism, for example, of the artist’s shadow falling over the nude woman and of his calling it a self-portrait were also noted. The boxes or small set scenes that are described did seem to relate to what people experienced as a fragmentary presentation of ideas. Doreen had brought in a review of Joseph Cornell’’s boxes in the Cambridge Humanities Review but this understanding of the visual in relation to the verbal did not satisfy most of our readers. 

One of the main themes was the strange behaviour of Bill’s son Mark who, as one member pointed out had to become the son for both men after Leo’s son, Matt, had died. Mark becomes a strange and frightening figure who raises hopes continually that he has changed his behaviour but always reverts to the unscrupulous thief or maybe even accessory to murderer. His identity is unformed and the fluidity extends to his gender which added to the difficulty of readers to feel any empathy with him although most people found that the book did lead them to go on reading. 

We noted that the female characters are less clear than the men and are perhaps seen from the man’s perspective Perhaps from this point of view it is possible that his mother’s difficulties led Mark to his apparently psychopathic behaviour . This is an interesting point of view for a female novelist but everyone agreed that she did not let us go away with any sense of questions answered or solutions provided. 

Overall the group was not enthusiastic although some people said that they felt a little more positive at the end. We were grateful for the written thoughts of absent members. When we considered how we would rate the book, one person awarded 1 out of 10 which was certainly not positive? Overall the score was 6.1.