sambellis's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.0
First person portrayal of a young woman during a semester at art school is San Francisco. The narrator, Joey, has major imposter syndrome and is constantly questioning just about everything in her life. Story center itself around a film class self-portrait project and weaves in elements of self-doubt, questioning your life choices, and how to reconcile both tenuous familial and shaky friend relationships. Written in an interesting style- short “chapters” feel more like diary entries. Interspersed with Craigslist job posts, Google searches, and handwriting. I loved the description of the artwork seen and created through this story. As someone who went to an art/design school for my BFA, I absolutely aligned with Joey and her feelings of inadequacy.
kajpm's review against another edition
3.25
Honestly I didn’t love it but I feel like I’ll read it again for some reason.
tinamayreads's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! TELL ME I’M AN ARTIST by Chelsea Martin is an amazing novel! It’s about Joey, who’s trying to navigate her new life at a San Francisco art school. In her film class she’s assigned to make a self-portrait and decides to remake the movie Rushmore despite never seeing the movie. I loved the art school setting as Joey has to give and receive critiques on her work, try to find a job and balance school work with friendships. While she procrastinates making her film project the anxious feeling of whether she’ll finish it on time is palpable. I loved the writing style which includes little snippets of diary like entries and the first person narration worked perfectly to get into Joey’s headspace. This is a fabulous coming of age story of a creative mind. I found it extremely relatable as Joey tries to make sense of Rushmore since I’ve never seen the movie either. There were some really witty and funny parts in this book and it made me reminisce on my time in art classes. I rarely stay up late to finish a book but I did with this one! I loved it from start to finish! It’s five stars for me!
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Thank you to Soft Skull Press for my advance reading copy!
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Thank you to Soft Skull Press for my advance reading copy!
real_strange_katy's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
rachelmac476's review against another edition
5.0
Why do strong emotions have more value in art than weak or complicated or mundane emotions?
I feel like this quote is the best possible summation of my feelings on this novel as a whole. Typically I try and reserve 5 stars for books that deeply moved me, often to tears. This book was not that - but I found myself pausing and thinking over sections, re-reading paragraphs to better understand and mull over what the author was saying, and I read it without thinking about what book I would pick up next (rare for me, these days...)
Tell Me I'm an Artist is an unpretentious story of a young woman, Joey, as she navigates art school. She knows she loves art passionately, but is uncertain of the best way to create it or interpret it. There are a couple quotes from the blurbs that stand out to me as particularly apt at describing this book:
...a portrait of the artist as a work in progress - Sharma Shields
...a vital love story not often told - that of an artist's passionate, tumultuous, and often absurd relationship with her art - Hallie Bateman
"Absurd" is a particularly good descriptor - Joey knows she loves art but she also knows that the value of the degree is questionable. She's funding her education through student loans - an extremely dubious financial decision (I'm speaking from experience); she does not come from money, quite the opposite. She has conflicting feelings over seeking an education at art school, given her family's financial situation. She both feels selfish and is told she's selfish by her mother and sister. Joey's family drama - in which her sister goes missing - is intertwined with Joey's journey at school. They're a reminder of her roots - of the world that she's trying to escape; an escape both from being poor and from a passionless, dreary life without art. This novel is a quiet but no less important personal journey for Joey - as she ends in a better place in her life, on a personal/ relationship level and on a financial level, though certainly not perfect.
This novel also had some of the most nuanced, impactful scenes exploring class and privilege that I have ever read. At one point, Joey goes dumpster diving with her friend Suz, who comes from a wealthy family. A man approaches and runs off when Joey and Suz notices him.
"What the hell," Suz said, laughing.
I laughed, too. We walked away from the dumpster, our backpacks full, a knot of guilt developing in my stomach. What I thought we were stealing from a major corporation with no moral compass we were in fact stealing from someone, a real person, with nothing at all.
Later, on the floor in my darkened apartment, surrounded by books, art supplies, thrifted furniture, nearly new, cheaply made textiles, and perfectly good almonds I had no intention of eating because the bag was dirty, I'd look up from the bright light of my phone and see my life in a way I hadn't before: as a gross display of wealth.
I bookmarked a lot of sections of this - both for this review and for myself, to go back to and think over in the days, weeks, months, and years to come.
obviouschild96's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
andthenweread's review against another edition
4.25
reminded me of the idiot, but at art school and with a more relatable protagonist
voidfart's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0