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A review by rykel_r
White on White by Ayşegül Savaş
5.0
white on white belongs to the cohort of contemporary confessional novels; the kind that author brandon taylor describes as being "dominated by character vapor". he goes on to write: " these novels run right through you. their primary virtue being an evocation of the fleeting, atomized nature of contemporary consciousness."
and i think the imparting of consciousness is the conceit of this novel, set around the interactions of the a postgrad art history student (our narrator), and an artist called agnes. white on white is a novel of conversations --or really of agnes' monologues-- and has been popularly compared to the form and sensibilities of rachel cusk's outline as agnes' stories are told through our narrator. i would offer too, cusk's second place. yet, savaş has inverted the confessional framework. whereas the vapourous narrators of cusk's works represent themselves and their inner lives through diaristic self-confession or the thematic concerns of revisited conversations, the narrator in savaş's work is even further removed. our narrator here remains nameless and i would argue genderless.
there is an icy neutrality and anonymity to this narrator. the cleverness of cusk's character outline is reclaimed in savaş's title white on white which for me evokes a metaphor for invisibility. i'm so fascinated by the innovation of the detached narrator, this new condition of the traditional storyteller.
this novel also focuses on the relational experience of life--the interpersonal. the topics of conversation are often centered on agnes' relationships to her spouse, parents, friends, children. and of course, there is the relationship to her own art-- the notion of art as a form of consciousness, representation and a means of coming of age.
savaş's writing is exquisite yet restrained. i loved the descriptive flourishes of setting, of the passage of the seasons, of clothing, as well as the subtle play with light and shadow. she is a literary portraitist.
this short novel is so delicately layered cerebral and even slightly chilling. i can go on and on... but i wholeheartedly recommend!!!
and i think the imparting of consciousness is the conceit of this novel, set around the interactions of the a postgrad art history student (our narrator), and an artist called agnes. white on white is a novel of conversations --or really of agnes' monologues-- and has been popularly compared to the form and sensibilities of rachel cusk's outline as agnes' stories are told through our narrator. i would offer too, cusk's second place. yet, savaş has inverted the confessional framework. whereas the vapourous narrators of cusk's works represent themselves and their inner lives through diaristic self-confession or the thematic concerns of revisited conversations, the narrator in savaş's work is even further removed. our narrator here remains nameless and i would argue genderless.
there is an icy neutrality and anonymity to this narrator. the cleverness of cusk's character outline is reclaimed in savaş's title white on white which for me evokes a metaphor for invisibility. i'm so fascinated by the innovation of the detached narrator, this new condition of the traditional storyteller.
this novel also focuses on the relational experience of life--the interpersonal. the topics of conversation are often centered on agnes' relationships to her spouse, parents, friends, children. and of course, there is the relationship to her own art-- the notion of art as a form of consciousness, representation and a means of coming of age.
savaş's writing is exquisite yet restrained. i loved the descriptive flourishes of setting, of the passage of the seasons, of clothing, as well as the subtle play with light and shadow. she is a literary portraitist.
this short novel is so delicately layered cerebral and even slightly chilling. i can go on and on... but i wholeheartedly recommend!!!