---
product_id: 8361411
title: "The Blazing World: A Novel"
brand: "siri hustvedt"
price: "₱1999"
currency: PHP
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.ph/products/8361411-the-blazing-world-a-novel
store_origin: PH
region: Philippines
---
# The Blazing World: A Novel
**Brand:** siri hustvedt
**Price:** ₱1999
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock
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- **What is this?** The Blazing World: A Novel by siri hustvedt
- **How much does it cost?** ₱1999 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ph](https://www.desertcart.ph/products/8361411-the-blazing-world-a-novel)
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## Description
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## Customer Reviews
### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars
On Fire!
*by J***4 on Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2015*
I loved The Blazing World so much because it is both unabashedly erudite (footnotes and a title cribbed from Margaret Cavendish!), stylistically ambitious, and all without sacrificing rich, complex characters, especially Harriet "Harry" Burden, who is coping with tremendous rage and grief at the state of women in the art world in general and the state of her own undervalued brilliance in particular. Hustvedt's writing was a complete revelation to me, particularly her glorious descriptions of Harry's mixed-medium, gender-twisting work and the quirks of her life as the widow of a pre-eminent art dealer, Felix Lord. In the at times dizzying spiral of this collage of "testimonies" that include statements from critics, friends, collaborators, Harry's children and her own writings, we chart the course of Burden's fiery, Whitmaniacal intellectual journey and her rapacious ambitions to be considered a great artist, while Hustvedt manages to name-check herself as a "minor essayist and novelist" and Kierkegaard, Milton, Judith Butler, neuroscience of perception, Emily Dickinson, and numerous other theories of mind and identity that fashion an utterly compelling and deeply moving depiction of the ethics, desire, fame, and American culture at large that reinvigorates my own enduring interest in the interplay of gender theory and the literary and visual arts. It has been a long while since I've been so thoroughly inspired by feminist prose (from a review in Slate !) that I bought a novel without hesitation in hardcover. Hustvedt is not a new voice in fiction, but she is new to me, and I am eager to read her other works and discover what I've been missing. I don't think I've been this excited about a contemporary (non-Irish) novelist since reading Margaret Atwood in 7th grade.
### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars
Fictionalized Non-Fiction at its Best
*by C***E on Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2014*
This is a novel that defies all conventions about novel writing. Its format is quite literally like no other novel ever written (that I know of), which is why I bought it and read it. I love it when someone has the courage to break down all the rules. It's wonderful to find yourself in unknown, undiscovered territory. Very refreshing.The novel is different in both form and structure. To begin with, it presents itself like non-fiction. It pretends to be the work of an "editor" who has put together a biography/portrait of a recently deceased contempory artist, Harriet Burden. The (fictitious) editor uses, as is always done in this kind of work, testimonials from art critics, family and friends and extracts from the artist's personal diary.This format enables the author to tell Harriet Burden's story from various points of views. I was struck by the novelist's remarkable ability to change "voice" and convincingly draw a highly sensitive portrait, as Harriet is differently perceived by the people who knew her.From the start, you are told that she has recently shaken the New York art scene, putting on highly successful shows using male artists as "screens" or pseudonyms for her work. She has used three artists, two unknowns and one well-known, for this bizarre project that she has called "maskings" - a project intended to "prove" that one's perception of the art one sees is governed by one's knowledge of the artist. In particular, she wants to show that art made by a man sells better than art made by a woman; that there is a diffuse gender bias in the art world. Harriet Burden's art had never attained prominence when it was shown under her own name but now it suddenly achieves success simply because it is seen by the public as the work of a man.Harriet Burden's plans go awry when Rune, the third artist who is a celebrity in his own right, refuses to reveal that she is the author of the show. He takes on all the critical acclaim, leaving her in the dirt. She smarts from the injustice and as a reader, you smart along with her - which shows how effective the author's writing is.No spoilers and I won't give out more of the plot, except to say that the story is practically known from the start. That's another peculiarity of this novel: there is next to no suspense. You know from the first page that Harriet is dead and you know very soon what happens to the man who betrayed her (the third artist in her "maskings" project).So why do you keep reading? Because of the superb writing of course, and because of something else too. Questions are asked that you never thought of asking. The book is filled with gems - insights into life and art and the human condition. The sort of thing that gives you arresting moments of self-revelation and a deeper understanding of the world around you. To give you an idea: - "...it is not what is said that makes us who we are. More often, it is what remains unspoken" (this came up in connection with Harriet's upbringing and difficult relationship with her father); - "It is my time, and I will not let them take it away from me. The Greeks knew that the mask in the theater was not a disguise but a means of revelation. And now that I have started, I can feel the winds behind me...(Harriet, commenting on her "maskings" project); - "Mostly, the art business has been about men. And when it has been about women, it has often been about correcting past oversights. It is interesting that not all, but many women were celebrated only when their days as desirable sexual objects had passed." - "Human beings are the only animals who kill for ideas." - "Celebrity is life in the third person."Is there anything wrong with this novel?Yes, for anyone looking for suspense. There is none. There is even a slowdown in the middle of the book when it becomes a little too "academic". There's a little too much about art, perception and gender. To a large extent - you're warned! - this is a feminist book. Harriet Burden makes a lot of allusions to philosophers in her diaries, allusions that would get lost or misunderstood without (very academic) footnotes. So you find yourself reading the footnotes. Actually, there's a certain, perverse pleasure in reading them but at times, it does become heavy-going. And perhaps, while the footnotes make sense in a book that pretends to be non-fiction, they certainly detract from the pleasure of reading the book as a novel - in principle, a form that never has any footnotes (unless it's a classic for school use). Hence the 4 stars though I had set out to give it five.My conclusion? It is well worth reading and I highly recommend it. But it really isn't a novel as such - more an intellectual joy ride. Many of the same questions that animate "The Blazing World" recur in Hustvedt's essays, notably in "Living, Thinking, Looking": How do we see, remember, and feel? How do we interact with other people? What does it mean to sleep, dream, and speak? What is "the self"?
### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect for theory-heads who still have a heart
*by B***E on Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2014*
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I am heartbroken at the ending and in love with this book. It is raw and deeply emotional on the one hand and urbane and intellectual on the other. I want more books like this. I read it slowly just so that I could savor it a little longer. Hustvedt blends PhD-level theoretical analysis with an engrossing tale populated by wonderfully and grotesquely human characters. I identified with Harriet, with her lumpy old lady body, churning emotions, her constant grasping for more, and a brain too canny for her own good. I loved to hate that insufferable moron Oswald Case. I adored Rachel Briefman and Phineas Q. Eldridge and Bruno. I came to appreciate the central importance of the characters who seemed simple and marginal but who were really essential to the lived reality of the main characters all along - the Kirstens and Sweet Autumns of the world, and the Maisies suspended indefinitely between the ordinary and the artistic. Most of the book had an eerie, ominous vibe as the novel meandered towards Rune's peculiar death - but towards the end, the story veered suddenly into the gnawing brutality of Harriet's all-too-recognizable end. I sobbed through the final chapters. Earlier, I laughed. I raged. I analyzed. I was moved, emotionally and intellectually. This book and its characters will stay with me for a very long time. I believe it is the best book I have ever read, to date. It is perfect for readers like me, and a book like this only comes around very rarely. Of course, if you're not into contemporary critical theory, maybe you won't like this book very much. But for me, a PhD student in political theory who still harbors a full-hearted reader of fiction inside me, this book fit just right.
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*Store origin: PH*
*Last updated: 2026-04-22*