Overview

""Catherine Cusset's book caught a lot of me. I recognised myself"" DAVID HOCKNEY ""A perfect short expose of Hockney's life as seen through the eyes of an admiring novelist"" Kirkus Reviews ""Hers is an affirming vision of a restless talent propelled by optimism and chance"" New York Times With clear, vivid prose, this meticulously researched novel draws an intimate, moving portrait of the most famous living English painter. Born in Bradford in 1937, David Hockney had to fight to become an artist. After leaving home for the Royal College of Art in London his career flourished, but he continued to struggle with a sense of not belonging, because of his homosexuality, which had yet to be decriminalised, and because of his inclination for a figurative style of art, which was not sufficiently ""contemporary"" to be valued. Trips to New York and California - where he would live for many years and paint his iconic swimming pools - introduced him to new scenes and new loves, beginning a journey that would take him through the fraught years of the AIDS epidemic. A compelling hybrid of novel and biography, David Hockney: A Life offers an insightful overview of a painter whose art is as accessible as it is compelling, and whose passion to create has never been deterred by heartbreak or illness or loss. Translated from the French by Teresa Lavender Fagan

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9781911350804

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Reviews

Cusset's style oozes with delicacy, pointedness, and gusto. A perfect short exposé of Hockney's life as seen through the eyes of an admiring novelist. * Kirkus Reviews * This book is a gem. A hybrid of biography and novelistic chiaroscuro in which Catherine Cusset, a widely translated French novelist, tells us ""I have imagined feelings, thoughts, and dialogue -- Richard Cytowic * New York Journal * Life of David Hockney feels almost as sunny as the poolside California that was the artist's longtime muse. Cusset never lets her intellectual digressions slow the tempo of her staccato prose. Hers is an affirming vision of a restless talent propelled by optimism and chance -- Ayten Tytici * New York Times * Like Mr Hockney, Cusset mixes lush visuals with pervasive melancholy, and as her subject reaches belated maturity, her prose grows increasingly nuanced. By the book's end, the great painter feels fragile and accessible, both a legend and a fallible man * Economist * What a breezy delight this book is! -- Brad Auerback * Entertainment Today *

A work halfway between novel and biography, which plunges us into the fascinating world of the famous British figurative artist. * La Presse * At the heart of this exercise in admiration, David Hockney is not only the artist who loves swimming pools, beautiful boys, trees, and the English countryside. He also appears as a fragile hero. * L'Obs * Cusset magnificently pays homage to the artist, revisiting half a century of art history. * Lire * A dazzling portrait of a man striving for a life at odds with the world. Beautiful, fascinating, and heartrending-this book amazes. I couldn't put it down. -- Nick White, author of Sweet and Low A gem...Cusset's imaginative novel captures the journey through time of Hockney's life. * New York Journal of Books * A masterpiece...A daring blend of biography and novel, [Life of David Hockney] captures Hockney's work with a deep, captivating sense of empathy and understanding. * Bookstr * An inviting and entertaining portrait...Cusset's brisk, engaging novel manages to leave readers with a sense that they know Hockney more intimately than if they'd try to plow through an art history tome. * The Millions, Three Must-Read Novels About Artists * Cusset writes well and clearly...and tells the story of Hockney's life with economy and style...compelling. * Los Angeles Review of Books * [A] tour de force...Cusset brilliantly integrates the selectivity of detail enjoyed by a novelist with the more formal structure usually exercised in a nonfiction account. * Booklist * A perfect short expose of Hockney's life. * Kirkus Reviews * A delicate, empathetic writer unabashedly following Hockney from his birth in 1937 with sympathy and understanding...Cusset gets him-you should too. * Boston Herald * Moving, amusing, and engaging. The novel is a breezy read, easily enjoyed on a chaise beside a Hockney swimming pool. * Los Angeles Times * Reading Life of David Hockney somehow mimics the experience of looking at a painting by the artist...vivid...compelling. * The Economist * Vivid scenes...combine with loving descriptions of Hockney's canvases to create an engaging chronicle. * The New Yorker * As sunny as the poolside California that was the artist's longtime muse...an affirming vision of a restless talent propelled by optimism and chance...Cusset captures the psyche of a painter. * New York Times Book Review * Stylish...lucidly written, adheres closely to the outlines of Mr. Hockney's life...novels about artists have certain advantages over straight biographies...the autobiographical roots of art have never been more clear. -- Deborah Solomon * New York Times *

Stylish...lucidly written, adheres closely to the outlines of Mr. Hockney's life...novels about artists have certain advantages over straight biographies...the autobiographical roots of art have never been more clear. -- Deborah Solomon * New York Times * As sunny as the poolside California that was the artist's longtime muse... an affirming vision of a restless talent propelled by optimism and chance... Cusset captures the psyche of a painter. * New York Times Book Review * Vivid scenes... combine with loving descriptions of Hockney's canvases to create an engaging chronicle. * The New Yorker * Reading David Hockney: A Life somehow mimics the experience of looking at a painting by the artist... vivid... compelling. * The Economist * Moving, amusing, and engaging. The novel is a breezy read, easily enjoyed on a chaise beside a Hockney swimming pool. * Los Angeles Times * A delicate, empathetic writer unabashedly following Hockney from his birth in 1937 with sympathy and understanding...Cusset gets him-you should too. * Boston Herald * A perfect short expose of Hockney's life. * Kirkus Reviews * [A] tour de force...Cusset brilliantly integrates the selectivity of detail enjoyed by a novelist with the more formal structure usually exercised in a nonfiction account. * Booklist * Cusset writes well and clearly... and tells the story of Hockney's life with economy and style... compelling. * Los Angeles Review of Books * An inviting and entertaining portrait... Cusset's brisk, engaging novel manages to leave readers with a sense that they know Hockney more intimately than if they'd try to plow through an art history tome. * The Millions, Three Must-Read Novels About Artists * A masterpiece... A daring blend of biography and novel, [David Hockney: A Life] captures Hockney's work with a deep, captivating sense of empathy and understanding. * Bookstr * A gem... Cusset's imaginative novel captures the journey through time of Hockney's life. * New York Journal of Books * A dazzling portrait of a man striving for a life at odds with the world. Beautiful, fascinating, and heartrending-this book amazes. I couldn't put it down. -- Nick White, author of Sweet and Low Cusset magnificently pays homage to the artist, revisiting half a century of art history. * Lire * At the heart of this exercise in admiration, David Hockney is not only the artist who loves swimming pools, beautiful boys, trees, and the English countryside. He also appears as a fragile hero. * L'Obs * A work halfway between novel and biography, which plunges us into the fascinating world of the famous British figurative artist. * La Presse *

Author Information

Catherine Cusset was born in Paris in 1963. A graduate of the Ecole normale superieure in Paris and agregee in Classics, she taught eighteenth-century French literature at Yale from 1991 to 2002. She is the author of thirteen novels, including The Story of Jane and L'autre qu'on adorait (short-listed for the 2016 Prix Goncourt), and has been translated into seventeen languages. Cusset lives in Manhattan with her American husband and daughter.

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