Review by Choice Review
Prideaux is a published novelist who tells a good story. In her tale of Munch, the narrative pull is strong. Characters come to life. As a biographer she makes good use of unpublished material like the diary of Ludvig Ravensberg, Munch's cousin. But as a reliable biography, the book falls short. The author's flair for fleshing out the story in imaginative scenes takes on the air of fiction, outstripping sources that are not always cited. Sensationalism like that surrounding Hans J^Daeger may make a good story, but not a trustworthy picture of Munch's life. The reader frequently will ask for more convincing evidence, as in the characterization of Munch's family and his relations with women, including models (Sarah Epstein's and Frank Hrifrdt's solid research here is not mentioned). Proofreading was not thorough (1893 for 1883, p. 68; plates 57, 58 for 59, 57, p. 139; Moe for Thurmann-Moe, p. 369); the Norwegian alphabet suffers throughout in important names (Jaeger for J^Daeger, ^DoAasgaardstrand for ^DoAsgaardstrand). For the mountain of work that has gone into this study the result is disappointing, with the exception of the plates, which are stunning. ^BSumming Up: Optional. Graduate students; faculty and researchers. J. G. Holland emeritus, Davidson College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Edvard Munch (1863-1944) has always generated controversy. Long after his best-known work, The Scream0 , attained iconic status as a Mona Lisa0 of modern angst, it was brazenly stolen from Norway's National Museum as though Munch exerted what art historian Prideaux described as his "psychotic inability to part with his paintings" from the grave. Not to mention taking a final swipe at a society that vilified him. As one reads Prideaux's meticulously detailed yet always companionable and often startling account of Munch's dramatically difficult life and extraordinarily intense psyche, one marvels that he lived so long and achieved so much. Buffeted by his father's hellfire religious beliefs, his mother's and sister's early deaths, and his own grave illnesses, Munch turned to drawing and writing as modes of survival, and so extensive are his compelling journals, Prideaux makes Munch's voice a key aspect of her narrative. Prone to visions and indifferent to convention, Munch drank to excess, went hungry, became enmeshed in harrowing romantic entanglements, and suffered vicious condemnation of his shocking work. As Prideaux vividly chronicles Munch's tumultuous life in turbulent times in Norway, Paris, and Berlin, the reader's appreciation of this bold spirit who risked all to descend into the realm of archetypes and create art depicting "the secret life of the soul" grows exponentially. --Donna Seaman Copyright 2005 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Most famous for his painting The Scream, an iconic expression of anxiety and a reflection of his inner torment, Edvard Munch strove to paint his "soul's diary," a quest Prideaux chronicles incisively in this fascinating study. The first comprehensive English-language biography of Munch (1863-1944) presents an in-depth artistic, intellectual and psychological portrait of the Norwegian artist. A novelist and art historian, Prideaux (Magnetic North) enlivens her narrative with excerpts from Munch's diaries, effectively tracing the roots of his mental suffering: his father's religious fanaticism, the death of his mother and favorite sister, the insanity of another sister and the fear that he would go mad himself. Prideaux also charts Munch's intellectual influences, his immersion in Nietzsche and Dostoyevski and his involvement with a group of radical Norwegian intellectuals, including Hans Jaeger (a founding father of existentialism), and his later notable association with playwright and painter August Strindberg. Munch's angst-ridden paintings, imbued with fears of sex, illness and death, shocked the conservative Norwegian public, but found a receptive audience in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, where the study of mental disorders was coming into vogue. This penetrating account of his life sheds light on the inner demons that drove him to create these disturbing images. (Oct) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
In 1893, Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (1863-1944) painted The Scream, which became an icon for anxiety and alienation in the modern age. With scholarly care and skill, art historian and novelist Prideaux (Magnetic North) presents the first comprehensive biography of the artist to appear in English. Drawing from his personal papers, letters, and diaries, she examines Munch's life, beginning with his difficult childhood. Munch's mother died when he was five; he contracted tuberculosis at 13 and, near death himself, spent a winter in a sanatorium; his favorite sister, Sophie, died when he was 15; and, overall, the family was impoverished. Prideaux notes that these experiences influenced his dark and brooding paintings of loneliness and loss. Munch's greatest success was in Germany, where he inspired that country's expressionist movement. Much later, the story of the Nazi reaction to Munch's art, which officials condemned, confiscated, and then hoarded, is fascinating. Prideaux is not presenting an argument here but introducing and following Munch's own theme, which was to "paint his life." Her treatment is very effective and her writing, cohesive, clear, and often compelling. Recommended.-Ilene Skeen, Hunter Coll., New York (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
