294April 2020 THE WEEKARTSHowgreatanartistwasAndyWarhol,
askedKathrynHughesinThe
Guardian.Inthis“mesmerising”
biography,theveteranAmericancritic
BlakeGopniksuggeststhatWarhol
“hasovertakenPicassoasthemost
importantandinfluentialartistofthe
20thcentury”–andthatheeven
belongsonthe“toppeakofParnassus,
besideMichelangeloandRembrandt”.Suchclaimsmayseem
“vertiginous”,butGopnik“persuasivelyassembleshiscase”in
thisbook,whichisasmuch“arthistoryandphilosophyasitis
biography”.BasedonthethousandsofdocumentsthatWarhol,
alifelonghoarder,leftbehind,itpresentsitssubjectasatrail-
blazingfigurewhosemosticonicworks–his“silkscreensof
Marilyn,JackieandMao”,his“iterations” ofCampbell’ssoup
–reframedtheverytermson which art couldbediscussed.
This“monumental”biographyalsocorrects the prevailing
viewofWarhol asafeeble–andmostly asexual–waif,saidMick
BrowninTheDaily Telegraph.BorninPittsburghin 1 928 to
parentsnewlyarrived fromwhat isnow Slovakia,Warhol, it’s
true,was ashy and sicklychild. Yet afterrelocatingtoNewYork
in 1949 ,heworkedoutregularly(Lou
Reedcalledhisstrength“incredible”)
andbecameaprolificsexual
adventurer,seducingaseriesof
(usuallyyounger)men.LikeRobert
Mapplethorpe,hewasobsessedwith
penises:accordingtoafriend,total
strangerswouldbeaskedtodroptheir
pants,and“Andywouldmakea
drawing”.Warhol’sgayness,Gopnik
shows,influencedeveryaspectofhis
art,fromhiscamploveofpopculture
tohisoutsiderperspectiveonAmerica.
Warhol’sextraordinarysucce ss
wasbasedononesingleinsight,said
RogerLewisinTheTimes:“that
lowlyillustrationhadpotentialas
fineart”,thatAmerica’sbrashmaterialistculturedeservedtobe
celebrated.Andeventhiswasn’texactlynew:hadn’ttheDadaists
reachedthesameconclusiondec adesearlier?Writtenin“naff
prose”,Warhol:ALifeasArtisan“appallinglybloated”
treatmentofa“tinyoverinflatedtalent”.Inonesense,though,
thisisclearlya“definitive”biography,saidWaldemarJanuszczak
inTheSundayTimes.“Itisimpossible toimagineanyone finding
outmuch more aboutAndythanisrecorded here.”Warhol
junkies willdoubtlessappreciatethemini-biographiesof“Factory
citizenry”,andtheblow-by-blow accountofthe “operationthat
savedhimwhenhe wasshotbyValerie Solanas”. Forallthe
detail,though, Iwouldhavepreferred somethinglessweighty, but
witha“truer perspective”.Warhol:ALife as Art
by Blake Gopnik
Allen Lane 976pp £35
Review of reviews: BooksBookoftheweekInthis“fabulouslyindiscreetandfunny”memoir,
Rachel Johnsondescribesherill-fated attemptto
become apro-Remain MEP,said GabyHinsliff
in TheObserver.Johnson, asuccessfuljournalist,
had always resistedthe lureofpolitics.Butfinding
herself appalledbytheprospectofBrexit–and her
elderbrother’srole inbringingitabout –she decided
to standin last May’sEuropeanelections,asa
candidateforthe“breakaway”centristparty
ChangeUK.Herattempt to“blockBrexit”could
hardlyhavegoneworse, saidDavidSexton intheLondon EveningStandard:the
party failed towin asingle seat,andJohnsonproveda“calamitouscandidate”,
committingaseriesof cr ingeworthygaffes. In oneinter view, shedescribed
herselfas “therat that jumps on thesinking ship”;inanother,defending
herselfagainst thechargethat shehad two Agas, shepoint ed outthatatleast
they were“notinthe same house”. WithRake’s Progress,though, shehasput
theexperience togood use: this memoir is “remarkablefor itsradical honesty”.
It’s an“entertaining”book,with somenice turnsofphrase,said Patr ick Kidd
in TheTimes:Iloved thedescriptionofAnnunziata Rees-Mogg as “paleand
serious as an El Greco”.Still, Ifound myselfwishingIwas readingadifferent
work–one focusedless onthecampaigntrail,and moreon what it waslike to
growupinthe “family firm”. The Johnsonsarethe closest thing Britainhas to
theKennedy s(or should thatbethe Kardashians?), andit would be fascinating
to read aproper accountof th eir background.Evenso, “there isalot of fun
here”, becauseRachel “i snot worriedaboutcausi ng offence”, sa id Rosamund
UrwininThe Sunday Times. OurPMdoesnot comeout ofit well. “Ilove
Brexit,” heproclaimsat one poin t. “I lo ve howitmakeseveryone goso mad.”
Rake’s Progress
by Rachel Johnson
Simon&Schuster 272pp £16.99
Novel of the weekLost Children Archive
by Valeria Luiselli
4th Estate 400pp £16.99In one sense, this English-language debut by the
Mexican-American writer Valeria Luiselli is a
“classicroad-trip novel”,said Adam Lively in
The SundayTimes. An unnamednarrator, her
husbandand theirtwo children (by previous
relationships)drive from New York to Arizona.
She is aradio journalist, hoping to make a
documentaryaboutthe childmigrantsseparated
from theirparents at the border; heis a“more
experimentaldocumenterofsound”, obsessed
by capturing “echoes”ofthe last Apaches.The
coupleargue, andtheirchildren’s perspective is
captured with “touchingsympathy”.Muchof
the novel(whichwon this year’s Rathbones
Folio Prize)isan“engrossing” familyportrait.
As it progresses,however,LostChildren
Archivebecomes increasingly experimental,
said Siobhan Murphyin TheTimes. The
narrativeis“interrupted” by “musings”on
migration,Ezra Poundand Susan Sontag.
In short,this isno “beachread”. But it is
an occasionallybeautiful,often“trenchant”
workwhose“motiva tingcrisis”–the plight
of undocumentedchildre n–“forcesitself
thro ughwithmoving insistence”.The Week Bookshopis temporarilyclosedowing totheCovid-19 pandemic
We willendeavour to fulfilall outstanding orders, butcannottake any new orders atthis time.
Wewould like to take this opportunityto thankall ourcustomers for theirongoingsupport.