num_pages: 352
description: In this innovative synthesis of words and images the award-winning author of Open City and photography critic for The New York Times Magazine combines two of his great passions.One of Times Best Non-Fiction Books of 2017 So FarTo look is to see only a fraction of what one is looking at. Even in the most vigilant eye there is a blind spot. What is missing?When it comes to Teju Cole the unexpected is not unfamiliar: Hes an acclaimed novelist an influential essayist and an internationally exhibited photographer. In Blind Spot readers follow Coles inimitable artistic vision into the visual realm as he continues to refine the voice eye and intellectual obsessions that earned him such acclaim for Open City.Here journey through more than 150 of Coles full-color original photos each accompanied by his lyrical and evocative prose forming a multimedia diary of years of near-constant travel: from a park in Berlin to a mountain range in Switzerland a church exterior in Lagos to a parking lot in Brooklyn; landscapes beautiful or quotidian that inspire Coles memories fantasies and introspections. Ships in Capri remind him of the work of writers from Homer to Edna OBrien; a hotel room in Wannsee brings back a disturbing dream about a friends death; a home in Tivoli evokes a transformative period of semi-blindness after which the photography changed. . . . The looking changed.As exquisitely wrought as the work of Anne Carson or Chris Marker Blind Spot is a testament to the art of seeing by one of the most powerful and original voices in contemporary literature.Praise for Blind SpotThis lyrical essay in photographs paired with texts explores the mysteries of the ordinary. Coles questioning tentative habit of mind suspending judgement while hoping for the brief miracle of insight is a form of what used to be called humanism.New York Times Books Review (Editors Choice)An eye-opening exploration of the world time and how the two connect.Nylon[Teju] Coles fiction and essays are incredible unexpected and beautiful; hes also a spectacular photographer. His first collection of photographs each image accompanied by his stunning prose promises to show us the world through his eyes which always seem to see things in a brilliant new light.Lisa Lucas National Book FoundationOnce you get a taste of [Coles] writing you can quickly (and hungrily) burn through whats available. Thankfully Blind Spot will indulge the senses by combining both of Coles loves in this . . . full-color collection of Coles photos accompanied by his prose.The WeekMany artists have felt the lure of juxtaposing photographs and text but few have succeeded as well as Teju Cole. He approaches this problem with an understanding of the limitations and glories of each medium.Stephen Shore author of Uncommon PlacesColes deeply affecting work juxtaposes tragedy with hidden-in-plain-sight beauty as he embraces poetic possibility in every scene and moment.Booklist Memoir meets museum catalog . . . A strange cerebral and very beautiful journey.Kirkus ReviewsThis ambitious study deserves a spot on the shelf next to Roland Barthess Camera Lucida and Susan Sontags On Photography.Publishers Weekly (starred review)
language: None
title: Blind Spot
publisher: Faber  Faber