Kester is brilliant. A fantastic historical and theoretical analysis of social realm based art. One of the most thoughtful accounts of recent art that you will find.

Each reader will find individual aspects of it specifically speak more or less loudly to them. This book is definitely a dive into the reality of the shadows. I am still haunted by it, the lingering images of the lives and works of the artists.

For the most part, this book really fails to do what she was exploring loneliness and aloneness. She tries to be poignant but it comes off as pandering and trying too hard to sound poignant. Any thought-provoking promise is just all in the blurb.

The book quickly reads pretentious and it grows distracting and tiresome. The marketing over-hype on this book/author only makes me think the pr team knew they had a dud. This is the most depressing book i have ever read.