“This is an odd book which is kind of a stream of consciousness rant about the ways in which an artist struggles with what the author calls "Resistance." That in itself is not odd, there are many books on 'the writer's journey' but this one reads as though the author is angry at anyone who lets anything at all get "in the way" of their art, and I do wonder if he's realised just how narcissistic he is encouraging artists to be: for example, someone who puts attending the birth of their child above sitting down to write every day is giving in to resistance!
The best way to approach this book is probably to think of it as an editorial - it's just a guy with a bunch of opinions about why a "true artist" takes his art seriously. If you're pining for someone to tell you that it's okay to ignore your loved ones and responsibilities while you work, then this is the book for you, but I don't know what on earth you're going to write about if you avoid the world as completely as he seems to suggest. The other warning about the book is not to expect anything on how to actually achieve this resistance to Resistance. Yes, he mentions over and again, sitting down to it every day and that the angels and God and muses just arrive because you're sitting down and have chosen to neglect everything else around you, but that's hardly new or helpful advice - though it does go with the general, frantic, cult-leader-esque, spiritual mish-mash feel to the whole book.
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Danisidhe wrote this review Tuesday, August 7, 2012.
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