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Liked It “if I remeber correctly this one is about Rabo Karabeakin, Personal favorite, Hidden Gem.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “I had trouble getting into this one and I don't remember much of it. Oh well. I hear it's especially popular among people in my age group (twenties), but still... I don't know. I wouldn't call it bad.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“I had trouble getting into this one and I don't remember much of it. Oh well. I hear it's especially popular among people in my age group (twenties), but still... I don't know. I wouldn't call it bad.”
Grant G wrote this review Thursday, October 29 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“if I remeber correctly this one is about Rabo Karabeakin, Personal favorite, Hidden Gem.”
IVirOrfeo wrote this review Saturday, September 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“my mom made me read it when i was fifteen. she thought it would help.”
katycoyote wrote this review Wednesday, August 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“At the opening of the book, the narrator, Rabo Karabekian, apologizes to the arriving guests: "I promised you an autobiography, but something went wrong in the kitchen..." He describes himself as a museum guard who answers questions from visitors coming to see his priceless collected art. He shares the lonely home with his live-in cook and her daughter, Celeste.
Wendy B wrote this review Wednesday, April 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
One afternoon, Circe Berman wanders onto Karabekian's private beach. When he reaches out to greet her, she catches him by surprise with the forward statement "Tell me how your parents died." He tells her the story and proceeds to invite her back to his home for a drink. After a drink and supper, Karabekian invites her to stay with him, as Paul Slazinger does. After a time, he begins to find her charm "manipulative", as she typically gets her way. Mrs. Berman does not respect his abstract art collection, including works by Jackson Pollock. She explores every inch of Karabekian's home, constantly asking him questions. The only place that is off-limits to her is the potato barn.
The potato barn is the home of Karabekian's studio and holds his "secret". The barn has no windows, and Karabekian has gone through the trouble of nailing one end shut and immobilizing the other with six padlocks. The secret of the potato barn has enticed collectors to make outrageous offers and to raise suspicions of stolen masterpieces. It is to remain locked until after Karabekian passes away.
[edit] Characters in "Bluebeard"
Rabo Karabekian — Karabekian is a 71-year-old, one-eyed, Armenian immigrant painter. He lives in 19-room house on the waterfront of East Hampton, Long Island, which he inherited from his second wife Edith.
Circe Berman - Circe selects Karabekian's home as a place to research and write about working-class adolescents living with multi-millionaires. While living there she more or less takes charge of Karabekian's life and tells him to start writing an autobiography, which he does. After she impulsively renovates Karabekian's foyer without his permission--removing many of the things Karabekian's dead wife had used to decorate it in doing so--the two get into a heated argument which results in her departure, although she soon returns and is accepted back. This is the most notable example of Circe's disregard for other people's privacy and personal space. Although Rabo does most of the things she wants him to, he will not tell her what is in the potato barn no matter how much she pressures him to do so. She is a well-published novelist under the pen name "Polly Madison." Her novels, although very popular, are criticized for tainting the world's youth.
Paul Slazinger - Slazinger is a poor, wounded World War II veteran. Though he owns his own home, he stays with Karabekian and eats from his kitchen. He refuses permanent residence on the grounds that "he can only write at home". He has had 11 novels published, but is not in the league of Circe Berman.
Dan Gregory - Originally named Dan Gregorian before moving to America and changing his name. A magazine article estimated him to be the highest-paid artist in American history. That he is Armenian like Rabo's family causes Rabo's mother to believe he is a great man, an example of an Armenian who has become a success in America. She insists that her son write to "Gregorian", as she calls him, to ask for an apprenticeship. Karabekian became "Gregorian's" apprentice at the age of 17.He is extremely pro-fascist and is obsessed with Benito Mussolini, whom he greatly admires. His high opinion of Mussolini results in him getting into arguments with such men as W.C. Fields and Al Jolson, who subsequently refuse to associate with him. He eventually goes to Italy to work directly for Mussolini during the Second World War. He is accepted by Mussolini, who welcomes the public support of such a famous artist, but is finally killed in battle by British troops.
Marilee Kemp - Marilee was Dan Gregory's mistress, who persuaded Gregory to take Karabekian as his apprentice. She eventually becomes Rabo's love interest and later the two of them are expelled from Gregory's studio when he catches them leaving the Museum of Modern Art together. They have a very brief affair which Marilee ends, claiming that Rabo is not the man she needed at the time. Through a series of events she becomes a rich Countess in Italy.
Edith Taft - Edith was Karabekian's second wife of 20 years.
Dorothy Roy - Dorothy is Karabekian's first wife. She left with their 2 boys, Terry and Henri.
Rabo's Parents - Karabekian's parents were survivors of the Armenian Genocide who were then tricked by a con man into buying a fake deed for a house in San Ignacio, California, where they moved in order to create a better life. His father, who was a teacher in Turkey, ends up becoming a cobbler when they reach their new home. When the Great Depression hits the family falls on very hard times.
Allison White - She is Karabekian's live-in cook, though he never refers to her as anything besides that until she becomes upset with him for never using her name. She has a daughter Celeste, who also lives with them.
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“Bluebeard completely changed my perspective on modern art. I would have laughed at Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock before I read this.”
Michael wrote this review Sunday, April 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I really liked this one. My first impression was that it is much darker than Vonnegut's other works, but then I realized that most of his writing is fairly bleak. His genius is that he presents the bleakness in a way that makes the reader laugh rather than cry. This was definitely one of my favorites of his.”
Megan P wrote this review Thursday, January 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Exhilarating stuff, like most of Vonnegut's work. Despite being of moderate novel length (318 pages, to be precise), I finished it in a single day of not-intense reading and quite enjoyed the process. I'm a bit unclear, however, on where I ended up. He takes a jibe at modern art that may or may not be truthful but feels mean-spirited, particularly coming from a satirical novelist. Was I supposed to get anything else out of it?”
Collin T wrote this review Wednesday, October 1 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
2 of 2 members found this review helpful“I don't intend this as a negative criticism, but Vonnegut's novels are less individual, memorable works of art than links in a chain, an ongoing, endlessly looping conversation. The subject rarely changes, each book blends together in the memory, the details dissolve, and what one is left with is the palpable sense of the chief character throughout - Vonnegut himself, with his wonderful narrative voice, bracingly humane, skeptical, and wryly funny.”
Lord Manleigh wrote this review Saturday, April 19 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
