Tag: Gothic

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Posted September 29, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Book of the Month, Historical Fiction / 0 Comments

Title: The Pillars of the Earth (Goodreads)
Author: Ken Follett
Series: The Pillars of the Earth #1
Published: Pan Macmillan, 1989
Pages: 1088
Genres: Historical Fiction
My Copy: Audiobook

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

The Pillars of the Earth follows the building of a cathedral in the town of Kingsbridge, England in the middle of the 12th century. Set during the time of King Stephen and the Anarchy, it explores the lives of Tom Builder and his family as he finally gets to achieve his dream of being master builder for a cathedral. There are forces that are working against the completion of this church for reasons of power and greed.

Ken Follett was an author of trashy thrillers before turning his hand to the epic novels. So it is not surprising that the novel attempts to explore themes of intrigue and conspiracy against this historical event. I’ve only ever read one other Follett novel (The Eye of the Needle) and while I thought this was a better book they are very similar.

One of the biggest problems I had with both novels is Ken Follett’s approach to women. In particular his creepy schoolboy approach to breasts, I’m not saying I’m not a fan but the way Follett’s writes about them, reminds me of George R. R. Martin and Haruki Murakami. I don’t know about you but it felt like every woman in Kingsbridge has massive breasts and if they didn’t they will be forever alone. On the plus side they won’t be raped either; but all the large breasted women ended up married and the flat chested ones were left for bigger boobs.

One of the positives of this novel was the cathedral; it was the most interesting character in the whole novel. We get to witness the rise in gothic architecture in the Romanesque age and I found the insights into the architectural evolution were so interesting. This seems to be the most researched part of the novel and I think was the only reason to read this book.

My wife loves this novel and I can see why people will enjoy this novel but considering that her favourite novels include this and Outlander makes me worry. She seems to be interesting in epic novels with incredibly flawed men. I hope she isn’t trying to tell me anything but I can appreciate her passion towards these epics.

Every man in the novel seems overly flawed with the exception of the asexual Prior. I know Follett’s loves sexual frustrated men and he struggled to write Prior Philip’s so he decided to make him completely uninterested in sex. Which is a huge contrast to every other male in the book. At times I had to stop reading this novel out of frustration but managed to power through.

I think if you really love this epic you don’t mind how long this novel is but if not this feels like it could use a good editing. This book sits at over a thousand pages and there is so much padding that could have been cut out to bring this book back down to at least 750. The themes in this novel didn’t feel like they were executed properly; there are many medieval novels that talk about the corruption of the Christian church, abuse of power, greed and gender politics. What The Pillars of the Earth did that felt unique was explore passion and base an entire novel around the construction of this one cathedral. The passion and architecture is the key to this book and really without them it would have just been a thriller written as a historical novel.

While I had a lot of problems with The Pillars of the Earth, I did like parts of this novel and enjoyed raging at the other parts. I can know join in on the cultural conversation for this novel, but maybe I’m too late for this. I read Twilight for the same reason and do enjoy raging in reviews but I can’t say this was a bad read. I respect everyone who loved this book and I’m not saying that because my wife loved it, I just can see what would interest people here.

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole

Posted September 19, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Classic, Gothic / 0 Comments

Title: The Castle of Otranto (Goodreads)
Author: Horace Walpole
Published: Penguin, 1764
Genres: Classic, Gothic
My Copy: Audiobook

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Conrad, the heir to the house of Otranto, died under mysterious circumstances on the day of his wedding. His father, Manfred, lord of the castle, who feared the end of his dynasty, was determined to marry his son’s betrothed. However as Manfred tries to marry Princess Isabella, she escapes to a church and a number of supernatural events stand in his way. These terrifying omens soon threaten this unlawful union, as the curse placed on Manfred’s ancestor, who usurped the lawful Prince of Otranto, begins to unfold.

The Castle of Otranto established the Gothic as a literary genre and inspired Ann Radcliffe, Bram Stoker, Daphne Du Maurier and Stephen King. The Castle of Otranto has a unique blend of psychological realism, supernatural terror, guilty secrets and unlawful desires but I read this book as a critic on marriage. In 1773 The Marriage Act was passed, an act that is also known as “An Act for the Better Prevention of Clandestine Marriage”. The act was successful in preventing marriages not performed by an Anglican clergyman but also this act didn’t apply to royalty.

This act was passed eleven years before The Castle of Otranto was published and considering the fact that Horace Walpole was the Member of Parliament for Callington (1741–1754), Castle Rising (1754–1757) and King’s Lynn (1757–1768), I get the sense that he would have had strong opinions on the topic. From some quick research on Horace Walpole, I know that he had a strong interest in social and political issues. We can’t overlook his sexuality either, Walpole never married or had relationships with women; some claim he was asexual but I tend to side with the people that claimed he was a homosexual. Some of his closest friends including Anne Seymour Damer and Mary Berry are apparently lesbians as well. This information and the reading of this novel led me to interpret the fact that Walpole was against The Marriage Act.

Let’s look at the novel, Manfred was planning on ending his marriage with Hippolita and marry the much younger Isabella. The introduction of the Marriage Act (despite this book being set sometime between 1000 and 1200) meant that the marriage would have been easier to achieve and Isabella’s fear of Manfred more realistic. Putting aside Isabella’s reluctance to the marriage, there were also the supernatural events (the Church) standing in his way, in which I interpreted as the church still being against clandestine marriage despite it being possible for Manfred. I read the entire book as a metaphor of society and the church standing in the way of a desired marriage. This brings me to an interesting thought; Lord Manfred is considered the antagonist on the novel, portrayed as being deranged but I viewed this as the social view of homosexuality at the time.

There is so much more I can talk about here, like the archetype of Gothic characters (involving heroes and anti-heroes) and the setting (the Castle). While I have talked about Manfred, I want to quickly talk about Isebella and the castle. When Isebella tried to escape she turned into the outsider, a person thrown out of her community; this could also be used as a metaphor for Walpole’s feelings and sexuality. When she escaped she used the underground passages of the castle, which invokes all the characteristics of the Gothic genre; the darkness, obscurity, vastness, and the terror that may arising. Yet the castle and its mysterious characteristic could be a motif for Horace Walpole’s loneliness in the universe.

I won’t go into any more symbols, themes or motifs or this would turn into a really long review. My main interpretation of this novel is clear and I hope I have given you enough to back up my claims. While this isn’t my favourite example of Gothic literature, it was a great read and while short, there is a lot to digest. For all Gothic fans, I recommend checking out The Castle of Otranto; this is an excellent example of the gothic form.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Posted May 30, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Classic, Gothic, Horror / 0 Comments

Title: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Goodreads)
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Published: Signet, 1886
Pages: 92
Genres: Classic, Gothic, Horror
My Copy: Personal Copy

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Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic gothic horror novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is probably known to many people; it’s been adapted many times and is often a symbol of the horror genre in pop culture. We all know the story; mild-mannered Dr Jekyll by day but at night, thanks to a potion, Mr Hyde is unleashed. But do we really know this tale; the tale of good and evil, or maybe the unleashing his secret inner persona, or maybe this is a story about dissociative identity disorder?

This is a reread for me so like I did in The Great Gatsby; I’m going to quote my old review (which is relatively short) but expand with what I know now. First we need some context; Robert Louis Stevenson had already had some success as a Victorian adventure writer before he came up with the idea of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. He had already written Treasure Island and his collection of short stories New Arabian Nights; in fact it is believe that he came up with the idea while working on his revisions for the short story Markheim (which, in my opinion, is his best piece). So already you get a sense that he knows what he is doing and if you’ve read Markheim you can see the similarities clearly. It was the late into the Nineteenth Century where there were extraordinary technological advances being made and people had a growing pessimism towards a possible decline in arts and religion.

The Promethean personality is something we’ve seen in books like Dracula by Bram Stoker, but this novella has more in common with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Both involve scientists that defy the laws of nature and God with major consequences. Also, they play on the concept of good and evil and the dangers of advancing sciences but they also have been written in a way that to this day people debate the meaning of the novel.

Some say this is a novella that looks at that great Victorian idea of inner conflict with humanity; that good and evil exist in us all and it is an internal struggle between the two. While others suggest that maybe Stevenson was interested in exploring mental health, especially when it comes to split personalities or what should be correctly called a dissociative identity disorder? When I first read this book I got a sense of both, saying “[That] it’s a vivid portrayal of a split personality, split in the sense that within the same person there is both an apparently good and an evil personality each being quite distinct from the other.” As an interesting side note Vladimir Nabokov has famously argued that the “good versus evil” view within this novella is misleading, as Dr Jekyll himself is not, by Victorian standards, a morally good person.

“The novella’s impact is such that it has become a part of the language, with the phrase “Jekyll and Hyde” coming to mean a person who is vastly different in moral character from one situation to the next.” While this is true, the tale has left a bigger impact on pop culture than just one phrase and classic horror movies. Within comic books both The Hulk and Batman’s rival Two-Face have clear influences from this novella; in fact you might argue that all superheroes are influenced as well, all living a double life. Even the framework has been used in other fables, gothic, horror and speculative fiction.

“Robert Louis Stevenson is an amazing writer and this book is well worth the read, I’ve always enjoyed a story that tries to explore two sides of a situation.” Not only does this highlight how much I’ve improved in my reviewing but it serves as a reminder of my interest in plots that explore both points of view. Frankenstein still remains my ‘go to book’ for this even though rereading Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde has rekindled an interest in Robert Louis Stevenson’s thoughts on the whole “good versus evil” view. I much prefer Markheim and think I might go read it again now.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Posted April 28, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Crime / 0 Comments

Title: The Thirteenth Tale (Goodreads)
Author: Diane Setterfield
Published: Atria Books, 2006
Pages: 406
Genres: Crime, Gothic
My Copy: Personal Copy

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Amateur biographer Margaret Lea finds a mysterious handwritten letter waiting for her one night. The letter is a request from what could be considered Britain’s most prolific novelist Vida Winter. Winter’s wishes to recount her life’s story but has been notorious for her abilities to evade journalists’ questions in the past, making up a different story for every journalist. This project will force both women to confront the mysterious paths that have been haunting them and if we are lucky we might find out the mystery of The Thirteenth Tale.

The Thirteenth Tale is a tapestry of two threads weaved together, Margaret’s story both past and present as well as Winter’s past. A gothic mystery that deals with death, identity, isolation and for me it felt like it was a novel about how evil twins are. I’m not sure if it was the current mood I was in when reading this book but I felt like this book was trying too hard to be something it couldn’t live up to. Two alternating narratives can be a difficult literary technique to get right but I never really felt it worked. Sure, many people loved this book but I wonder if they were too caught up in the narrative to notice the problems.

It is true, the writing in the novel is spectacular and I did find myself being swept away in this gothic narrative but then when I reflect back, I notice all the flaws. The novel sets out to piece together the puzzle of both Margret and Ms Winter but some of the pieces were lost and we are left with all these holes. I’m not satisfied with the amount of questions that were left unanswered, I was just left feeling disappointed and have no desire to try and reread this in the hopes to find what I might have missed.

For a gothic novel, I felt like it moved into the realm of clichés; from the mysterious manor to the mysteries of their pasts, everything felt rather predictable in that aspect. I felt like this book was borrowing rather heavily on some gothic classics, there were elements of Rebecca here and even the Brontës. Now I haven’t read Jane Eyre but with the amount of references made to this book in The Thirteenth Tale, I suspect that this was a major source for Diane Setterfield gothic attempts. I never felt like there was anything new or interesting with the plot of this book.

I wish I knew what make people give this book such a high rating, sure the writing was beautiful but I felt like Diane Setterfield tried to do too much in her first novel and it didn’t quite work. Maybe if you are new to the Gothic genre this might be a decent contemporary novel to give you a taste of what to expect but I feel like this book left me high and dry. I would recommend Sarah Waters over Diane Setterfield but ultimately I would rather some of the gothic classics.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Posted February 26, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Young Adult / 0 Comments

Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Goodreads)
Author: Ransom Riggs
Series: Miss Peregrine #1
Published: Quirk, 2011
Pages: 352
Genres: Young Adult
My Copy: Personal Copy

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Sixteen year old Jacob Portman goes to Wales on a search to find out the truth about his Grandfather’s past and unbelievable demise. There he meets Emma, a “strikingly pretty” girl who not only knows Jacob’s grandfather but can control fire. She takes Jacob to meet Miss Peregrine, who, accompanied by some very Peculiar Children, is stuck in a time loop set back in 1940, throwing Jacob into a mysterious situation full of strange killings and peculiarity.

What really stood out to me in this book was the real dark and almost gothic feel to the plot, this mixed with vintage photographs, setting and great characterisation makes for a refreshingly new style of YA novel. Ransom Riggs seems to take the paranormal YA novel to a whole new level, putting other writers to shame with his unique blend of paranormal and character development. It was just a wonderful eccentric read and the vintage photographs were a nice touch; you feel like you know these characters and then you can look at the photos of them.

I think this is a cliché but for a debut novel, Ransom Riggs has shown great skill and love for his craft, developing a beautiful and slightly weird world. Riggs has stated there will be a sequel and I, for one, am looking forward to returning to this world and seeing where Jacob’s adventures will take him. This book has that dark and gloomy feel about it, almost like a horror movie, but yet the story never feels like it will become too dark. To give you an idea of the type of novel this is, 20th Century Fox are planning to adapt it into a film and want Jane Goldman (Stardust, Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class) to write the screen play and have Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sweeney Todd) direct.

For people that like a little darkness in their YA novels this is a book you should check out. I’ve never been a fan of paranormal novels but this is just a perfect example of the genre being done well. The mystery, the characters, setting and plotting all come together to make this a great YA novel. I’m excited for the sequel and the film adaption.

The Engagement by Chloe Hooper

Posted January 6, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Gothic, Literary Fiction / 0 Comments

Title: The Engagement (Goodreads)
Author: Chloe Hooper
Published: Penguin, 2012
Pages: 256
Genres: Literary Fiction
My Copy: Personal Copy

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Liese Campbell is an English architect working in real estate trying to make ends meet, but she is in a financial crisis. Enters Alexander Colquhoun, the heir to a pastoral dynasty who is looking for a city apartment; or maybe something more. The two enter into an erotic game that includes sex for money. This leads to a weekend away in luxury, in what is known as the girlfriend experience. But is this just a fun game or is this a disaster waiting to happen?

I’ve not read a book like this, at one point I thought it was Indecent Proposal and at other times I thought it was going to turn into a Pretty Woman scenario. There is an air of mystery and or something much more sinister with the situation and I couldn’t put my finger on the real motivation of both Liese and Alexander.

I really got emotional at this book; at some points I thought it was exciting, at times I thought it was disturbing. Then there were the times I wanted to throw the book across the room and yell at the characters to ‘sort their shit out’. I guess this emotional investment is what made this book so enjoyable. I like a book that makes me rage and keep me coming back for more and Chloe Hooper’s The Engagement did just that.

There was this quote going around that called this the literary version of Fifty Shades of Grey which really bothers me; for one this isn’t an erotic book this is more a story of a disturbing situation. More like a modern take of a gothic novel. There were even elements of this book that reminded me of Rebecca; not the plot but the idea that the protagonist has someone acting to take her down.

Emotionally thrilling novel, The Engagement was not something I would normally read but I’m really glad to pick it up because it really was worth reading. It’s a dark psychological tale that is sure to be enjoyed by many people. I do like that hint of erotic thriller within the novel, while it wasn’t arousing it has the whole sex and power element that really helped this novel. This is a quick exciting read for anyone looking for a deliciously cynical novel.

Introducing The 2013 Literary Exploration Reading Challenge

Posted December 15, 2012 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 52 Comments

As the year starts to come to a close, we readers start to think about what we would like to read next year and for some of us, we look for the reading challenge that excites us the most. As most people know, Literary Exploration tries to explore all different genres in the hope to become a well-rounded reader and even discover something new. So in 2013 we would like to challenge you to explore further.

Instead of increasing the book club to two books a month we decided we wanted people to read what they wanted to read; but we also want people to explore. So we are challenging everyone to dedicate either 12, 24 or 36 books that you would normally read to different genres. We have compiled a list which hopefully will give you a chance to explore literature a little deeper.

It’s real simple; below you will see an easy (12 books), hard (24 books) or insane (36 books) challenge. Each genre links to the Goodreads genre page if you need some suggestions on what to read. We want you to have some fun and explore; hopefully you might find a new genre that peaks your interest. To sign up either join the Literary Exploration book club on Goodreads and talk about your progress with others involved or for the bloggers out there, if you want to add it as part of your blogging experience simply let us know with a link (to your Literary Exploration Challenge page) in the comments below so our readers can see how you are going.

This is the first year doing this and if all goes well we might expand and make it a yearly challenge. If we do decide to do this on a yearly basis and you feel that there are some genres are either too heavily focused on or not mentioned at all, please let me know. The idea of this challenge is to have a well-balanced list of genres and not focusing on one genre more than any others.

Good luck all who decide to join in. I personally am going to go for the 36 book, insane challenge and I’m really looking forward to it. While there are some genres I’m not looking forward to reading, it’s all part of being a literary explorer. What could be wrong with that?

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Posted June 28, 2012 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Book of the Month, Classic, Gothic / 0 Comments

Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray (Goodreads)
Author: Oscar Wilde
Published: Barnes & Noble Classics, 1890
Pages: 248
Genres: Classic
My Copy: Personal Copy

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

I feel perplexed about The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. On one hand, the story is well written about a young man being moulded and shaped. On the other hand, this book was incredibly flowery and doesn’t really start for 100 pages. Dorian doesn’t really know about life and meets an artist and an aristocrat that help him though his journey into manhood. The artist paints his portrait, subsequently making him keep his youth. The aristocrat had the biggest influence on Dorian Gray, though Lord Harry Wotton is very annoying. He talks and talks the whole way through this book, thinking he’s so witty.

Dorian Gray starts off in this novel as a blank slate, an easily influenced young man. Throughout the rest of the story he gets moulded and pushed into shape. After Basil paints his portrait Dorian starts to unravel, afraid to show the picture, he locks it way in a room and never lets anyone see it, protecting it at all costs. The whole thing symbolising the way we hide our real selves from the rest of the world, scared of what they may think.

The Picture of Dorian Gray would have been controversial in its day, with strong homosexual themes. Though the book itself is more about the life and morality, Oscar Wilde did a brilliant job of capturing this element of the book. For me the biggest downfall of this book was that Lord Wotton was too loud and dominates throughout the entire book.

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

Posted June 21, 2012 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Gothic, Historical Fiction, Horror / 0 Comments

Title: Dark Matter (Goodreads)
Author: Michelle Paver
Published: Orion, 2010
Pages: 256
Genres: Gothic, Historical Fiction, Horror
My Copy: Library Book

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver is a slow burning ghost story; slowly the tension builds and builds until… The story kicks off on 7th January 1937, the first entry being written in the journal of Jack Miller who is preparing for an expedition to Gruhuken. This uninhabited location in Arctic is the back drop of this chilling story, the atmosphere and solitude all playing a role in building the tension within this story. The relationship between Jack and his companions Gus, Algie, Hugo and Teddy are one of the key aspects that hold this book together.

It’s really hard to review a book like this as I don’t want to give too much of this book away, but I’ll try my best. The story was a very basic one, the isolations, feeling of being completely alone works rather well in the book. The plot and surroundings all slowly build the tension that Jack is feeling. I started off reading this book feeling a little distracted but the further I got in the book the more absorbed in the story I found myself. It’s one of those books you want to read on a cold winter night; the snow outside and nothing but the creaking of the house to keep you company. Unfortunately it never snows and never gets cold here but I can just imagine reading this book in that situation and enjoying it a lot more.

The novel is a well polished ghost tale, reminding me of the old gothic novels of the 19th century; building the tension and characters as you read. While it’s a short book it did a great job at capturing all the key elements to haunt the reader. I’m reminded a bit of The Turn of the Screw by Henry James and even to a less extent The Woman in Black by Susan Hill in the way they can build tension in such a short time. I really love the chilling gothic styles of a book like this, I would love to read some more books similar to this one and compare it to the ones I’ve already read. While I really enjoy this novel I can’t see myself rating this book higher than three and a half stars, but I can’t tell you what was missing in this novel.

My Art Adventure

Posted September 12, 2011 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Art / 9 Comments

While normally I don’t write blog entries about myself, I feel inclined to share some experiences I’ve had recently that do link to the overall theme of this site. I was in Spain and France for a holiday, which was an experience in itself but there was a few cultural activities that were done that I want to talk about.

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

First stop was the Museo Reina Sofía, which is dedicated to 20th Century Spanish art. This meant a lot of Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. Recently I did a few posts about Picasso and the main reason I went to this museum was to see his masterpiece Guernica. I have to admit seeing this in real life was an experience in itself, there is no pictures out there that really do this painting justice and I wasn’t allowed to take pictures of it anyway. It was awe inspiring, I’m not sure if all the Spanish history leading up to this picture made this an experience or if it’s the painting itself. But there are no words to describe this encounter for me.

A bonus was the Surrealist wing of this museum. There is something about surrealism that I love, it’s weird and wonderful. This wing consisted on a lot of Salvador Dalí paintings, which were exciting to see, but it also included a painting by my favourite surrealist Rene Magritte. Magritte has always been my favourite surrealist, his works are so distinctive, recognisable and often very witty. The painting I saw wasn’t one of his more famous pieces but it was still exciting to see. The particular painting was his 1930’s piece Pink Belles, Tattered Skies.

magritte — Rene Magritte - Pink Belles, Tattered Skies (1930)

Museo del Prado

The Del Prado is the Spanish National art’s Museum which features a lot of Velázquez, Francisco de Goya, Titian, Rubens and Bosch as well as a huge selection of Romanesque, Gothic and Early Renaissance paintings. I was fortunate enough to see my favourite Titian picture; Sisyphus (1548-1549) but the highlight of this museum and possibly the trip was the two Caravaggio paintings. Most readers will know my love of his work, so it was exciting to finally see some of it. On loan from the Vatican; was The Entombment of Christ (1602–1603) and from Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna; David with the Head of Goliath (1607).

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

We were lucky enough to go to the Guggenheim during Aste Nagusia (an annual festival in Basque country) and experienced this museum with live Jazz music playing. The music definitely enhanced the experience. While I’m not sure how I feel about modern art, especially Abstract; it was interesting to see some Pollock and other bizarre pieces.

Musée du Louvre

Probably the most visited and even the largest museum in the world, but it’s interesting to see that most of the people go to see the Mona Lisa or the Venus de Milo. While it’s good to see both, there is so much to see and it would take you days to go through it all. The Louvre has a lot of sculptures and decorative arts to look at as well as paintings by the greats including Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and of course The Death of the Virgin (1606) by Caravaggio. While there was some amazing art at the Louvre, it was so spread out the experience wasn’t as enjoyable as the other museums.

Death of the Virgin by Caravaggio, 1606 — Caravaggio - The Death of the Virgin (1606)

It’s been quite an adventure and later I will tell you more, I just wanted to share with you the great museums and art I saw along the way. There really is nothing like seeing the art in real life, it was a real eye opener.