Gaurav’s review of Picasso > Likes and Comments

Extraordinary review Gaurav. It is a great essay actually on existence, identity and creation. I have not read the author but this one sounds promising !!

Love Aira

perils of being Picasso Would not one of those perils be:

Being Picasso means being dead. IMHO sorta of case of that first step being a doozie

Great review, Gaurav! This sounds super intriguing — so glad you enjoyed it!

Stellar review Gaurav! I love Aira but have not read this one, I will check it out. Thanks for an awesome review 👍🏼😊

After my last Aria I decided I like the author. I will read more of him for sure.

This philosophical work by Aira sounds mighty profound. Thank you, Gaurav, for sharing with us your take on it.

Very interesting thoughts, Gaurav.

Intriguing review.

Sounds like a mind-bending story. It is an interesting choice "to have" or "to be." Being, for the reasons you point out, is a complicated choice because of the difficulty of tracing the boundaries around being. I suspect that what most people mean when they wish they were someone else is that they wish to have some aspect of that person's life but keep much of what they already have. Enjoyed the thoughtful review!

Insightful review, Gaurav! Thank you for sharing 😊

(I'd rather be myself than Picasso.)

Fascinating review Gaurav! That you wrote so much on it suggests it had a profound effect on you. I believe it is only ten pages long, right? I will look out for it.

Lots to think about here. Thank you for your enjoyable review, Gaurav!

Extensive in-depth review thanks for it 🙌🏼

If we are to take this seriously, it should be stated that everyone has the choice "to Have".

One example: Books. GR being a home to readers, there is a better than fair chance that everyone on GR has, has had, or has made the choice to have a piece of art . Whatever that word means, but in book form.

The choice "to Be"
Cycle around the issue, addressed in your review:
If you Are that person, you are no longer yourself, and among other things lose the awareness that you made that choice. In a sense making this choice means you made no choice. You, no longer exist. By implication you never existed. But if you did, what of the people who were part of who you were? ESP family, but extending out to any and all you have, are or might have touched?

If you have any awareness of your prior self, the question becomes, Are you HIM or a copy of HIM. In which case you are like anyone else riding the lets copy HIM hangers on.

There is clearly a message for all of us (yes my hand is up too) who have ever had one or more fantasies about being or living like, Him, Her or Them.

There was a movie some years back, wherein the leading Male figure got to spend every night in his perfect version of Paris, Post WWI, among the leading literary lights of the 'Lost Generation". At one point he is offered the chance to live out his life in that fantasy. His unhesitating answer:
No! What if I need dental work!

Like pay backs, opportunity costs can be a B*.

“Literature as a game” is a good way to describe Aira, Gaurav. I am a fan of Picasso’s art but not so much the man. He definitely was a genius. This would be an interesting read for me.

A wonderful review, Gaurav!

How intriguing, Gaurav. Picasso is one of my favorite artists. When we saw his studio, I was so impressed by his ladder that was splashed with paint over the years.

A review as dazzling as Aira's writing, Gaurav - I love his playfulness and this book sounds a particularly intriguing one.

A very thoughtful review, Gaurav. Your reviews are always chock-full of insights. The premise of this story is quite intriguing.

What a thought provoking review even before one reads the book itself.

I have often looked at my dog Zelda, and wished I could BE her, so I understand the question of this book very well. :)

A fine review, Gaurav! :)

Wow, what a comprehensive thought exploration of a short story. I think you have out philosophized the philosopher. 😀

A brilliant review, Gaurav! So far I've read Aira’s How I Became a Nun and Ghosts, and I'm still a bit undecided about him as a writer. But the philosophical perspective you highlight here, especially the distinction between 'owning' Picasso and 'being' Picasso—really caught my attention.

This sounds like a roman à clef if I ever heard of one and I have to admit I'm not necessarily the reader for it — water evaporating turns into clouds, but where does patience evaporating go? — yet you make this sound so rich and rewarding, Gaurav. If I ever give César Aira a try, it will be this title, and good or bad I'll definitely blame you. Probably credit you, at that, the way this review suggests. :)

Wow! Fantastic review, Gaurav. Congratulations 👏

cammiesam wrote: "Love Aira"

Well, he is one of my favorite contemporary authors. Which all books by him have you read ?

Phrodrick slowed his growing backlog wrote: "perils of being Picasso Would not one of those perils be:

Being Picasso means being dead. IMHO sorta of case of that first step being a doozie"

It reminds me of psychic vampirism which I came across The Oval Portrait by Edgar Allan Poe, highlighting the severe, almost devastating cost of his artistic obsession of Picasso and the humongous and overwhelming strain and tension his reputation bring along with it :)

Jamie wrote: "Great review, Gaurav! This sounds super intriguing — so glad you enjoyed it!"

Thanks a lot, Jamie. Cesar Aira has been a fantatsic author, in fact, one of all time favorites, have you read him ?

Brooke ☯︎ wrote: "Stellar review Gaurav! I love Aira but have not read this one, I will check it out. Thanks for an awesome review 👍🏼😊"

Thanks a lot, Brooke for your kind words. Glad to know that you're also fan of Cesar Aira. He has been one of my best contemporary authors. Which all books by him have you read ?

Adina ( not enough time ) wrote: "After my last Aria I decided I like the author. I will read more of him for sure."

Glad to know that you also liked the author, he has been one of my all time favorites. Which all books by him have you read, Adina ?

Laysee wrote: "This philosophical work by Aira sounds mighty profound. Thank you, Gaurav, for sharing with us your take on it."

Thanks a lot, Laysee. Yeah, it's a profound and enriching read, in fact, one of the finest short stotires by Cesar Aira. I really liked his prose. What about you, have you read him ?

Fionnuala wrote: "Very interesting thoughts, Gaurav."

Thank you, Fionnuala. Cesar Aira is a wonderful author, have you read him ?

Daphna wrote: "What a thought provoking review even before one reads the book itself."

Thanks a lot, Daphna for your kind wrods. I guess the credit goes to Cesar Aira for writing such a beautiful story which might induce some considerable thoughts. Have you read Cesar Aira ?

Linda wrote: "Intriguing review."

Thanks a lot, Linda for your kind words. Aira is a great author, have you given him a try ?

Alexandra wrote: "Insightful review, Gaurav! Thank you for sharing 😊

(I'd rather be myself than Picasso.)"

Thanks a lot, Alexandra for your kind words. Well! that's a mature choice to make while keeping aside all the fancies we usually develop for braving the existential ordeal :)

path wrote: "Sounds like a mind-bending story. It is an interesting choice "to have" or "to be." Being, for the reasons you point out, is a complicated choice because of the difficulty of tracing the boundaries..."

Thanks a lot, Path for your kind words. Yes, you're right it is difficult to trace the boundaries around being, for our being also comprises of our existence as we are inter-dependent and this is what Sartre called Being-for-Others. In fact, it's not a static phenomenon but rather a continuously changing flux.

As you mentioned, at times, we want to preserve around what we have constructed our existence while imbibing some aspects of others. However, we often live our life around inauthetic existence we might have carved to provide us comfort from the probing eyes of our existential angst, though these comforts annihilate to nothingness :)

Paul wrote: "Fascinating review Gaurav! That you wrote so much on it suggests it had a profound effect on you. I believe it is only ten pages long, right? I will look out for it."

Thanks a lot, Paul for your kind words. Yeah, though a slim story but its impact is not slim by any margin. Cesar Aira uses fiction- novels and short story- as tools to explore various ideas and possibilities in literature. Have you read him ?

Vanessa wrote: "Lots to think about here. Thank you for your enjoyable review, Gaurav!"

Thanks a lot for your kind words, Vanessa. I guess the credit goes to the author, he is wonderful. Have you read him ?

Murray wrote: "Extensive in-depth review thanks for it 🙌🏼"

Thanks a lot, Murray for your kind words. I guess credit goes to the authior. Have you read him ?

Sh wrote: "Extraordinary review Gaurav. It is a great essay actually on existence, identity and creation. I have not read the author but this one sounds promising !!"

Thanks a lot, Sh for your kind words. Well, he is a wonderful author, in fact, onne of the best contemporary authors, I'd highly recommend him. Hope you enjoy him as much as I did :)

David wrote: "“Literature as a game” is a good way to describe Aira, Gaurav. I am a fan of Picasso’s art but not so much the man. He definitely was a genius. This would be an interesting read for me."

Thanks a lot for your kind words, David. Well!, I am a fan of Cesar Aira's idiosyncratic prose and read quite a few of his novels/ stories. Glad to know that you're considering this one. Btw, which all stories or books by him have you read ?

Terrie wrote: "A wonderful review, Gaurav!"

Thanks a lot for your kind words, Terrie. Have you read Cesar Aira ?

Lorna wrote: "How intriguing, Gaurav. Picasso is one of my favorite artists. When we saw his studio, I was so impressed by his ladder that was splashed with paint over the years."

Thanks a lot, Lorna for your kind words. Oh! how beautiful it might have been to observe the ladder splashed with paint, like an impressionist painting which might have captured the spontaneity of the art. Cesar Aira though doesn't question the artistic merit of Picasso but raises some profound questions which are central to human existence. Have you read Aira? If not, then I would highly recommend him :)

Ilse wrote: "A review as dazzling as Aira's writing, Gaurav - I love his playfulness and this book sounds a particularly intriguing one."

Thanks a lot. Ilse for your kind words. He is really an outstanding author who explores the various ideas of art and life through his book by adding a tinge of surreal humor. Recently, I read quite a few stories and novels by him. What about you, which all books by him have you read?

K wrote: "A very thoughtful review, Gaurav. Your reviews are always chock-full of insights. The premise of this story is quite intriguing."

Thanks a lot, K for your kind words, you've been very generous. It is wonderful story, in fact, I lked most of the books by Cesar Aira, I read, he is truly a contemporary genius. Have you read him?

What begins as a playful thought experiment gradually turns sinister, it seems to me, Gaurav, because the desire to be Picasso is really a desire to escape the humiliating limits of ordinary existence altogether.

But Aira’s point "also seems to be" that becoming Picasso would require the annihilation of everything that makes one human in the first place — anxieties, flaws, private selfhood — until the artist survives only as a machine for producing greatness.

A fascinating review. I may just have to read the book!

Daphna wrote: "What a thought provoking review even before one reads the book itself."

Thanks a lot, Daphna for your kind words. The short story is a wonderful exploration of various issues of human existence. Cesar Aira has gradually became one of my contemporary favorites, have you read him ?

Robin wrote: "I have often looked at my dog Zelda, and wished I could BE her, so I understand the question of this book very well. :)"

Well! that's an intriguing prospect, Robin. Glad to know that it resonates with him. Cesar Aira has gradually become on of my contemporary favourites. What about you, have you read him ?