Eric R. Kandel, Reductionism in Art and Brain Science *** 1/2

Eric Kandel is a Nobel-Prize-winning neuroscientist who clearly has an amateur interest in art and art history. In this book, he talks about the neurology of human vision, non-figurative modern art (especially Abstract Expressionism), and how the former can help explain the special aesthetic effects of the latter. The title of Chapter 8 encapsulates the heart of his project: "How the Brain Processes and Perceives Abstract Images."

Kandel argues that our visual system consists of both bottom-up and top-down processing. Bottom-up processing happens earlier in the neural pipeline and relies on innate capabilities that have evolved to help us with our most important needs, such as recognizing faces and differentiating objects against a background. Top-down processing is linked to memory and the emotional centers of the brain, and therefore varies more between people. In Kandel's view, abstract art bypasses the intermediate stages of bottom-up processing (because it lacks the elements usually constructed there) and leans more heavily on top-down processing. The unique pleasure of abstract art derives from a fuller engagement of these higher-level brain functions.

I found Kandel's scientific descriptions clear and especially liked his explanation of the brain mechanisms that underlay learning. (That was the subject of his Nobel research.) I liked his choice of artistic examples too, such as the side-by-side paintings from J.M.W. Turner, one figurative and the other abstract. He didn't really say much (on either subject) that I hadn't heard before, but it was enjoyable to revisit the art from this perspective.

Katie Kitamura, A Separation ** 1/2

I believe I may have completely misinterpreted A Separation. The story is about a woman who travels to Greece to track down her missing husband, despite the fact that they have been secretly separated for months. The woman is an unreliable narrator who says on the first page that people find her reserved. From the very beginning I suspected that her interpretation of other people's actions was a projection of her feelings about her own situation; for example, she imagined a romantic triangle among the staff at the hotel that largely paralleled her own situation. I expected that we would eventually discover that she had completely misinterpreted others' intentions, but we never did. Her interpretation may have been a projection, but as the reader I guess I was supposed to be learning about her own feelings from it.

In line with the narrator's personality, the prose was more admirable than engaging.

Jim Crace, Continent ***

Jim Crace's first story collection was advertised as a "novel in seven stories" about "an imaginary seventh continent." I expected a Borgesian account of the geography and sociology of the unnamed land and/or interlocking stories where main characters recur as minor ones. Continent didn't fulfill either of these expectations; instead, it is merely a pleasant set of stories about people in a vaguely colonial setting.

A couple of the stories are tall tales, about a race between a man and a horse ("Cross-Country") and about the world's largest ceiling fan ("Electricity"). The best stories are about traditional crafts adjusting to the modern world ("Talking Skull" and "Sins and Virtues").

Elif Batuman, The Idiot *** 1/2

As with the Joy Williams collection I read last month, I don't quite know how to rate The Idiot. Batuman's prose is brilliant, quirky and funny with countless offbeat insights. The main character, Selin, comes across as an authentic and interesting person trying to find her way as a college student.

However, The Idiot entirely lacks narrative drive. It's a low-key coming-of-age story, as Selin adjusts to Harvard and drifts into love with an older Hungarian math student.

I'll read this book again in a few years and expect to gain new insights from it.