A book of conversations between Nick Cave & Sean O'Hagan.
This book is full of constant surprises. Astonishing insights into a persons creative process. A revelatory journey through one man's grieving, the pain of it, and what he has done as a result of it. The person you see here is someone undergoing some sort of transformation. Being turned inside out, by the loss of his son Arthur.
As a skilled songwriter you would expect him to be an adept word smith. And he his clear and lucid here even about his doubts and vagueness. Cave is never any less than honest and articulate. Yet the man you meet here is in the middle of a revolution in how he works and creates. He's throwing much of his previous way of working out the window and starting again. With the help of his chief collaborator Warren Ellis. All of these changes in one way or another a response or a ricochet with their origins in profound loss. There is no time to waste anymore. Nick Cave has always been a creative whirlwind, restlessly driven on to find fresh areas to musically explore. But now he's operating on steroids.
You don't have to be a fan of his musical output to appreciate this book. If you are it does make it all the more absorbing to read. What comes out of these conversations is mostly just very human, and because of its universality understandable to anyone. I found his exploration of what his belief in god might consist of, the dynamic between doubt and faith, that these are really the focus of it all. When something traumatic happened, instead of being thrown out of his faith, he went deeper in. In a search for meaning, but also purpose. For him belief in god can be an effective coping strategy for dealing with tragedy.
CARROT REVIEW - 6/8
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