Random House, June 13, 2017.
Four Stars
Nina is a young, idealistic teacher working at a
rough Boston public school. She is desperate to positively impact her students
through great poetry and literature, but more often she struggles just to get
through the school day. In the evenings, Nina marks essays at a local pub,
where she meets Collin – a talented artist with no ambition who is content to
work as a server. His pursuit of Nina leads to the beginning of a very sweet relationship.
Collin is a chalk artist, who appreciates the
fleeting nature of his artwork – he works rapidly on giant chalkboards, and
erases his work just as quickly, with no regrets. His dazzling talent amazes
Nina, who thinks he should do more with his life than creating chalk art
backdrops for his friend’s unsuccessful theatre company. Nina feels like she
can fix her students, and she makes the mistake of treating Collin the same
way, with the assumption that he desires success more than the satisfaction of
his work.
At the start of their relationship, Nina hides her
family from Collin – but eventually she decides to introduce her boyfriend to
her father, who happens to be the wealthy and powerful CEO of the most
successful virtual reality game company in the world. The company, Arkadia, is
known for its cutting-edge graphics and innovative marketing techniques,
especially with its newest game, UnderWorld. It doesn’t take much to convince
Collin to begin working for Arkadia, although he puts up a bit of resistance.
At the gaming company, Collin works on virtual
reality chalkboards which make him feel comfortable, and yet it is so different
because his work is instantly saved to a database – he no longer has agency or
ownership of his own work, and it can even be used against him in unexpected
ways. Meanwhile, the novel also looks at teenager Aidan, as he obsesses over the
upcoming release of UnderWorld – he is quickly willing to sacrifice the other
aspects of his life to fully immerse himself in the game.
The novel explores different elements of art and
genius, and the ways that our definitions of art have changed in the modern
world. It is a strong analysis of contemporary issues, viewed through the lens
of a realistic and thoughtful romantic relationship. The writing is astute, as
the author makes clever parallels between, for instance, Nina’s teaching of
Shakespeare vs. the fairy world of Arkadia’s games. The Chalk Artist takes two different plotlines that have been seen
many times before – an obstacle-ridden young adult romance and a teenager
obsessed with video games – and weaves them together in a way that enhances both
stories, and combines them to reflect some fresh and new ideas. Goodman’s
writing is strong and capable, making me want to read more by this talented
author.
I received this book from Random House and NetGalley in
exchange for an honest review.
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