Purple Crayons: The Art of Drawing a Life
by Ross Ellenhorn
First off, I have to confess, I haven’t finished this. In
fact, I have decided not to finish it.
Our theme for writer’s group this month was “Dogs, Crayons,
and Wellness.” I went to our Hoopla app, where I find audio books, and tried
searching for “Dogs” and then “Crayons.”
This title caught my eye because it talks about Harold and
the Purple Crayon, which I adored when I read it to my daughter as a
toddler.
However, the reader is--not terribly enjoyable. Perhaps a
little too clinical. Monotone. Boring. I find I enjoy a book when it sounds
like someone is performing it, not when they are straight up reading it. That
may be a fine distinction, but the amount of inflection and enthusiasm used needs
to keep my attention. This reader did not do that.
Beyond that, I felt that the author gives some interesting
background information which is useful in understanding where the author of Harold
and the Purple Crayon came from and the social history of the time when the
book was written. It can illuminate what influenced the artist, even if they
themselves are unaware.
Then the author begins drawing some tenuous connections and
making some very big assumptions.
The author ascribes some profound meaning to every aspect of
how the book is drawn. I feel that is a mistake. Sometimes an artist decides to
do something one way simply because they like it, and it feels effective to
them.
I guess, in the end, I’m very leery of having a critic or anyone
other than the artist explain how and why the artist did something, without
drawing directly from a primary source of the artist’s own explanation.
I have found the reviews on Goodreads are equally mixed. I
think a 3-star is appropriate and I would recommend it be read, rather than
listened to.
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