ARYA'S WRITING & READING BLOG

Note to artists and writers: those elements in your work that bother people the most are probably the very ones you should cultivate. In my novel, Punk Disco Bohemian , I set out to rub people the wrong way w a transgressive approach to plot, for one. I wanted people to think differently about time, space and memory, and even alerted the reader about that at the start of my book. Sure enough, it was the very aspect two reviewers, one a transgressive writer herself, seized upon as the novel's weakness.  In the long run the criticisms please me as contradiction is necessary to any conversation about art and, personally, I don't believe anything that is praised exclusively is likely to have a long life beyond the cultural moment in which it was conceived.  I've found and continue to find that utter fearlessness and constant experimentation are the keys to growing artistically. Not everything is going to work, but if you don't go off the deep end from time to time, you won...

House of Gucci , a two and a half hour operatic-style extravaganza, is currently streaming on Netflix and is worth watching exclusively for Lady Gaga 's performance as the lead character Patricia Reggiani , a real life personage (still alive). The 2021 film, directed by Scott Ridley , is a take off on a scandalous true story about the Italian fashion empire and has a big-name cast that includes Adam Driver as Maurizio Guzzi , Al Pacino as his uncle Aldo Gucci , Jeremy Irons as Maurizio's father Rodolfo Gucci , and Jared Leto as Paolo Gucci , Maurizio's cousin. Whether you take this film seriously or as an invigorating dose of camp, replete with memorable disco songs and 70s fashion and styles, it's Lady Gaga's acting and scenes you will want to watch, as she simply steals the entire movie. An espresso and Napoleon while watching House of Gucci would have surely added to the fun. A critical PS: I've told myself I will not make fun of other actors or neg...