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2 comments about In Passionate Pursuit: A Memoir.

1. I have just finished reading Alessandra Comini's autobiography, "In Passionate Pursuit", which was recommended to me through your "personal recommendations" list on your Amazon.com site. This memoir which covers six decades of the author's life and career as an art historian was a delight to read. There were many sections where I had to actually put the book down and wipe my eyes, as I found myself tearing up with emotions of both joy and sadness. As a mental health counselor, professional musician, and patron of the arts myself, I was touched by how Comini so beautifully integrated her love for art history and musicology with equal passion and pursuit! Life can become such a balancing act for all of us and how many of us truly follow our heart's calling as Comini does? Equally, how many of us, especially when we age, look back and wish we had pursued those dreams much differently?
   Comini's book rejuvenates the human spirit. Her colorful descriptions of each site she visited makes readers feel as if they are standing there beside her. Intertwined with her journeys and discoveries are those very reflective moments such as having to say goodbye to life-long friends she has made along the way. Heart wrenching was the moment when she opened a letter mailed to her after her own mother's death, a letter in her mother's handwriting compassionately consoling others who had had a loved one die. Poignantly, she describes another period in her life when she dropped out of graduate school in order to assist Hungarian Refugees as they fled to Vienna during the Hungarian Revolution. Subsequently, she so bravely, and honestly describes her own battle with breast cancer which gives hope to women everywhere who are going through similar experiences. Alessandra Comini's introductory description of discovering Schiele's prison cell leads the reader into an exuberant, 233 pages of the author's adventures, travels, and personal memoirs. Comini's book is "real" and can reach audiences from those in the arts' world, students, and especially those who have ever had a slight tug in their heart to follow their own dreams.



2. Any student of the liberal arts - and, for that matter, anyone who has ever been inspired by a book, a painting, or a fragment of a song - should run out and buy this book immediately! Comini's rich, hypnotic prose brings her world alive and takes one on a journey of the senses through her brilliant career. Making deft use of language, Comini's writing is both deeply personal and introspective, tracing her growth as a person and as a scholar. At the same time, the narrative provides a warm, refreshing look at how art is "pursued," with the indomitable Comini and her trusty camera on the forefront of some of modern art's greatest re-discoveries. A cult icon amongst young intellectuals, Comini's articles and public lectures are the stuff of academic legend, so this book written in Comini's own words is a treat for her readers. This book takes up Goethe's call to arms: "Strive! Strive! Strive!"