Sheila Heti is one of my favorite novelists. Each new book seems to be a step in a larger literary project, or an expansion of a Heti-ian way of thinking. They break aesthetic ground but are also a pleasure to read. How Should a Person Be is key reading for whatever “modern life” is at this point and Motherhood is a daring examination of choice — her use of I Ching coin tosses as a literary mechanism is breathtaking Her latest is Pure Colour, which moves from a fairy-tale-ish story of young city-dwelling adults into a more abstract mythology of grief, art, nature, and beauty. It can’t be described, which is high praise for writing, and yet it’s seamless and joyous. Almost more a painting than a novel.
