Kevin Wilson, The Family Fang
Caleb and Camille Fang reject conventional art — paintings, sculptures, photography, and so on — and even traditional art “happenings,” in which artists create events. They prefer a sort of guerrilla art in which the artists create chaos and watch its effect on the unsuspecting public. A mess to the public. Beauty to the artists.
Disaster to Child A and Child B, the Fangs’ children. This wonderful novel alternates between the extraordinary art events concocted by the Fangs when their children were young, and the challenges they face trying to exist in the world as adults. The novel is darkly funny, very strange (and possibly somewhat anti-art, but no mind). It is apparently being made into a Hollywood movie now, but ignore that. It won’t be as good. Get the book, instead.
