Negative Space by Cristín Leach. No Advance Reader Copy included. No affiliate links used. Read my full disclosure policy here.
‘I feel safe in nature. I feel safe in art. They both contain beginnings and endings. They both take me in and out. They both take me to the edge of my heart.’
Across eight essays, art critic Cristín Leach examines the ending of her marriage through the lens of art and writing and their role in her life. Negative Space is described by the publisher, Merrion Press, as ‘searingly intimate’, yet Leach is discerning in what she shares with the reader providing a masterclass in navigating the personal and the private in a public sphere.
‘Marriage is not an end point. It is not a destination any more than other major life events or even goals. Marriage is ever shifting and evolving, just like the people in it. Marriage is not fixed. And ours couldn’t be in the end.’
In September 2013, Leach developed tinnitus. In November 2014, she received a text informing her that her husband was having an affair. In 2015, Leach and her husband decided to end their marriage. I present these details chronologically, but Negative Space isn’t a linear memoir.
Instead, it is structured around themes — writing, seeing, listening, sounding, sinking, breaking, healing, home — with the essays including excerpts from Leach’s notebooks, published art criticism, poetry, lyrics, and short fiction. Far from leaving the narrative difficult to follow, this layered and out-of-time approach adds to the richness of the reading experience.
Negative Space is an intense, compelling, and considered exploration of what it means to build and rebuild a life.
Negative Space by Cristín Leach is published by Merrion Press and is available in paperback and ebook formats.
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