Book Review: "Tiepolo Blue" by James Cahill

I found this book whilst browsing around for something light to read. I had heard of it when it first came out but for some reason I took little interest in it when, if I'm going to be honest with you, I really should have. There is something really intriguing about reading on the topic of traditionalists who get what's coming to them and then go off the damn rails. The book has so much more going on than that but, at its heart there is a comment about progress in which you either run with it or you get left behind and nobody cares anymore. It's an adapt or fall behind process that the book explores in new depths and, at its turn, it delves into the question about whether it is always the best thing for everyone.

The story begins in 1994, with Don Lamb, a reserved and rigidly disciplined art historian, living a highly structured life in Cambridge. Don has devoted his career to studying the works of the Venetian artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. He reveres the formal aesthetics of art and adheres to traditional academic principles, steering clear of contemporary artistic trends. His mentor, Valentine Black, exerts considerable influence over him, shaping his conservative worldview and isolating him from the intellectual and emotional currents of the outside world. Honestly, this makes the reader kind of have a bad taste in their mouth from learning about the traditionalist snobbery of Don Lamb and when he gives that sweaty speech at the beginning of the text - we cannot help but cheer on the fact that he might just mess it up beyond repair. This starts to change even though the snobbery seems to linger as we move through the book.

Don’s stable academic life is disrupted when he publicly criticises an installation by a controversial contemporary artist. His dismissal of the work as meaningless provokes outrage within the university and wider art circles. The incident highlights Don’s inability to engage with the changing artistic landscape of the 1990s, where conceptual art begins to challenge traditional forms. This confrontation with contemporary culture marks the beginning of Don’s unraveling, both professionally and personally. It is also exemplified by the arrival of a new poet-in-residence and art piece both of which he has a huge anxiety about. The poet-in-residence is a woman of colour and she has such a great knowledge of her topic even though those at Cambridge aren't warming to this new and innovative idea of her character. When Don is asked to leave Cambridge he becomes depressed and detached - someone who doesn't even see the point of fighting it anymore. In that moment, we feel our first flicker of sympathy for Don Lamb.

In London, Don meets Ben, a charismatic and enigmatic young man who introduces him to a hedonistic world of contemporary art and youthful rebellion. Ben becomes a central figure in Don’s life, embodying the energy and fluidity of the modern world that Don struggles to comprehend. Their relationship is a mix of mentorship, infatuation, and exploitation, as Ben’s influence draws Don further away from his old life. I think all of the readers of this book can tell that Ben is a shady figure at best and that his best interests do not lie with making Don settle into his new life at all.

Valentine remains a looming figure in Don’s life, representing the old world of privilege, power, and traditional values. However, their relationship becomes increasingly strained as Don begins to question the dogmatic principles that have governed his life. Valentine’s role as a mentor is revealed to be both supportive and manipulative, as he attempts to maintain control over Don’s actions while ensuring his own influence remains intact. This shows that there is definitely more than Ben around in Don's life and, it kind of makes us feel sorry for him because he has absolutely no agency now. His life has fallen apart because of one radio show where he bad-mouthed an art piece. This is starting to seem like a bit of an extreme reaction.

Honestly, I thought that this book was brilliant. More things still yet happen to Don Lamb as a result of his blunder and yet, we cannot look away as he descends. I love the calm and sentimental writing style which slowly morphs into the transgressive. It is a brilliant example of character-centric literature.