Super Short Summary

The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt is presented as a collection of texts by and about fictional artist Harriet Burden, curated by the enigmatic Professor I.V. Hess. Overlooked during her life, Burden orchestrates a hoax called Maskings to expose gender bias, enlisting three men to claim her works as their own. The project’s varied reception and ensuing controversies ultimately reflect the complexities of perception and identity in the art world. The book contains themes of grief, misogyny, and cancer.