Sheila Heti's novel 'Pure Colour' receives scathing review for fragmented mystical narrative

Sheila Heti's novel 'Pure Colour' has drawn harsh criticism for its disjointed philosophical approach and shallow character development. Published by Harvill Secker with a £16.99 hardcover price, the book follows aspiring art critics Mira and Annie who attend the American Academy of American Critics. Drawing inspiration from Pierre Bonnard's documentary 'In Search of Pure Colour: Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947)' from 1984, the narrative explores a world where God, portrayed as an artist, grows weary of creation's initial version. Characters are allegorized as bird, bear, and fish personality types, with Mira transforming into a leaf after her father's death. The story shifts between narrative perspectives while avoiding engagement with contemporary digital culture, instead setting events in a pre-internet Toronto. Critics compare the work unfavorably to Annie Dillard's 1999 book 'For The Time Being' and Olga Tokarczuk's 2021 novel 'The Books of Jacob'. Heti's previous acclaimed work 'Motherhood' from 2018 employed autofiction techniques that contrast with this novel's impersonal style. The review characterizes the mystical elements as superficial and the dialogue as excessively online in tone despite the narrative's avoidance of internet themes.