RaveNew York Review of BooksHow this art came to be, and how it came to be forgotten, is one part of the story Uglow tells. The other part concerns a relationship that stubbornly refuses discovery ... Uglow is too principled a biographer to force an interpretation ... She gives us the patterns of daily life, intricate and unexpected, along with occasional forceful ruptures, but without the \'swelling rotundity\' of corporeal existence.
William R. Cross
MixedAtlanticCross’s book...is a hefty, traditional \'life of.\' Not particularly interested in investigating systemic power and privilege, Cross draws out aspects of life that may have figured more consciously in Homer’s own mind, acknowledging without contempt, for instance, Homer’s pragmatic approach to business ... Cross also gives substantial space to religion ... There are still huge holes, including the nature, or even existence, of Homer’s love life ... Cross alerts us to the theories, but warns that there are only \'a few shreds of evidence\' of any specific sexual dalliance ... Art-historical queries run into similar dead ends ... The tale chugs along on a track of \'would haves\' and \'must haves\'.
