Stranger Than Kindness

Reviews / Votes

A scrapbook of rarely seen photos and sketches traces Nick Cave's transformation from Aussie teenager into an international artist . . . It takes on a life of its own, revealing his often compulsive way of working, as well as his abiding interests and obsessions: desire, faith, sin, despair, redemption, grief, love, and the transformative thrust of language itself * * Observer * * Goes deep into Cave's creative process, via his artwork, lyrics and photographs, and his ever-succinct commentary * * Guardian, 5 of the best * * A carefully curated collection of artwork, handwritten lyrics, photographs, personal possessions and essays, Stranger Than Kindness is a proper deep-dive into the story and creative processes of Nick Cave * * NME, Best Music Books of the Year * * [Takes] us on a detailed journey into his creative psyche. It features everything from school reports and scribbled shopping lists to lyric sheets and handwritten dictionaries - "the secret and unformed property of the artist," as Cave puts it * * Evening Standard, Best Music Books of the Year * * The material evidence of Cave's creative life. [There is] an excellent introduction from Darcey Steinke . . . a book of beauty and understated style . . . The book serves best as an invitation to explore Cave's work further, whether one is a novice or a committed celebrant. It is worth the effort * * Herald * * Features [Cave's] lurid, bizarre, beautiful, touching artwork and handmade books [and] an exquisite, winding essay by the American novelist Darcey Steinke. The essay is, simply put, extraordinary . . . Steinke has otherworldly gifts . . . I bought an expensive art book from a musician I like; what I got was a kind of compass leading me through a weird and often bleak time * * VICE * * A fascinating read, doubly so when listening to Cave perform the songs his obsessive evidence-gathering informs * * The Times * * Magnificent . . . A visual history of Cave's life, it's annotated by him with the same warmth and wit that have made his Red Hand Files series of letters to his fans so special. As for the images, they give more insight into the workings of his mind than any interview could . . . Darcey Steinke [has] written a fascinating and scholarly essay on Cave's work that sets him alongside some of literature's greatest figures . . . Exhaustive, gorgeous and thoughtful, this book of treasures will delight and inspire any admirer of Cave's work * * Classic Rock * * Offer[s] an access-all-areas peek into his life's work, featuring lyrics, essays, set designs, artwork, personal notes, previously-unseen photos and more * * Q Magazine * * Nick Cave's fans have long deserved a book that offers a long-view perspective on him and his work, and Stranger Than Kindness more than fulfils on its promise. The book collates a - carefully considered and curated - scattershot of artistic imagery, original lyric drafts, scrapbooks, and a few literary influences . . . [There is an] insightful and searching essay from Darcey Steinke . . . Stranger Than Kindness both embodies and enriches our understanding of how Nick Cave the artist came to be, and illuminates why his music continues to matter to so many * * HeadStuff * *