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How Are You Feeling?

At the Centre of the Inside of The Human Brain’s Mind
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( 371 ratings, 38 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
How Are You Feeling? by David Shrigley offers a quirky journey through the human brain, exploring how it processes the senses—sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch—and governs behaviour. Beginning with the eye's magical way of sorting what we see, the book delves into how the brain interprets the world around us, highlighting funny, strange, and sometimes worrying aspects of brain function. The narrative also addresses profound questions about morality, memory, and identity, all woven with Shrigley’s distinctive humour and wit.
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Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book suits readers interested in arts and culture who appreciate a blend of dark humour, surrealist art, and thoughtful reflections on human behaviour and the brain. Ideal for fans of quirky, intellectual yet accessible explorations of how we perceive and interact with the world through the lens of art.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

A profound, unsettling and very funny new book from the cult artist, David Shrigley.

A profound, unsettling and very funny new book from the cult artist, nominated for the Turner Prize 2013

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

At the centre of the inside of the human brain's mind is the place where one can find the reasons why human beings behave in such peculiar, delightful, and unpleasant ways. I, the author of this book (D. Shrigley BA (Hons)), shall take the reader on a journey around the human brain and along the way, I shall point out various things that are worthy of discussion.

We will start our journey in the eye as that is a common entrance place to the brain. I shall ruminate about the eye and its properties. I shall tell how the eye's seeing is sorted out in the brain and the magical nature of it, and I shall warn of all the things that can go wrong in this sorting-out process. After the eye, we shall travel to the ear and discuss the world that is heard and how it is heard in the brain and all the awful things that can go wrong; some of them amusing and some not amusing. Taste and smell will of course be covered as these are also things of interest to the brain. We will also touch upon touch, so to speak. We will also touch upon the scalp, but only lightly and briefly.

Once we have looked at the brain's government of the senses, we shall start to talk about the really interesting stuff. Like how the brain decides what is right and wrong and why some people are very charming and others behave like monkeys. Some other questions that might be dealt with are as follows: Could my brain be removed and replaced with a computer? Why can't I remember my wife's name? I can constantly hear a faint whistling sound; is it the sound of my brain functioning?

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Critics praise the book for being both funny and profound. Harry Hill describes it as "surprising all at the same time," while Dave Eggers calls Shrigley "probably the funniest gallery-type artist who ever lives." Will Self notes Shrigley's skill in shifting "effortlessly from pathos to paranoia" with "devastatingly effective" timing. The Guardian and Observer commend the book’s unique insights and dark humour, with the Times highlighting Shrigley's connection to the British comedic tradition. The work is noted as simultaneously unsettling and humorous, establishing Shrigley as a master of modern surrealism.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780857867216

Publisher: Canongate Books

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 04 October 2012

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Canongate Books

Edition: Main

Illustration: Colour illustrations throughout

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 22.0mm

Width: 149.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 445g

Pages: 208

About the Author

David Shrigley was born in Macclesfield in 1968 and studied at Glasgow School of Art. He has worked as a sculptor, photographer and 'environment artist' and, most famously, as a cartoonist and illustrator. His work has been exhibited at the Tate Modern in London, at the MoMA in New York, and in Paris, Berlin, Melbourne and beyond. He has published over twenty books, and has animated a music video for Blur and produced another for Bonny Prince Billy. His work has also been profiled in a documentary for Channel 4 and he was recently invited to hold a major, four-month retrospective at the Hayward Gallery in London. What the Hell are You Doing? The Essential David Shrigley was published by Canongate in 2010. He lives and works in Glasgow.

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