What Is It All but Luminous

Notes from an Underground Man

De: Art Garfunkel

Narrado por: Art Garfunkel

"Poetic musings on a life well-lived—one that is still moving forward, always creating, always luminous. This isn't your typical autobiography. Garfunkel's history is told in flowing prose, bounding from present to past, far from a linear rags-to-riches story."
—Bookreporter


"It's hard to imagine any single word that would accurately describe this book . . . an entertaining volume that's more fun to read than a conventional memoir might have been."
—The Wall Street Journal


"A charming book of prose and poetry printed in a digitalized version of his handwriting . . . witty, candid, and wildly imaginative . . . A highly intelligent man trying to make sense of his extraordinary life."
—Associated Press

From the golden-haired, curly-headed half of Simon & Garfunkel, a memoir (of sorts)—moving, lyrical impressions, interspersed throughout a narrative, punctuated by poetry, musings, lists of resonant books loved and admired, revealing a life and the making of a musician, that show us, as well, the evolution of a man, a portrait of a life-long friendship and of a collaboration that became the most successful singing duo in the roiling age that embraced, and was defined by, their pathfinding folk-rock music.

In What Is It All but Luminous, Art Garfunkel writes about growing up in the 1940s and ‘50s (son of a traveling salesman, listening as his father played Enrico Caruso records), a middle-class Jewish boy, living in a redbrick semi-attached house on Jewel Avenue in Kew Gardens, Queens.

He writes of meeting Paul Simon, the kid who made Art laugh (they met at their graduation play, Alice in Wonderland; Paul was the White Rabbit; Art, the Cheshire Cat). Of their being twelve at the birth of rock’n’roll (“it was rhythm and blues. It was black. I was captured and so was Paul”), of a demo of their song, Hey Schoolgirl for seven dollars and the actual record (with Paul’s father on bass) going to #40 on the charts.

He writes about their becoming Simon & Garfunkel, ruling the pop charts from the age of sixteen, about not being a natural performer but more a thinker, an underground man.

He writes of the hit songs; touring; about being an actor working with directors Mike Nichols (“the greatest of them all”), about choosing music over a PhD in mathematics.

And he writes about his long-unfolding split with Paul, and how and why it evolved, and after; learning to perform on his own . . . and about being a husband, a father and much more.

Reseñas de la Crítica

Acclaim for Art Garfunkel’s
WHAT IS IT ALL BUT LUMINOUS

"Captivating . . . Even before he met Simon, he found his voice, and not just any voice. It is perhaps one of the most magical, alluring voices in music history . . ."

--Michael Granberry, Dallas Morning News

"Charming and poetic; uniquely written and unconventional . . . Garfunkel can now add memoirist to his resume of singer/actor/pop culture icon."

--David Chiu, Huffington Post

"I was quite blown away with what a strong, beautiful and intimate memoir What Is It All But Luminous turns out to be. It is so well written and has so many wonderful little scenes and insights, delicious quirks of Art Garfunkel. I loved it; it's a very special pleasure."

--Jann Wenner

“Garfunkel reveals flashes of real insight about the transcendent power of music and the inner workings of a singer’s life.”

—Publishers Weekly

Quirky but Endearing

I imagine that the listeners of this book are virtually all Simon and Garfunkel fans. I found the book interesting in large part because of the insight it offered into the duo’s love/hate rivalry. Regardless, there was a whimsical sweetness and quirky poignancy to the book. At times it was tedious but overall it was a nice journey. I enjoyed it.

Accept This Book For What It Is...and Isn't

I'm reviewing the Audible version. I knew what I was in for when I saw him in concert in Plymouth, MA in June 2017. His voice, once so perfect, was now a 'work in progress' as Art said. But given his age and accepting of the limitations of time the concert was fine. But...in between songs he would quote some of the rambling passages from this book. 'So there I was, drinking my freshly squeezed..lah, de, dah, de dah.' on and on nonsense. It was uncomfortable and he came across so full of himself it was insufferable at times. But...his voice brings back so many memories, as flawed as it may be in spots by age, use and health.

So why buy the Audible book? I wanted to hear 'the voice' in the cohesiveness of the book with an open mind instead of snippets and to see if his poetic style might grow on me...and it did...to a degree. Sure, would have preferred an autobiography. Nonetheless, like I said, I knew what I was buying unlike some others and it has grown on me a bit since I was coming at it a bit differently. But I warn you, accept this as a poetic wondering of thoughts that don't necessarily tie together and from someone that has a high opinion of himself. This is not for everyone. As a long time fan I was aware of Art's personality and when you like someone you accept them as they are. No one likes everything about everyone.

I love Art and the songs I grew up on take me back to a special time that is long gone. Art made amazing songs more so with his talent. To try and figure how he sees the world and his life within it through this book is a challenge but I still mostly liked it. His biggest fault would seem to be lack of humility. But the great ones often suffer from a big ego without which they wouldn't have had the confidence to become the beloved talent that they rose to. Sooooo...I liked the book. Sometimes a lot. It has grown on me. But I started off as a big fan for whom Art's voice brings back magical memories and I was aware of his ego. In print or with another reader I know I would not have enjoyed it as much.

Please do not buy this book expecting an autobiography and then trash it with a bad review. It isn't an autobiography - understand what it is going in. I would recommend the Audible version which makes it easier to like as it comes across much better than on paper. Listen to a sample online.

I give bonus points for Art being himself and putting out the book that HE wanted. Don't be offended by the bad reviews Art. Take it as as a complement. They love you and wanted an autobiography. They needed a better understanding of what this book was about first.The autobiography will come later.

Disappointed

As a fan of S & G, and of Art Garfunkel's early solo work, I really wanted to like this book. I wanted to be inspired. I wanted it to be Luminous. I am simply disappointed.
.....All of the various pieces and notes he collected over the years may actually be interesting, but it just didn't happen here. Most everything came across as shallow. I kept waiting for even a little depth; It never came. Halfway through, I thought to give up on the notion of depth and just wanted to be entertained. That didn't happen either. Garfunkel just comes across as pretentious and arrogant; presenting the reading of this book as a performance rather than sharing bits and pieces of his life. Other than the pieces about his wife and children, who he clearly adores, it's impossible to tell whether even he found the rest of it interesting.
.....I've watch the video of the 1981 S & G Concert In Central Park a number of times. The thing I'm most struck by is the different ways each one physically expresses the music. For Paul Simon, the music seems to come from/through his whole body. For Art Garfunkel, the music seems to come only from his beautiful voice; shallow and not fully engage.
.....That's how this book felt - shallow and not fullly engaged.

SUCKS!!! The only audio book I should return!

Boring, boring, uninteresting. I did not make it half way thru before calling it quits.

self indulgent

In love with his own prose, spinning word imagery and half thoughts in a distracting way. Although, to be fair, I stopped after 30 minutes.