Being a Genius: Stories about Art, Life, Death, Love, Sex, Money, and Madness

The book by Zarina Asfari balances between the genres of biography and artistic text, which creates an emotional connection between the reader and the heroes — universally acknowledged geniuses of world painting. Each chapter begins with direct speech from an unknown person: readers only know that it is the story of one of the greatest artists in the world and try to understand who is being discussed (these "monologues" Asfari wrote based on the diaries and letters of the artists).

The reader will discover many curious facts from the creative and personal lives of the book's heroes, as well as read the author's analysis of the artistic features of two paintings by each of them. There are no famous but over-familiar works among them, so readers will not find Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" or Munch's "The Scream" in the pages of this book but will get acquainted with lesser-known yet equally remarkable works of art.

Another important part of the book is the recommendations that will help art lovers feel closer to the geniuses, such as embarking on a journey like Gauguin loved to do or preparing dinner from a recipe preferred by Salvador Dalí.

In form, the book is closer to literary fiction, in content — to non-fiction, so it may attract those who love reading but usually shy away from non-fiction literature.