{"product_id":"sufjan-stevens-carrie-lowell-by-joel-mayward-9798765132760","title":"Sufjan Stevens' Carrie \u0026 Lowell","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUpon the release of Sufjan Stevens’ seventh studio album, \u003ci\u003eCarrie \u0026amp; Lowell\u003c\/i\u003e, two divergent groups found themselves as strange bedfellows: the LGBTQIA+ community and American evangelical Christians. Both were united in praise for Stevens’ beautifully melancholic music.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCritically acclaimed as one of the best albums of 2015, the elegiac and intimate record about the death of Sufjan’s estranged mother reflects the musician’s own paradoxical posture—\u003ci\u003eCarrie \u0026amp; Lowell\u003c\/i\u003e is both sacred \u003ci\u003eand\u003c\/i\u003e profane, Christian \u003ci\u003eand\u003c\/i\u003e queer, traditional \u003ci\u003eand\u003c\/i\u003e progressive, despairing \u003ci\u003eand\u003c\/i\u003e hopeful.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTheologian and cultural critic Joel Mayward considers \u003ci\u003eCarrie \u0026amp; Lowell\u003c\/i\u003e as a mystical metamodern \u003ci\u003ememento mori\u003c\/i\u003e, Sufjan’s symphonic (as opposed to systematic) approach to the questions of mortality, sexuality, and God. Fusing critical observations with personal narrative, Mayward examines the unique audience reception of \u003ci\u003eCarrie \u0026amp; Lowell\u003c\/i\u003e and the questions it raises: in a world of division, how might Stevens’ affecting music act as a bridge of love between seemingly irreconcilable communities?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs \u003ci\u003eCarrie \u0026amp; Lowell\u003c\/i\u003e reminds us of the painful truth that “we’re all gonna die,” perhaps it also offers a glimpse of transcendence and hope on this side of death.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47428160127212,"sku":"9798765132760","price":21.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9798765132760.jpg?v=1774767099","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/sufjan-stevens-carrie-lowell-by-joel-mayward-9798765132760","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}