What would you read instead of Knausgaard?
November 23, 2018 8:18 AM Subscribe
It's not that I have any particular issue with him; the excerpts that I've read seem taking enough that I'd probably read one of the books if I happened to have a copy. It's just that whenever people - as in this post on the blue - talk about what they're reading instead, that sounds so much more interesting.
My only request is that you not recommend science fiction or fantasy, because I absolutely have those sewn up.
My only request is that you not recommend science fiction or fantasy, because I absolutely have those sewn up.
Seconding Ferrante, but it depends on what part of Knausgaard interests you. If you want literary fiction about a writer, Rachel Cusk’s Outline trilogy. I also really enjoyed Ali Smith’s Autumn and Winter and am looking forward to Spring, which will come out next spring. Lots of musings on Art and Life and Brexit. When I’m in the mood for literary navel-gazing, there’s Sheila Heti and Maggie Nelson.
posted by betweenthebars at 10:11 AM on November 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by betweenthebars at 10:11 AM on November 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Knowing a little about your interests, I wonder if you've already read Carolyn Kay Steedman's Landscape for a Good Woman: A Story of Two Lives. For something sort of Knausgaardian in its intense self-awareness about ambiguous autobiographical minutiae, all stated plainly by a famous author, what comes to mind is Nathalie Sarraute's Childhood (cheap older edition).
posted by Wobbuffet at 11:32 AM on November 23, 2018
posted by Wobbuffet at 11:32 AM on November 23, 2018
"Memoirs from Beyond the Grave" by François-Rend de Chateaubriand (Alex Andreiesse translator, NYRB Classics).
I just finished this recently and was sad to get to the end, I wanted to spend more time with the brilliant, gloomy, charming Viscount. (Actually, there's 2500 more pages, but there isn't a really good translation of the whole thing. I hope Andriesse keeps going!)
Relatedly, I also recommend Paul Auster's "Book of Illusion", which is where I first heard of Chateaubriand, and W.G. Sebald's "Rings of Saturn" which also has a chapter concerning Chateabriand's time in England.
posted by crazy_yeti at 1:16 PM on November 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
I just finished this recently and was sad to get to the end, I wanted to spend more time with the brilliant, gloomy, charming Viscount. (Actually, there's 2500 more pages, but there isn't a really good translation of the whole thing. I hope Andriesse keeps going!)
Relatedly, I also recommend Paul Auster's "Book of Illusion", which is where I first heard of Chateaubriand, and W.G. Sebald's "Rings of Saturn" which also has a chapter concerning Chateabriand's time in England.
posted by crazy_yeti at 1:16 PM on November 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Seconding Heti and Nelson.
posted by ferret branca at 3:59 PM on November 23, 2018
posted by ferret branca at 3:59 PM on November 23, 2018
Roberto Bolańo - either 2666 or The Savage Detectives. They approach Knausgaard-like length (especially 2666) and be prepared to spend a couple of hundred pages getting in to them (especially 2666 where the first section is the worst imho) but oh you will be a different person when you emerge.
posted by humuhumu at 10:57 AM on November 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by humuhumu at 10:57 AM on November 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
Re: memoirs, I've recently read Ulysses S. Grant's memoir. He has a subtle understated writing style, and the moments when his feelings & opinions peak through make for interesting contrasts. I think he's one of the more talented prose writers of the 19th century.
posted by ovvl at 8:31 PM on November 24, 2018
posted by ovvl at 8:31 PM on November 24, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Obscure Reference at 8:46 AM on November 23, 2018 [7 favorites]