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The Loss Library and Other Unfinished Stories
“Not writing is always a relief and sometimes a pleasure. Writing about what cannot be written, by contrast, is the devil’s own job.”In this unusual text, a blend of essay, fiction, and literary genealogy, South African novelist Ivan Vladislavic explores the problems and potentials of the fictions he could not bring himself to write.Drawing from his notebooks of the past t...more
Hardcover, 121 pages
Published
February 15th 2012
by Seagull Books
(first published January 15th 2012)
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At every author reading, invariably somebody asks where inspiration comes from, which is an interesting question more to see the author’s reaction (ranging anywhere from humorous contempt to frustrated anger. I’ve heard stories of people like David Foster Wallace chastising the asker and walking off the stage) than to hear any sort of answer. It’s considered by many to be to be an impossible answer, and perhaps most authors are satisfied to be authors without having to be neurologists as well. T...more
What do writers do with their unfinished stories, novels and essays?
This extraordinary collection of stories by South African novelist Ivan Vladuskavic is an exploration of unsettled accounts of writing; stories begun and abandoned and others that ultimately ended life as a line or two in a notebook. There are eleven in all of what the author calls case studies taken from his notebooks of the past 20 years. Along the way he pays homage to other writers such as Walser, Perec, Sterne, and DeLillo....more
This extraordinary collection of stories by South African novelist Ivan Vladuskavic is an exploration of unsettled accounts of writing; stories begun and abandoned and others that ultimately ended life as a line or two in a notebook. There are eleven in all of what the author calls case studies taken from his notebooks of the past 20 years. Along the way he pays homage to other writers such as Walser, Perec, Sterne, and DeLillo....more
What fun. Stories about lost stories, grouped around a story about a library of lost books. I enjoyed them a great deal and then even more when I stopped taking them at face value. Wouldn't it be delightful if the premise were all a deceit? If Vladislavic hadn't ever started his abandoned fragments but made these up too, and wrote stories around them? I think I half-believed that by the end, when the final piece echoed the first in its description of a photograph of a dead body.
All accompanied b...more
All accompanied b...more
Apr 28, 2012
Anne
marked it as to-read
Ron Slate's written
a good article on The Loss Library
"The Loss Library is a beautifully made book. Illustrations by Sunandini Bannerjee are tipped into the opening pages of chapters – their distortions, suggestions and incompletions complement the author’s intent and style. There is a sly slightness to the book, an airiness that inspires wonder about the elusive narratives all around us."
The Loss Library is published by the University of Chicago Press and by Umuzi, Randomstruik in South Africa...more
a good article on The Loss Library
"The Loss Library is a beautifully made book. Illustrations by Sunandini Bannerjee are tipped into the opening pages of chapters – their distortions, suggestions and incompletions complement the author’s intent and style. There is a sly slightness to the book, an airiness that inspires wonder about the elusive narratives all around us."
The Loss Library is published by the University of Chicago Press and by Umuzi, Randomstruik in South Africa...more
I suspect this might be the most post-modern book I have read. It claims to be a collection of unfinished stories with explanatory essays for each, but I'm pretty sure it's a novella whose protagonist is Ivan Vladislavic. Basically, it's a writer writing about not writing, while demonstrating such proficiency that the premise (that Vladislavic did not or could not finish the stories) becomes unsupportable. This is a book that unwrites itself. Worth it for any story, the Robert Walser piece espec...more
This is definitely a booknerd's book. When I told someone what it was "about," they asked, "How do you even publish something like that?!"
Regardless of the answer, I'm happy someone did. This book feels like being in a modern art museum where half-formed Kurosawan dreams about literary compulsion and bibliophilia line the walls. I didn't really understand the intention of the book until it was over and my rating likely reflects the continual uncertainty that accompanied my read of this book. I r...more
Regardless of the answer, I'm happy someone did. This book feels like being in a modern art museum where half-formed Kurosawan dreams about literary compulsion and bibliophilia line the walls. I didn't really understand the intention of the book until it was over and my rating likely reflects the continual uncertainty that accompanied my read of this book. I r...more
the only complete story in the book, "the loss library" is a masterpiece.
a very good book of the writer discussing his unfinished work and inspirations behind them.
a very good book of the writer discussing his unfinished work and inspirations behind them.
some of my thoughts on it embedded here: http://www.5cense.com/12/numb_daze_3.htm
Jun 20, 2012
Poupeh
added it
stories about stories that were not written, stories of failed attempts that are failing and yet succeeding.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Incredible. Loved it, loved it, loved it.
A book that is as much about the process of writing as it is about the lost stories.
Now really want to read his book/story The Book Lover.
A book that is as much about the process of writing as it is about the lost stories.
Now really want to read his book/story The Book Lover.
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May 24, 2013
Christina Sallis
marked it as to-read
May 11, 2013
Eva
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Apr 05, 2013
Monica
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Mar 29, 2013
kt
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Mar 28, 2013
Abhilash
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Mar 07, 2013
Natalie Hamilton
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Mar 04, 2013
Clarry
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Mar 03, 2013
Joy
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Feb 20, 2013
Cindie Harp
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“There are no big stories left, just paths through the clutter and the inevitable soft landing.”
—
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