Perfect prose, poetic and lyrical. Hazzard’s eye for detail is mesmerizing. Reminded me a little of The English Patient, but also of Woolf and Joyce wPerfect prose, poetic and lyrical. Hazzard’s eye for detail is mesmerizing. Reminded me a little of The English Patient, but also of Woolf and Joyce with its masterful stream-of-consciousness style. So many quotable highly original lines, e.g. this late 1970s scene in the foyer of a Stockholm hotel: ‘A heavy tourist in American seersucker stumbled shortsightedly on Ted Tice’s feet. A woman came out of a phone booth, smiling. A slim boy was pulled past by two leashed poodles.’ Or: ‘Grace stared at his clear, hectic skin and tawny head, his noonday colours.’...more
I was drawn to this book because Djuna Barnes was a member of the modernist expat Paris-based circle that included Gertude Stein, who I am writing a bI was drawn to this book because Djuna Barnes was a member of the modernist expat Paris-based circle that included Gertude Stein, who I am writing a book about. Although I acknowledge this slim novel was ahead of its time in the way it presented lesbianism and transgenderism, and it creates a unique atmosphere of an other-worldly underworld Paris, I found it a bit hard to get into. It made me think of Woolf, Joyce, Beckett and other modernists, but didn't quote ensnare me and pull me in like those writers do. Still, I'm glad I read it and the eerie, dark, sub-logical, liminal, demi-monde it portrays is deliciously idiosyncratic and haunting....more
Inspired by Rainer Maria Rilke's 'Letters to a Young Poet', McCann's book contains lots of really helpful little gems for the young (and not so young)Inspired by Rainer Maria Rilke's 'Letters to a Young Poet', McCann's book contains lots of really helpful little gems for the young (and not so young) writer. The prose is fresh, honest and pleasantly surprising, and refreshingly free of tired old cliches like 'show don't tell'. Covers all the aspects of being a writer, from seeking inspiration to dealing with frustration and failure, finding an agent, not finding an agent, etc, etc....more
A writing friend recommended this to me for my recent self-arranged writing residency in Paris and it was perfect. Bite-sized pieces that I could readA writing friend recommended this to me for my recent self-arranged writing residency in Paris and it was perfect. Bite-sized pieces that I could read each day for inspiration about places/things/attitudes to get me in right frame of mind for creating. And it had a very important message which I heeded - to write in Paris you have to sit on your bum for many hours and write! The writing won't just appear from endlessly swanning around Paris's glorious streets, although I made sure i did a bit of that too......more
I've been looking forward to reading this for some time and it did not disappoint. Knausgaard is rigorously honest, but most if this honesty is targetI've been looking forward to reading this for some time and it did not disappoint. Knausgaard is rigorously honest, but most if this honesty is targeted at himself and his own (often 'unacceptable') thoughts and feelings. He comes across as an outsider looking in on life, in the tradition of Sartre's Roquentin in Nausea. The writing also poignantly and painfully describes the distance between us all even when we are close. A fine piece of literature that belongs amongst the best in the existentialist canon....more
This essay cuts to the heart of what writing is with the clarity of a diamond. Knausgaard talks about his failures and successes in trying to write auThis essay cuts to the heart of what writing is with the clarity of a diamond. Knausgaard talks about his failures and successes in trying to write authentically without artifice or pretension. His method involves stripping away all hindrances to capturing the truth of a moment or an experience. He also writes eloquently about the ways that culture and common beliefs shape the way we see the world, literally constructing the world we inhabit. He touches on how science, for example, colours the way we see the world, but stumbles in helping us to answer the big philosophical questions that children naturally ask, but adults learn to stop wondering about. What is the world? How did it come into existence? What is the meaning of our time here on earth? I plan to keep reading as much Knausgaard as I can get my hands on. A modern-day Proust who writes with the unashamed honesty of a Sartre or Beauvoir....more
Great description of main character's arc from traumatised and shut down to re-emerging as a human making connections for the first time. Tender, toucGreat description of main character's arc from traumatised and shut down to re-emerging as a human making connections for the first time. Tender, touching, and with a satisfying and unexpected plot twist. Recommended....more
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