So Much Longing in So Little Space: The Art of Edvard Munch
Category: Books,Literature & Fiction,History & Criticism
So Much Longing in So Little Space: The Art of Edvard Munch Details
Review “Fans of the author's acclaimed autobiographical novels will find this book to be of Rosetta Stone-like importance as he delves into Munch's exploration of memory and how the artist rendered the past in a way that still feels both intimate and universally relatable . . . An immersive, impassioned history that illuminates both subject and author.” – Kirkus, starred review Read more About the Author Karl Ove Knausgaard’s first novel, Out of the World, was the first ever debut novel to win the Norwegian Critics’ Prize and his second, A Time for Everything, was widely acclaimed. The My Struggle cycle of novels has been heralded as a masterpiece wherever it has appeared, and the first volume was awarded the prestigious Brage Prize. Read more
Reviews
If you haven't read Knausgaard before, this book may come as a surprise to you. That's because most books about Artists are written by “experts” who more often than not have axes to grind, theories to advance in art criticism.Not Knausgaard.Like his novels where he foolishly lays out his bad behavior, raw emotions, and his reactions to everyday life, here he writes about his personal responses to Munch's work. And like his prior books, he is a master at describing the complex, often contradictory feelings that are aroused in him by Munch's paintings.Knausgaard doesn't canonize Munch; he depicts a flawed, often amatuerish, and always insecure artist who nonetheless pursues his ambition relentlessly. Munch left behind a lifetime's cache of works, many of which are not very good, but the aggregate of those paintings articulate the remarkable journey he took.Knausgaard understands the artist's process; the Doubt and Belief in Painting, as Gerhard Richter spoke about. I think he would be the first to admit that much of his own writing is not very good, but he is still working on it.