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So Much Longing in So Little Space

The Art of Edvard Munch

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So Much Longing in So Little Space

By: Ingvild Burkey, Karl Ove Knausgaard
Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
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About this listen

Random House presents the audiobook edition of So Much Longing in So Little Space by Karl Ove Knausgaard, read by Matthew Waterson.

In So Much Longing in So Little Space, Karl Ove Knausgaard explores the life and work of Edvard Munch. Setting out to understand the enduring power of Munch’s painting, Knausgaard reflects on the essence of creativity, on choosing to be an artist, experiencing the world through art and its influence on his own writing.

As co-curator of a major new exhibition of Munch's work in Oslo, Knausgaard visits the landscapes that inspired him, and speaks with contemporary artists, including Vanessa Baird and Anselm Kiefer.

Bringing together art history, biography and memoir, and drawing on ideas of truth, originality and memory, So Much Longing in So Little Space is a brilliant and personal examination of the legacy of one of the world’s most iconic painters, and a meditation on art itself.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Karl Ove Knausgaard and Ingvild Burkey (P)2019 Random House Audiobooks Art European Literary History & Criticism World Literature Scandinavia

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Critic reviews

This book gets to places that conventional art history has long been too sheepish to explore. (Craig Brown)
Norway doesn’t have a world-class philosopher (Kierkegaard was Danish). Karl Ove Knausgaard declared at the end of his previous book that he is no longer a writer, and it looks as though he’s moving in to fill that space... A philosophical meditation on the nature of art and the self. (Sue Prideaux)
An intriguing analysis exploring the many layers of artistic creation... Intellectually rewarding, philosophically engaging, and written in a gripping narrative voice that is sincere, authoritative, and authentic, Knausgaard’s book subtly teaches the reader, in almost mystical and theological terms, about the positive spiritual value of art. (JP O'Malley)
So Much Longing in So Little Space – which has its roots in an exhibition that Knausgaard curated at Oslo’s Munch Museum in 2017 – succeeds on its own terms as a searching, shrewd and jargon-free interpretation of the artist’s art and life. Knausgaard writes clearly and candidly, as a fellow-pilgrim partnering the reader through Munch’s inner landscape rather than a preacher or teacher. Ingvild Burkey’s fine translation carries that unpretentious intimacy into English with total assurance. (Boyd Tonkin)
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I really enjoyed this but unlike Edoardo Ballerini, who reads Knausgaard so well in the My Struggle series of books, Matthew Waterson seems disconnected from the text and somewhat disinterested.

That said, a fascinating book and you will want to listen while Googling the pictures being discussed and to take a Google maps tour around Åsgårdstrand to find the locations where Munch worked.

Recommended.

A fascinating book let down by the proformance.

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