So Much Longing in So Little Space by Karl Ove Knausgård

The third phase is the one we think of as classic Munchian: it included paintings such as Melancholy,Vampire, Puberty, Anxiety, Jealousy, and, what is undoubtedly the most unnerving image in modern art, The Scream, which depicts a genderless, ageless figure, its mouth open, screaming in horror. The second phase continued on until 1892, when Munch painted everything from impressionistic street scenes to harbour motifs, but was essentially still searching for an original artistic expression he could call his own.

The first phase covers the apprentice years, which began in Munch’s teens and culminated in him at 22 painting his first masterpiece: The Sick Child. Knausgaard divides Munch’s impressive oeuvre into four distinct phases. It’s not the life of the Norwegian painter that is of great concern here, however, but the work. The topic of conversation this time, though, is a bit more specific: Edvard Munch. The feel, tone, and style is very similar. So Much Longing in So Little Space should be read in much the same way as My Struggle. It includes, for instance, intimate details concerning the traumatic psychological breakdown of the author's ex-wife a 400-page essay dissecting Adolf Hitler's life, and a 30-page analysis of a poem by Paul Celan. His six-volume book My Struggle stylistically sits somewhere between the realist novel, an autobiographical diary, and a work-in-progress art installation. Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard’s postmodern literary style is in thrall to the Dionysian art of chaos.

So Much Longing in So Little Space by Karl Ove Knausgård