So Much Longing in So Little Space: The Art of Edvard Munch
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- Author：Karl Ove Knausgård
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Summary
Literary giant Karl Ove Knausgaard offers a brilliant and personal assessment of the famous expressionist painter， his Norwegian compatriot， Edvard Munch
Karl Ove Knausgaard's renowned sui generis autobiographical works， both the My Struggle and Four Seasons series， have been celebrated for their passionate and original engagement with art and their insightful critical excursions。 But never before in English has Knausgaard published a true work of nonfiction。 With this daring sweeping study， in characteristic style， Knausgaard combines piercing artistic insight with freewheeling historical， biographical， and autobiographical digressions， bringing to life Munch's emotionally and psychologically intense work with extraordinary and fitting feeling and urgency。 Munch has long been most famous for his iconic work The Scream， but a series of important and comprehensive exhibitions with major galleries in both London and New York have promoted a recent surge of interest。
A singular and exceptionally stylish work of art criticism， and a perfect match of subject and author， So Much Longing in So Little Space， which will include reproductions of a number of Munch's most significant paintings， will be an essential and fascinating volume for both Knausgaard's legion of loyal readers and devotees of the visual arts alike。
Karl Ove Knausgaard's renowned sui generis autobiographical works， both the My Struggle and Four Seasons series， have been celebrated for their passionate and original engagement with art and their insightful critical excursions。 But never before in English has Knausgaard published a true work of nonfiction。 With this daring sweeping study， in characteristic style， Knausgaard combines piercing artistic insight with freewheeling historical， biographical， and autobiographical digressions， bringing to life Munch's emotionally and psychologically intense work with extraordinary and fitting feeling and urgency。 Munch has long been most famous for his iconic work The Scream， but a series of important and comprehensive exhibitions with major galleries in both London and New York have promoted a recent surge of interest。
A singular and exceptionally stylish work of art criticism， and a perfect match of subject and author， So Much Longing in So Little Space， which will include reproductions of a number of Munch's most significant paintings， will be an essential and fascinating volume for both Knausgaard's legion of loyal readers and devotees of the visual arts alike。
Reviews
ra
，
i did only show up for munch i'll be honest， and also just to say i've now read my first knausgård and will definitely not be doing that again i did only show up for munch i'll be honest， and also just to say i've now read my first knausgård and will definitely not be doing that again 。。。more
Reid
，
For me this was a nice primer about the art of seeing， the artist's ability to cut through art's traditional techniques and cultural norms， to uncover and express truths that we generally overlook。 He describes Munch as not the most expert technician， but someone with talent and most importantly a great psychological need to express his loss and isolation， and how Munch got around his technical weaknesses by focusing on emotion and spontaneity， and became an expert practitioner of symbolism to c For me this was a nice primer about the art of seeing， the artist's ability to cut through art's traditional techniques and cultural norms， to uncover and express truths that we generally overlook。 He describes Munch as not the most expert technician， but someone with talent and most importantly a great psychological need to express his loss and isolation， and how Munch got around his technical weaknesses by focusing on emotion and spontaneity， and became an expert practitioner of symbolism to create his most iconic works。 Throughout， Knausgaard tactfully draws parallels with his own technique of including unplanned aspects in his prose， and his and Munch's going with the flow and live train of thought to express the interior of the artist。 He also explains how fellow Norwegian Knut Hamsun turned inward and modernist at about the same time as Munch， with a new focus on the individual's perspective alone， and how the individual's truth can resonate with us as individuals， rather than preconceived and fabricated as Universal。 Throughout， Knausgaard engages with various artists and scholars for their insights， and I especially liked the third and final section， with filmmakers Joachim Trier and his brother， who kind of humanized the book with their intimate and knowledgable assessments about Munch， loneliness， humanity and our ineffectual efforts。I do think the reason we make art is because something is missing， there's a crack in the world。。。a meaning that isn't there。 Which I am terrified will crush me。。。And then I look at Munch， who dares to speak in a personal and intimate idiom about the big things。。。The loneliness， the inability to get close to others， watching the others dance， standing in the forest and peering out at them on a summer night。。。That he actually creates a space I experience as being， almost concretely， a remembered space or a dreamed space。 Which he dared give form to。。。in their insistence that "I'm trying to find an essence here。" To be faced with that has been a great inspiration for me。 。。。more
Lauren
，
"No one does cabbages like [Munch] does。。。"From SO MUCH LONGING IN SO LITTLE SPACE: The Art of Edvard Munch by Karl Ove Knausgaard， translated from the Norwegian by Ingvild Burkey， 2017/ 2019#ReadtheWorld21 📍 NorwayMy 2nd entry for the Karl Ove's Oeuvre readalong is this lovely work of biography， art and literay criticism， as well as personal memoir。 Using the life and works of Edvard Munch， Norway's foremost 20th-century visual artist as a launchpad， the narrative winds through a prolific art c "No one does cabbages like [Munch] does。。。"From SO MUCH LONGING IN SO LITTLE SPACE: The Art of Edvard Munch by Karl Ove Knausgaard， translated from the Norwegian by Ingvild Burkey， 2017/ 2019#ReadtheWorld21 📍 NorwayMy 2nd entry for the Karl Ove's Oeuvre readalong is this lovely work of biography， art and literay criticism， as well as personal memoir。 Using the life and works of Edvard Munch， Norway's foremost 20th-century visual artist as a launchpad， the narrative winds through a prolific art career of over 1700 oil paintings and numerous other sketches。 This book is a result of Knausgaard's research for his own curation a Munch exhibit， including site visits to Munch's home and items in historical vaults and archives that have never been displayed。 So much more than the art， there are some fascinating literary references here too， with many nods to Russian and French lit， as well as Scandinavian writers that I wasn't as familiar with sent me to research。"Knausgaardian" - just as people describe writing and stories as "Proustian" or "Kafkaesque" - if you have read his work， you know what to expect here， but this time with a central focus on Munch。 One I plan to return to。。。 A larger art history project is forming in my mind and this would be a great one to revisit in that context。 。。。more
Daniel Elder
，
Truly enjoyable， but I write that as a Knausgaard stan。 It’s an entirely Knausgaardian exploration and if you’re a fan of the often lengthy af digressions about art in the six My Struggle books， this will tickle your fancy。 And there was just enough of the personal in Karl’s life towards the end to really sate my thirst for that。
Lori
，
My Struggle with Karl Ove KnausgardI did not read this for Munch; I was in it for Karl Ove Knausgard。 I wanted to experience him because he's respected and admired worldwide by intelligent， deep readers and is the favorite writer of one of my favorite writers --but not by committing to the first book of either of his long， very long， works， considered masterpieces。 I sensed from samples， interviews and reviews that he and I might not be a great match。 And we weren't。 Yet I'd read it again in a h My Struggle with Karl Ove KnausgardI did not read this for Munch; I was in it for Karl Ove Knausgard。 I wanted to experience him because he's respected and admired worldwide by intelligent， deep readers and is the favorite writer of one of my favorite writers --but not by committing to the first book of either of his long， very long， works， considered masterpieces。 I sensed from samples， interviews and reviews that he and I might not be a great match。 And we weren't。 Yet I'd read it again in a heartbeat， have re-read highlights， watched a documentary and interviews。 This book has been a sort of earworm for me: a bookworm。 The concept excited me because I knew quite a bit about Edvard Munch， have seen versions of most of his masterpiece paintings collectively called The Frieze of Life and some of his other work。 I was fortunate to be taken to a significant exhibition at Harvard's Fogg Museum， which has a collection substantial enough that they were able to mount one which included important loans， before The Scream became a meme， a mask which the killer wore in a series of horror movies made in America。 （Later in this review I will mention a different series of horror movies， for other reasons。） I'd never seen the painting。 I went back several times， purchased the superb catalog and a few high-quality prints， none of which I have anymore。 I wish the desk at which I'm writing faced the version of Madonna which I long ago gave away， I wish I still had the catalog， which someone borrowed and never returned。 So much longing， so many comma splices。Munch's paintings are the most significant to come from a Norwegian， Karl Ove is Norway's most beloved writer so it was a great honor， a fitting one， when he was invited to curate an exhibition at The Munch Museum。 From that came this book， also a documentary and more。 In some ways there's significant symmetry between both artists， in others not， and what I found most interesting often lay in the contrast between shy， private， troubled Munch， who let his work speak for itself， and naked-to-the-world， troubled Karl Ove， who reflects constantly on himself， on his choices for the exhibition， on art， on things outside the scope of the book but no， nothing is outside of the scope of the book， it's his book， it seems he's always writing about himself。 That contrast， as articulated by him and expressed with a thousand comma splices， fascinated and confounded me。 He was given unprecedented access to the entire collection and the freedom to select from among all the paintings and arrange how they would be shown。Its storage space must be the Munch Museum’s inner sanctum， that is where the main body of the collection is found， more than a thousand paintings that were in Munch’s possession when he died and which he willed to the Municipality of Oslo， in other words those paintings he didn’t sell and the versions of well-known paintings which he painted again in order to have after he had sold the originals。 Time-wise they span the decades from the 1870s to the 1940s。 The selection of paintings in this large collection was in a sense dictated by the art market， since the pictures which museums and art dealers in Munch’s time were interested in and acquired are not part of it。 The most significant Munch collection in the world belongs to the Norwegian National Museum， it comprises almost exclusively pictures now considered masterpieces， bought at the beginning of the twentieth century by its then director Jens Thiis。 The Munch Museum’s collection is vastly larger and much more interesting， since it covers every epoch， track and sidetrack in his artistic career， but it is also much more difficult to evaluate in terms of quality， since such a large part of it consists of uncanonical works， and it contains pictures that have never been shown， including sloppy or trifling works， complete failures， first attempts and experiments。Before and after the exhibition he speaks with the head of the museum， with art scholars， and after with Anselm Kiefer， Stephen Gill， Vanessa Baird， other artists and， mostly， himself。 So was I trying to ‘save’ him from himself？ Was I creating an image of him which didn’t actually fit him， but rather me – and if so， with what right？ Could I place myself ‘above’ Munch and direct his pictures into something which didn’t really accord with his view of reality？I noticed that Grøgaard called many of the pictures in the Munch Museum’s collection ‘basement drudges’， and I was seized by a bottomless anxiety: had I selected all the poor paintings by Munch based on an underlying notion that they were good because Munch had painted them？He's a seeker， Karl Ove， and that's beautiful but reading him I wanted him to settle down somewhat， not wrestle with every single thought of his and the others'， let some go。 It sometimes made for tedious reading which was punctuated by hypnotic insights， truths and observations， sentences I'd reread in awe followed by pages of his self-doubt， arguing， contradictions。 Since Grøgaard was a professor of art theory and an expert on Munch， I wanted to show him that I too knew a thing or two about Munch， that I saw straight through convention to what was really good。 But Grøgaard disagreed， so I was left looking doubly stupid， as I gazed at the portraits。。。That one is rather less successful。 Oh no！ This was one of the few pictures from that period which I had selected for the exhibition。 And now he thought it unsuccessful？He wrestles with everything， everyone。 It's admirable but can be tiresome。 A meal with Vanessa Baird illustrates this。 He so admires her work he asked her to illustrate Autumn， her work is on the original back cover。 He's asked her to lunch to talk about the exhibit and it stops shy of an argument as he is not taking in what she's saying， tuning her out， and she increasingly denigrates Munch as if to punish Karl Ove for putting her through this uncomfortable conversation。 Later:Vanessa Baird had been so critical of so many of the pictures I had selected for the exhibition。 That she had used words like bad， feeble， shameful， embarrassing about them， and often laughed too， in a way I felt to be contemptuous。 Next morning I was so full of shame and anxiety about the pictures that I could hardly get out of bed。 As a writer， in the actual moment of writing， an absolutely necessary precondition is to be able to disregard what other people might think。。。This man is truly full of shame and anxiety。 I wanted to put the book down， I wanted to hug him， I was embarrassed for him， simultaneously this openness， and annoyed by his not letting go of a thing， being haunted by so many thoughts at once， by his self-image。 It was strangely engaging。 I will not do it for his other work but something about it， something about him， his talent？ naked soul？ the rawness？， the comma splices？ something captured me， at times captivated me。And at times I wanted to strangle him， or he strangled me， as when he sees a painting in the studio of photographer Stephen Gill by Canadian painter Peter Doig， with whom Karl Ove is familiar。 But he isn't familiar with Doig's greatest influence as told to him by Gill， a group of Canadian painters known as the Group of Seven。 Gill explains it was they who were influenced by Munch， Doig influenced by them。 Karl Ove goes home and looks through Doig's work:But if one looks at Munch’s and Doig’s paintings side by side， the differences are often greater than the similarities。 Isn’t the connection merely that both painted figuratively， people and landscapes， and that the commonalities between them belong to figurative painting itself， in the most general sense？ That’s what I thought until I saw Doig’s painting Echo Lake from 1999。 It is so like Munch’s painting Ashes from 1895 that it can’t be a coincidence， Doig’s must be a direct reference to Munch’s picture。It doesn't end there， he won't let it go even after Doig said he was not influenced by Ashes in making Echo Lake。 I wanted to know what was going on here since Karl Ove seems an intimidating figure to some， who bend to his strong personality， and not to others， who bristle at it， get impatient with his obsessing。 I wanted this matter settled and found a moderated interview on YouTube between the two of them in which Karl Ove nags Doig to admit Munch's influence on him。 And then， in a moment that I love but can't quite explain why， Doig asserts himself。 Echo Lake was inspired by this -- and he whips out an enlargement of a screenshot from a film。 His sister and her friends were watching it and he was passing through the room when the picture on the screen lodged in his mind。 Of course！ One can see it clearly in that photo。 Maybe the trees were somewhat Munch-like but a hundred painters， and the Group of Seven， painted trees like that。 No， Doig asserts， holding the photo aloft while Karl Ove looks on in disbelief and disappointment， a bit of horror: Echo Lake really was inspired by this shot I saw from the film Friday the 13th。 Not only doesn't this fit Karl Ove's thesis it disturbs him， he's visibly upset， but， but -- not Munch！， merely an American horror film。 I'm embarrassed at how much pleasure I took from that moment， the reveal， how Karl Ove tried to not let it happen。 And once Doig is freed from the shackles of KOK KarlOvesplaining his own work to him， Doig relaxes and the interview continues as if that See？ Believe me now？ moment had never happened， and their conversation is engaging。There were parts I loved， including his excitement when he's with the Trier Brothers， who are filming him at Munch's farmhouse and he's adoring every bit of being there， standing on the spot inside where Munch set Self Portrait Between Clock and Bed， combing the grounds for relics， looking for the rocks Munch painted in Melancholy， thinking he's got them but no， not those， then finding them， these are the rocks！， the very same！ Here I found him charming， his delight infectious。 And his childlike enthusiasm when he describes bidding on a Munch that is affordable， which he acquires， that was enjoyable to read。 Then it turns annoying again as he regrets it， spends the next few days and paragraphs ruminating about the things he could have done with the money， bought things for the children， gone places with them， and instead now he's just got this small， minor painting。 He probably still ruminates about it。But there is beautiful writing， keen insights， pearls of phrase， pearls of wisdom， they kept me going， wanting more。 His response to agreeing to curate the exhibition:It was a clear case of hubris， for my only qualification was that I liked looking at paintings and often browsed through art books。 The hubris was of course connected with my lack of knowledge， it is always easy to say yes to something one doesn’t understand the scope of。 Stupidity can also be liberating。I do want more。 Now I know why many so love Karl Ove Knausgard， and why I can't read his trilogies， brilliant though they may be。 In themselves pictures are beyond words， beyond concepts， beyond thought， they invoke the presence of the world on the world’s terms， which also means that everything that has been thought and written in this book stops being valid the moment your gaze meets the canvas。 。。。more
Mads Steiner Nielsen
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Knausgård skriver om kunst， men ikke som en traditionel kunsthistoriker。 Han har et stort fokus på hvad kunsten vækker i sin beskuer; følelser og hvordan sådan kunst skabes。 Han problematiserer det biografiske forhold til mange af de store malere， idéen om at man kun kan forstå kunsten hvis man indgående kender kunstneren。 Knausgård drager paralleller til litteraturen og hele spændingsfeltet er enormt interessant。
Simo
，
Informative， captivating and intriguing just as usual for a Knausgård book。
N4 K0
，
Art exists between the artist and the world。A work about human experience and the problems of translation as made in art， where the artist - the human - goes through life and translates the things of the world into a neutral third ground， the object outliving both subject and author， then itself forming a connection with - with what？ Artist， subject。。。？It's difficult to put it into words without exhaustively recounting the points made in the book。 A brilliant exposition of the human experience a Art exists between the artist and the world。A work about human experience and the problems of translation as made in art， where the artist - the human - goes through life and translates the things of the world into a neutral third ground， the object outliving both subject and author， then itself forming a connection with - with what？ Artist， subject。。。？It's difficult to put it into words without exhaustively recounting the points made in the book。 A brilliant exposition of the human experience as it relates to attempts to translate experience into art from the world， a wide looping cosmology of experience， translation， recording， etc。 。。。more
Bücherangelegenheiten
，
Was qualifiziert Karl Ove Knausgård eigentlich ein Buch über Edvard Munch zu schreiben？ Außer， dass beide aus Norwegen stammen， haben sie doch recht wenig gemeinsam。 Dieser Frage stellt sich Knausgård in seinem Buch „So viel Sehnsucht auf so kleiner Fläche“ über Munch。 Die Ironie liegt hierbei auf der Hand。Auf seine ganz persönliche Weise nähert sich Knausgård hier dem Künstler Munch， indem er versucht sich durch seine Bilder in den Menschen dahinter hineinzuversetzen und zu ergründen， wie Munch Was qualifiziert Karl Ove Knausgård eigentlich ein Buch über Edvard Munch zu schreiben？ Außer， dass beide aus Norwegen stammen， haben sie doch recht wenig gemeinsam。 Dieser Frage stellt sich Knausgård in seinem Buch „So viel Sehnsucht auf so kleiner Fläche“ über Munch。 Die Ironie liegt hierbei auf der Hand。Auf seine ganz persönliche Weise nähert sich Knausgård hier dem Künstler Munch， indem er versucht sich durch seine Bilder in den Menschen dahinter hineinzuversetzen und zu ergründen， wie Munch so berühmt wurde und was seine Bilder so besonders machen。 Dazu fährt er an Orte， an denen Munch lebte， spricht mit Kunstkenner:innen und Künstler:innen， nicht aber nur， um hinter die Fassade Munchs zu blicken， sondern auch um der Frage auf den Grund zu gehen， was Kunst eigentlich ist und wie sie wie wirkt。Der Rahmen für das Buch ist eine Munch-Ausstellung， die Knausgård kuratiert hat。 Für diese Ausstellung hat er sich vorgenommen， die eher unbekannten Bilder von Munch auszustellen。 Deshalb geht es in dem Buch vorrangig um genau diese Bilder und nicht um die， die alle kennen。 Knausgård geht es bei den Bildern nicht um die Technik， die Munch verwendet， sondern um das Gefühl， dass es beim Betrachten auslöst。 Passend zu den Bildern， über die Knausgård schreibt， finden sich farbige Abdrucke dazu im Buch。Es gibt zwei Parallelen im Werk von Knausgård， die Frage nach der Kunst und die nach seinem Leben， so auch in diesem Buch。 „So viel Sehnsucht auf so kleiner Fläche“ kommt im Gewand eines Buches über Munch daher， doch eigentlich ist es ein künstlerischer Abriss vom Schaffen Knausgårds und seiner Gefühlswelt beim Konsumieren von Kunst。 So ist das Buch keine richtige Biografie über Munch und es ist auch keine Interpretation von Munchs Werk， sondern eine Knausgård-Munch-Kunstgeschichte。Für wenn ist dann jetzt dieses Buch？ Zu aller erst ist es für Knausgård selbst， weil es wieder einmal Selbstreflexion auf dem Papier ist。 So wird jeder Knausgård-Fan voll auf seine Kosten kommen， aber auch jeder Munch-Fan wird es spannend finden， das Werk von Munch aus den Augen Knausgårds zu sehen。 Ist man weder Knausgård- noch Munch-Fan， lohnt sich eine Lektüre trotzdem， denn es bietet einem die Möglichkeit， zwei faszinierende Künstler kennenzulernen。Eine klare Leseempfehlung！Note: 2+ 。。。more
Bianca Sandale
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😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
Jose
，
I love Munch and I heard about Karl Ove K。 As the new literary sensation。 So I reached for this book hoping to kill two birds with one stone and ended up injuring just one。 The author admits that being raised immersed in Munch causes the type of inability to really look or listen to things so famous that just become background noise， like the Beatles or the Mona Lisa。 How to see them with fresh eyes？ KOK ， a writer， rolls his sleeves and goes back to basics。 What is painting？ What did Munch pai I love Munch and I heard about Karl Ove K。 As the new literary sensation。 So I reached for this book hoping to kill two birds with one stone and ended up injuring just one。 The author admits that being raised immersed in Munch causes the type of inability to really look or listen to things so famous that just become background noise， like the Beatles or the Mona Lisa。 How to see them with fresh eyes？ KOK ， a writer， rolls his sleeves and goes back to basics。 What is painting？ What did Munch paint and why in his long career？ Was he any good？ To answer this questions he enrols the help of anyone he meets in his rarefied circle of cultured friends， from Anselm Kieffer to Joachim Trier and Vanessa Baird。 He also refers to Deleuze so he can get into the expression of painting itself， and the power of art to create an emotion that survives encapsulated in an object when creator and subject are long gone。 He confesses a certain landscape brought him emotional stirrings and so there must be something to putting colors on canvas。 The problem is he can’t find the words to explain why。 So he connects Munch to his daily impressions， to Munch’s own withdrawn personality and family losses。 He doesn’t tread new territory when addressing the most famous works， the many versions of works depicting intense loss， sickness， melancholy， jealousy。。。in a symbolist language full of curves and with perspectives that pour the figures into our lap。 As thoughtful as the Trier brothers seem talking about their country man ， Vanessa Baird takes a more blunt approach。 Some of Munch’s work are just not that good she says with that self-sufficient air of artist that have met success and like to be on a first name basis with the icons even if they are dead。 She might be right。 Kieffer just mumbles things about trauma and whatnot and keeps on pouring molten lead。 More humbly， the writer comments on a few biographies and visits the Oslo repository of Munch’s paintings in order to curate a show of his art。 He doesn’t want overexposed blockbuster art。 But he needs a theme， forests， portraits。 Page after page he ponders。 Why did Munch paint？ Just to pass the time？ Once he had left his mark， the author seems to conclude that Munch was after the essence， painting quickly， lightly， using too much green here and barely touching the canvas there。 Just preserving time and fending off his longing to belong。 Could be worse。 But I’m not sure this book is the intro to Karl Ove’s greatness I was hoping for。 。。。more
Delphine
，
Zeer persoonlijk boek over de schilderijen van Edvard Munch en hun doorwerking in de hedendaagse artistieke wereld （kunstenaars， cineasten）。 Knausgård wisselt emotionele beschouwingen af met vaak al te abstracte reflecties over kunst， met als resultaat een boek met veel interessante observaties， maar zonder duidelijke identiteit。
Villa Lena
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Recommended by Zhenya Posternak
Apollinaire
，
The book has its lapses （or should I say its shifts into Knausgaardian drama， in which he tells you the precise number and nature of stops he planned to take on his way to giving a speech in Oslo， say， like we were in a crime procedural and something was sure to go wrong--why else go into such meticulous detail？--but nothing does。 We have had our cake but our host has forgotten to let us eat it。） And it is also what you hope for in one kind of artist thinking about another。 An idiosyncratic visi The book has its lapses （or should I say its shifts into Knausgaardian drama， in which he tells you the precise number and nature of stops he planned to take on his way to giving a speech in Oslo， say， like we were in a crime procedural and something was sure to go wrong--why else go into such meticulous detail？--but nothing does。 We have had our cake but our host has forgotten to let us eat it。） And it is also what you hope for in one kind of artist thinking about another。 An idiosyncratic vision of Munch， full of flashes of odd insight。 Knausgaard doubts that this suffices， so he interviews an artist and a critic he esteems， and we listen in on their dialogue。 Which is interesting too， and which helps him articulate his own take， for his own purpose: to explain things about his own art， his writing， his novels。 I loved this book。 。。。more
Dilip
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Ruminatively reflective and inadvertently autobiographical。The reading experience is akin to following a person in an art gallery as he goes from one painting to the next， absorbing his experiences as he reflects on the paintings。 At each painting you get to stand behind him and take in the painting while his shadow is cast on it， you also change perspective to face him directly and experience the painting through his reflections。 Every ray of light bounces off the painting and onto Knausgaard a Ruminatively reflective and inadvertently autobiographical。The reading experience is akin to following a person in an art gallery as he goes from one painting to the next， absorbing his experiences as he reflects on the paintings。 At each painting you get to stand behind him and take in the painting while his shadow is cast on it， you also change perspective to face him directly and experience the painting through his reflections。 Every ray of light bounces off the painting and onto Knausgaard and then reaches you。 In every sentence you see part of the painting， and every word carries a color， a form or a brushstroke。It is very difficult to remove this observer from the canvas， and it becomes quite evident quite soon that through the paintings we see not only Munch but also Knausgaard。 The struggles and loneliness that is evoked in the reader by some of the paintings through Knausgaard is as much a portrayal of the author’s own background as it is of Munch’s fear of commitment caused by childhood losses。 The calm and peace you perceive as a reader through certain paintings resonate as much with the author as it does with the painter。 The ephemera of life and the void left behind by death is vigorously visceral in the writing。 It is now that you realize the inadvertently autobiographical nature of the book， and if you can get past this blunder you can savor the literary prowess of Knausgaard and the paintings of Munch。To experience the paintings merely through words typically demands a lot in the form of imagination from the reader， however the evocative yet honest writing makes this rather trivial - so the reader can focus entirely on the experiences that are readily brought home。 The words reflect without refracting and evoke without exaggerating， they admire sans aggrandizement and in the end quite simply feel sans feigned fulfillment。 。。。more
Joel
，
I knew little about Munch when I started this book so it was new to me。 Parts of the book are rambling or loosely related to Munch， and it's not Karl Ove's best work， but it is very much a part of his body of writing， that is you know he is the writer。 The best parts of the book are his personal revelations， what he feels about Munch， art， writing， and related subjects。 I knew little about Munch when I started this book so it was new to me。 Parts of the book are rambling or loosely related to Munch， and it's not Karl Ove's best work， but it is very much a part of his body of writing， that is you know he is the writer。 The best parts of the book are his personal revelations， what he feels about Munch， art， writing， and related subjects。 。。。more
Ryan
，
Aside from The Scream， Edvard Munch means very little to me。 I came to this work because I'd read Knausgaard's Struggle books and because I had a vague notion that I should learn more about how people respond to art/ paintings。 Knausgaard offers some critical responses， some personal responses （though not as much detail as one gets int A Death in the Family）， and， finally， he three interviews about Edvard Munch。 Knausgaard collates a showing of obscure Munch paintings， buys a Munch painting onli Aside from The Scream， Edvard Munch means very little to me。 I came to this work because I'd read Knausgaard's Struggle books and because I had a vague notion that I should learn more about how people respond to art/ paintings。 Knausgaard offers some critical responses， some personal responses （though not as much detail as one gets int A Death in the Family）， and， finally， he three interviews about Edvard Munch。 Knausgaard collates a showing of obscure Munch paintings， buys a Munch painting online， and journeys to Munch's home。 If I had to locate So Much Longing in So Little Space within a larger stack of books， however， I might not lump it in with other critical overviews of celebrated artists。 Instead， So Much Longing in So Little Space more strongly recalls for me "side projects by famous people。" What's that add up to， you ask？ It's not so far removed from Patti Smith's M Train or Haruki Murakami's On Music。 I'd happily read more works about famous artists， but I'm also eager for more side projects。 。。。more
Micol
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4。5*
Danielle
，
Knausgaard does a great job of weaving personal stories and information about other artists into his exploration of Munch’s work。
Prathyush Parasuraman
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A brilliant， indulgent， text on not just Munch but the act of painting itself。 I love how Knausgard writes this book against the backdrop of curating a Munch exhibition himself。 The conversations with artist critics （who look at Munch technically）， artists （who look at Munch with emotional depth）， and film-makers （who look at Munch as source material）， there is a very nice mix of voices in here。 I love Knausgard's irreverent tone， like how he dismisses his entire book in the last paragraph。"In t A brilliant， indulgent， text on not just Munch but the act of painting itself。 I love how Knausgard writes this book against the backdrop of curating a Munch exhibition himself。 The conversations with artist critics （who look at Munch technically）， artists （who look at Munch with emotional depth）， and film-makers （who look at Munch as source material）， there is a very nice mix of voices in here。 I love Knausgard's irreverent tone， like how he dismisses his entire book in the last paragraph。"In themselves， pictures are beyond words， beyond concepts， beyond thought， they invoke the presence of the world on the world’s terms， which also means that everything that has been thought and written in this book stops being valid the moment your gaze meets the canvas。"This isn't a biography of Munch， and it isn't even a very expansive look at his work。 There's a bit of broad brush strokes made to categorize him and his work， but I didn't mind it so much because of how windingly it is written。 Most authors wouldn't be able to carry paragraph length sentences， but Knausgard does， even with pathetic punctuation。 。。。more
Ani Azuela
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Este libro sería un muy buen filme documental。 Creo que como libro se queda corto porque no está correctamente ilustrado， sin embargo， pienso que no dejan de ser interesantes el punto de vista del autor y la melancolía que evoca con sus palabras al describir su experiencia con la obra de Munch 。 También incluye un par de entrevistas con artistas contemporáneos que le dan jugo al libro。 Al final todo se resume al párrafo final del libro que dice: "In themselves pictures are beyond words， beyond c Este libro sería un muy buen filme documental。 Creo que como libro se queda corto porque no está correctamente ilustrado， sin embargo， pienso que no dejan de ser interesantes el punto de vista del autor y la melancolía que evoca con sus palabras al describir su experiencia con la obra de Munch 。 También incluye un par de entrevistas con artistas contemporáneos que le dan jugo al libro。 Al final todo se resume al párrafo final del libro que dice: "In themselves pictures are beyond words， beyond concepts， beyond thought， they invoke the presence of the world on the world's therms， which also means that everything that has been thought and written in thiss book stops being valid the moment your gaze meets the canvas"。 。。。more
Niels K
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My review: 7。5
Thora Vitou
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I loved this！ Good read with thougful reflections on art and creativity。 True to its promise， it is a personal account of Knausgard's research on Munch， with autobiographical elements and extended references to specific works by Munch。 Knausgard's direct and unpretentious writing made it a pleasure to read！ I loved this！ Good read with thougful reflections on art and creativity。 True to its promise， it is a personal account of Knausgard's research on Munch， with autobiographical elements and extended references to specific works by Munch。 Knausgard's direct and unpretentious writing made it a pleasure to read！ 。。。more
Nina
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Well written literary meditation on my favorite artist。 Knausgard illuminates Munch from his own standpoint and it is a worthy read。
Jenni Gloppe Solem
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Topp ti beste bok， en BANGER
Vel Veeter
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This is ostensibly a critical analysis of the work of Edvard Munch by Karl Ove Knausgard。 I say ostensibly because through various digressions， we also end up looking at discussions of Norway in general， art in Norway， literature in Norway， art， and various other related topics。 What the questions seem to be as we look at Munch’s work: is he a serious artist？ Is he a good artist？ What is his art beyond “The Scream”， which is both his most famous and infamous piece。So we get a history of the art This is ostensibly a critical analysis of the work of Edvard Munch by Karl Ove Knausgard。 I say ostensibly because through various digressions， we also end up looking at discussions of Norway in general， art in Norway， literature in Norway， art， and various other related topics。 What the questions seem to be as we look at Munch’s work: is he a serious artist？ Is he a good artist？ What is his art beyond “The Scream”， which is both his most famous and infamous piece。So we get a history of the art of Munch， beginning with his connections to late 19th century Norway。 We see his ties to Knut Hamsun， who is his contemporary both in age and place， both working on their early masterpieces in the 1890s。 And like Hamsun， we find Munch being contrasted with more reified and established geniuses like Monet and Van Gogh。What we find at the center of this project is Karl Ove Knausgard， temporary art student as a youth， trying to find out if he is capable of selecting Munch paintings for a retrospective using his role as literary giant in the country and amateur art critic， and he finds out that maybe he’s not entirely the best choice。 But Karl Ove Knausgard is like Munch， where is artistic talent is inextricably tied to his national identity both inside and outside that identity。 For Norwegians it might be asked: in the history of Norwegian writing （or painting for Munch） how does he rank？ But for outsiders the question is more like: is he good？ Or is he good， for a Norwegian？ 。。。more
Eric Sutton
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3。5 stars。 Well， I learned a bit about Edvard Munch， but I came to this book primarily for Knausgaard's writing， which perhaps was the wrong approach。 In the end， however， the book worked for me。 Had it not been written by Knausgaard， I'm not sure I would have gotten through it。 Not that I'm not a fan of modern art - in fact， the book helped me place Munch stylistically and thematically against his contemporaries - but to read an entire text on it holds not the same sway as would a parallel piec 3。5 stars。 Well， I learned a bit about Edvard Munch， but I came to this book primarily for Knausgaard's writing， which perhaps was the wrong approach。 In the end， however， the book worked for me。 Had it not been written by Knausgaard， I'm not sure I would have gotten through it。 Not that I'm not a fan of modern art - in fact， the book helped me place Munch stylistically and thematically against his contemporaries - but to read an entire text on it holds not the same sway as would a parallel piece on a specific author's life and works。 With that said， I think Knausgaard， not an art critic whatsoever but likely chosen for his fame and compatriotism， did an admirable job。 I felt badly for him when he is chosen to curate the exhibit for Munch's 150th birthday at the museum in Oslo。 His talks with art historians and visual artists firmly solidifies his dilettante status， but he perseveres nonetheless。 I enjoyed reading the narrative adventures of his in the latter half of the book as he prepares the exhibition。 He's a go-getter， meeting up with professionals， visiting Munch's home， planning a documentary of the experience， writing constantly， maintaining - in his trademark self-deprecating manner - his children and household， and even purchasing a lesser-known of Munch's drawings for himself。 The art criticism section was， for me， a little less successful， especially without reprintings of all the paintings he discussed。 As a theorist， Knausgaard hits and misses。 I felt the same when reading his seasonal quartet。 Some of his ideas register， others seem far-fetched and pedantic （although I imagine that's true of all critical theory to an extent）。 I was lost in his abundance of clauses。 Reservations aside， his writing has this lovely fearlessness about it that is so attractive， that even while I was plodding through some of his more esoteric ideas I never felt burdened。 I believe this has to do with his humility as a writer - which may seem ironic considering he's written extensively about his own quotidian life - that， despite any insecurity， he forges ahead。 Sure， the writing gets discursive at points， but he elucidates the life of an artist in the process， how so much of art is in the creating and execution， a "willing into being" against trends or expectations， which became a major trope of the text。 He explores it through the work of Munch and demonstrates it as a writer himself。 Perhaps he was chosen to write the text precisely because he wasn't a painter or art critic， but a writer， which broadens the scope of the creative process， especially for someone like Munch， who produced thousands of paintings in numerous styles over a roughly 70-year career。Of course it's different from the My Struggle series， but the Munch text captivates nonetheless。 Somehow， Knausgaard's writing， while pulling few tricks （although he's caustically funny）， is so wholly original。 I can't help but read whatever he publishes。 。。。more
Heather Barkley
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I automatically bought this just because I am a Knausgard chump （I'm not sure being a completist is something to be proud of， but I just enjoy reading any dumb thing he chooses to pontificate about。） I assumed this book was kind of a stunt。 He had no art history training that I knew of， so I thought him writing about art was going to be sort of a worthwhile farce。 Kind of like when he did his infamous epic NYT travel gig， which I loved， but was so ridiculous。 But actually this book seemed quite I automatically bought this just because I am a Knausgard chump （I'm not sure being a completist is something to be proud of， but I just enjoy reading any dumb thing he chooses to pontificate about。） I assumed this book was kind of a stunt。 He had no art history training that I knew of， so I thought him writing about art was going to be sort of a worthwhile farce。 Kind of like when he did his infamous epic NYT travel gig， which I loved， but was so ridiculous。 But actually this book seemed quite legit。 Not that I would know， knowing nothing about art， but somehow when I would look up the paintings online and follow along， they seemed to be actually making sense and coming alive to me in a way I had not experienced before。 He really "gets" something from these paintings and is able to convey it in a way that seems， at the least， fair enough。 While many think he writes too much as it is， I actually wish he would write more books like this about art and maybe music too。 I feel there aren't enough books like this， that are non-academic and are able to explore the pure， momentary visceral experience of a work of art。 。。。more
Caleb Goding
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Every book I have read by Knausgaard has astounded me， and this one is no different。 If you go in expecting a biography （which admittedly I did） then you will be disappointed。 Knausgaard focuses more on the art itself， tracing Munch's life and times through the context of the different stages of his life， and then using this context and criticism to really create a meditation on art itself as a whole。 Beautiful， beautiful writing。 Recommended for anyone who is interested in Much， art history， or Every book I have read by Knausgaard has astounded me， and this one is no different。 If you go in expecting a biography （which admittedly I did） then you will be disappointed。 Knausgaard focuses more on the art itself， tracing Munch's life and times through the context of the different stages of his life， and then using this context and criticism to really create a meditation on art itself as a whole。 Beautiful， beautiful writing。 Recommended for anyone who is interested in Much， art history， or the philosophy of art as a whole。 。。。more
Monica De giudici
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