Some years ago I came across one of those lists of books to read. But this time not 1001 books you should read before you die - which is actually a great collection if you want to branch out into literature from all around the (mostly Western) world. But as some of you might already know about me, I like a challenge, I like going beyond the ordinary.
When I found the '50 tough books to read' list, published in 2013 by flavorwire, I was pretty excited. I hardly knew ANY book on that list - even though I did consider myself well-read at the time (I know better now!). But also the descriptions there really made me excited. And as at the #twbbookclub we have started to look into books that writers should read, well, I'd like to nominate all the books on this list.
Fun!? Yes? No?
Impossible Books to Read - that sounds like fun, right? And so my journey started. I think I've read about 10 form the list so far, and trying to not read one after the other as I have several years still ahead of me. And also because these are not easy books. They leave their mark, for once reason of the other. They are impossibly tough for various reasons. They deal with the insane, with pure heart-breaking, with graphical violence. And with unsurpassed beauty. The beauty of writing, of creating worlds that are impossible to leave.
Here I want to give some of the highlights from books I've read so far. I'm sure there are other though readers out there who wouldn't mind having some challenge, and this might give them a good idea of what to expect of books on this list.
No Spoilers - don't worry ;)
#14 House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski (Random House, 2000)
This book has impressed me beyond words. Not only the style, and the strange way it starts out - someone who finds notes and goes through them, outlining and ordering them, narrating them. Several storylines, a lot of confusion. But all of a sudden it starts to make sense and you're sucked into what has been my most intense reading experience ever. After reading this book I can honestly say I've encountered a type of horror I have never experienced before, and wish to never experience again. I will not give any spoilers. So here this review must end. But... woah.
#21 Wittgenstein's Mistress by David Markson (Dalkey Archive Press, 1990)
This book is probably only interesting to those who know a bit about Wittgenstein. Or who have read his Tractatus. But if you have, this book is a must. It is disturbing, as it does precisely what Wittgenstein advocates regarding language, in the form of a novel. It is truly an insane experience, and I will not trust anyone who says they understand Wittgenstein when they haven't read this book. It was difficult to read, impossible to follow. But once I figured out it wasn't so much about what was said but how it was said, things started to brighten. That does sound like Wittgenstein, right?
#27 The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosiński (Houghton Mifflin, 1965)
This is an incredibly disturbing book. It is not about a small boy who is abandoned in Poland by his parents at the outbreak of the Second World War, it is completely written in deep POV: you see the world through his eyes. It's not easy to understand what happens most of the time, as the boy doesn't understand most of it. Only when you try to sleep at night, and you think about what you have just read, you realize the horrors that happened. Disturbing on a different level than simply violence. I'm not sure I would suggest this book to anyone, even though I think everyone should read this book as it is powerful and extremely well-written. And impossible. Impossible to forget.
I'll try to update you all as I make my way through more books on the list. For now, I hope this has peaked your interest enough to visit the whole list of though books for extreme readers.
Read them yourself!
So, maybe you're also interested in reading these books? On Goodreads there is a useful list and they also have a useful feature to keep track what you've already read. And to keep track of how many books you've read this year. (I'm incredibly behind already on my #95BookChallenge, but I still have time to catch up, hopefully.)
Would love to hear if you have read any of the books on this list already, and if you would recommend other once you think are missing from it. Next up for me are: "The Making of Americans" by Gertrude Stein (#40 on the list) and finally finish "Infinite Jest" by David Foster Wallace (#3 on the list) which I had to put away at one point as I started to feel too depressed along with the main character in the book. That's impossible books - so well written that you cannot but relate, which makes them dangerously beautiful.
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