The Manhattan Project

Description

Internationally celebrated Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai has been heralded by Susan Sontag as “the Hungarian master of the apocalypse” and compared favorably to Gogol by W. G. Sebald. A new work by Krasznahorkai is always an event, and The Manhattan Project is no less. As part of Krasznahorkai’s fellowship at the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, he has been working on a novella inspired by a reading of Moby-Dick. Yet, as he follows in Herman Melville’s footsteps, a second book alongside the original novella took shape. The Manhattan Project is that book. Offering a unique account of a great literary mind at work, Krasznahorkai reveals here the incidences and coincidences that shape his process of writing and creating. The Manhattan Project explores the act of creation through the lens of Krasznahorkai’s encounter with Melville, and it places this vision alongside the work of others who have crossed Melville’s path, both literally and fictionally. Presented alongside Krasznahorkai’s text are photographs by Ornan Rotem, which trace the encounters of writers and artists with Melville as they crisscross Manhattan, driven by a hunger to unlock the city’s inscrutable ways. As Krasznahorkai goes in search of Melville, we journey along with him on the quest for the secret of creativity. The Manhattan Project provides a rare understanding of great literature in the making.

Description

"In this literary diary, Krasznahorkai chronicles his attempts to fathom the life of Herman Melville, which is also the source of inspiration for his forthcoming novella Spadework for a Palace. Retracing Melville’s steps, Krasznahorkai becomes engrossed in a web of chance encounters and coincidences that stretch from Manhattan to Nantucket, to London and to Berlin. Over the course of his wanderings, Krasznahorkai finds himself increasingly alienated from his present-day surroundings, drawn instead to the company of ghosts: the novelist Malcolm Lowry when he was down-and-out, the visionary architect Lebbeus Woods and of course – Melville himself. Ornan Rotem’s photographic essay follows Krasznahorkai on his forays, both in space and time, creating a subtle portrait of a creative mind at work and the places he encounters."--Publisher. Internationally celebrated Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai has been heralded by Susan Sontag as 'the Hungarian master of the apocalypse' and compared favourably to Gogol by W. G. Sebald. A new work by Krasznahorkai is always an event, and this book is no less. As part of the author's fellowship at the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, he has been working on a novella inspired by a reading of 'Moby-Dick'. Yet, as he follows in Herman Melville's footsteps, a second book alongside the novella took shape. This is that book.

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