Karl Ove Knausgaard explores art, philosophy, and literature with piercing candor and intelligence in this collection of cultural criticism. Paired with full-color images throughout, his essays render the shadowlands of Cindy Sherman’s photography, illuminate the depth of Stephen Gill’s eye, and tussle with the inner-workings of Ingmar Bergman's workbooks. In one essay he describes the figure of Francesca Woodman, arms coiled in birch bark and reaching up toward the sky—a tree. In another, he unearths Sally Mann’s photographs of decomposing corpses, drawn to the point at which branches and limbs, hair and grass harmonize. Each essay bristles with Knausgaard’s searing honesty and longing to authentically see, understand, and experience the world.
