Read about another book on the list.Satantango by László Krasznahorkai
If you want a heart-stopping book, this is it. Krasznahorkai has been called “the Hungarian master of the apocalypse” by Susan Sontag, while James Wood said reading him is “one of the most profoundly unsettling experiences I have had as a reader.” Here, all you need to know is that a few unhinged people are waiting around an isolated hamlet for the arrival of a supposed prophet. Notoriously an enemy of paragraph breaks and periods (Krasznahorkai has built a cult following in part because he says things like: “Only God needs the period—and at the end He will use one, I am sure.”), reading Satantango is an exercise both claustrophobic and mesmerizing. There’s a moment where the narrative actually breaks down, right there on the page. When I read it, I stood up and started pacing around I was so excited.
Bonus points if you watch all of Béla Tarr’s 7 hour adaptation of the book.
--Marshal Zeringue
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