trying to interview László Krasznahorkai

“I had to write only this book and no more. You try to write only one book and put everything you want to say in one book, to create my own literary world with my sentences,” Krasznahorkai told last week’s audience. The Irish Tóibín made a stab at describing Krasznahorkai’s style, which he saw as “removing the need for objects in novel and seeing whether a novel can live in a different space. Tóibín described the novel as “a secular space,” yet this one “deals with spiritual questions rather than material questions.” God “interferes” with the novel and its characters. “Bringing God into the novel, it’s dynamite,” Tóibín said. Comment? The Hungarian Krasznahorkai demurred. “Hmmmm,” he said. Then again, “Hmmmm…”

more from Cynthia Haven at The Book Haven here.