Imago

Few people know that Carl Spitteler won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1919. While most of his work consists of drama and poetry, he published the novel Imago in 1906. I did not enjoy reading this novel, as it had an extremely dated feel to it,mainly through its extensive use of symbolism.

Spitteler is also known under the pseudonym Carl Felix Tandem, a name remarkably close to that of the main character, Alex-Li Tandem, in Zadie Smith's novel The Autograph Man. ( )