The Luminous Novel
by Mario Levrero
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Description
A writer attempts to complete the novel for which he has been awarded a big fat Guggenheim grant, though for a long time he succeeds mainly in procrastinating - getting an electrician to rewire his living room so he can reposition his computer, buying an armchair, or rather, two: 'In one, you can't possibly read: it's uncomfortable and your back ends up crooked and sore. In the other, you can't possibly relax: the hard backrest means you have to sit up straight and pay attention, which makes show more it ideal if you want to read.' Insomniacs, romantics and anyone who's ever written (or failed to write) will fall in love with this compelling masterpiece told by a true original, with all his infuriating faults, charming wit, and intriguing musings. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Incredible. I wish I could figure out how Levrero turns what in a lesser author's hands would just be a record of anxiety and navel-gazing into something entirely relevant, relatable, and funny to boot. In other words, something very human, and maybe because it's not at all insistent on drilling anything into the reader. Felt like Knausgaard, but in a much lighter mode. Loved every minute of this book.
Interesting, very, very slow, although I have read that that is purposeful to reflect procrastination in writing.
nice but fittingly inspired me to deeply procrastinate on other things i should’ve been doing
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Author Information
Awards and Honors
Notable Lists
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Luminous Novel
- Original title
- La novela luminosa
- Alternate titles
- O Romance Luminoso
- Original publication date
- 2005
- Original language
- Spanish
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 863.64 — Literature & rhetoric Spanish Literature Spanish fiction 20th Century 1945-2000
- LCC
- PQ8520.22 .E9 .N6813 — Language and Literature French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese literatures Spanish literature Provincial, local, colonial, etc. Spanish America
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 160
- Popularity
- 205,138
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (4.38)
- Languages
- 5 — English, French, Italian, Portuguese (Portugal), Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 12
- ASINs
- 3






























































