The World Goes On by Laszlo Krasznahorkai

The World Goes On

by Laszlo Krasznahorkai

In The World Goes On, a narrator first speaks directly, then tells eleven unforgettable stories, and then bids farewell (“for here I would leave this earth and these stars, because I would take nothing with me”). As László Krasznahoraki himself explains: “Each text is about drawing our attention away from this world, speeding our body toward annihilation, and immersing ourselves in a current of thought or a narrative…” A Hungarian interpreter obsessed with waterfalls, at the edge of the abyss in his own mind, wanders the chaotic streets of Shanghai. A traveler, reeling from the sights and sounds of Varanasi, encounters a giant of a man on the banks of the Ganges ranting on the nature of a single drop of water. A child laborer in a Portuguese marble quarry wanders off from work one day into a surreal realm utterly alien from his daily toils. The World Goes On is another amazing masterpiece by the winner of the 2015 Man Booker International Prize. “The excitement of his writing,” Adam Thirwell proclaimed in the New York Review of Books, “is that he has come up with this own original forms—there is nothing else like it in contemporary literature.”

Reviewed by Michael @ Knowledge Lost on

2 of 5 stars

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I normally struggle to review short story collections, do I go through every story and share my opinions? Reading The World Goes On, all I could think is ‘I have no clue how to analyse and review this’. Rather than a review, I am going to just share my thoughts on this book, and hopefully it will eventually resemble a review.

The World Goes On is actually my second László Krasznahorkai, having read The Last Wolf / Herman earlier this year. I was struck with the thought that this might be the first Krasznahorkai that people might read. László Krasznahorkai won the Man Booker International Prize in 2015, before it was repackaged and combined with the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize (IFFP). However the publicsity around that award is nothing like it is today. This could be a combination of the older prize awarding an author for their contribution to fiction rather than a specific book and the rise of social media. Which brings me back to my original point, The World Goes On has been longlisted for the prize but it is not a good place to start for this Hungarian author. This feels like fragments of stories and ideas rather than an actual piece of fiction.

I think the judges for the 2018 Man Booker International Prize has gone out of their way to pick a longlist that showcases interesting narrative structures. While I appreciate the surprising entries on the list, it does make it less accessible. Having said that, I would be so mad if the Man Booker International Prize followed the trend of the Man Booker Prize and Women’s Prize for Fiction and just picked the most popular books. I want to see a balance between discovery and introducing new people to books in translation. I would hate to think how many people will not read more László Krasznahorkai because of The World Goes On.

László Krasznahorkai is a very talented writer; he has a post-modernist style, and it feels like he gets so bored, he has to set limitations on his own writing. In The World Goes On, you will find plenty of examples of him writing a one sentence story. I have to admit after reading this book and The Last Wolf, I wonder what Krasznahorkai has against the full stop. Like I said before, this feels more like a collection of ideas rather than short stories.

While I enjoy László Krasznahorkai as a writer, even I think I was not ready for The World Goes On. I am not giving up on this author, this is a book for the fans. Read The Last Wolf / Herman first, discover some of his novels and if you like his style and his view on the world, then read The World Goes On. I do not think this should have been on the longlist, and I hope it does not stop many people from enjoying László Krasznahorkai in the future.

This review originally appeared on my blog; http://www.knowledgelost.org/book-reviews/genre/short-stories-genre/the-world-goes-on-by-laszlo-krasznahorkai/

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  • Started reading
  • 31 March, 2018: Finished reading
  • 31 March, 2018: Reviewed