Alice Knott

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Alice Knott
Alice Knott.jpg
First edition
AuthorBlake Butler
CountryUnited States
PublisherRiverhead Books

Alice Knott is a 2020 novel by American author Blake Butler.[1] The novel concerns the theft and destruction of a painting collection and its impact on the painting's original owner, the titular Alice Knott.[2] In The Nation, Brooks Sterritt wrote that the book "...resonates so strongly with life under lockdown", though noting that the book was completed before the 2020 pandemic.[3]

Development and writing[]

Butler's earliest inspiration for the book was a note written to himself reading “Corporation that buys and destroys art”.[4] He was further inspired by the Thomas Pynchon novel The Crying of Lot 49.[4]

Reception[]

Critics highlighted that the book could be challenging.[1][2]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Wilkinson, Lauren (24 July 2020). "Bring Your Flamethrower. In This Novel, Art Feels the Burn". The New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b Domini, John (1 August 2020). "Undeniably Contemporary: On Blake Butler's "Alice Knott"". Los Angeles Review of Books. Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  3. ^ Sterritt, Brooks (2 September 2020). "Is This the First Great Quarantine Novel?". The Nation. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  4. ^ a b Jones, Shane (6 July 2020). "An Interview with Blake Butler". Believer Magazine. The Believer. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
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