Crudo

Crudo is a 2018 novel that merges autobiography with fiction, written by Olivia Laing over an intense six-week period. The narrative follows a protagonist who is a blend of Laing herself and the late American author Kathy Acker. The story takes place during the summer of 2017, capturing real-world events as they happened through social media feeds and news coverage. The plot centers on the main character's experiences during this period, including her preparations for marriage. The text was created under strict self-imposed rules: daily writing with no editing or reshaping of material. This experimental approach incorporates news events, social media content, and elements borrowed from other writers - particularly Kathy Acker's literary techniques. The novel explores themes of identity, authenticity, and how we process current events in an era of constant digital information flow. It raises questions about the boundaries between fiction and reality, and examines what it means to construct a coherent self in chaotic times.

Readers find Crudo experimental and challenging, with its stream-of-consciousness style and blend of fiction with autobiography. The book maintains a 3.5/5 rating on Goodreads from 6,000+ ratings. Readers appreciate: - Raw, immediate writing style that captures 2017's anxiety - Commentary on modern life and social media - References to Kathy Acker's work - Short length and quick pacing Common criticisms: - Confusing narrative structure - Self-indulgent tone - Too many Brexit/Trump references that date the text - Characters feel underdeveloped One Goodreads reviewer noted: "Like scrolling through Twitter during a panic attack." An Amazon reviewer wrote: "The format perfectly mirrors our fractured attention spans." Ratings: Goodreads: 3.5/5 (6,082 ratings) Amazon: 3.7/5 (156 reviews) LibraryThing: 3.6/5 (89 ratings) The Guardian readers: 4/5

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🔸 The entire book was written in just seven weeks during the summer of 2017, mirroring the exact timeframe in which its story takes place 🔸 Kathy Acker, whose identity the narrator partially assumes, was a pioneering punk novelist who passed away in 1997 and was known for her experimental, cut-up writing technique 🔸 Olivia Laing wrote the book while preparing for her own wedding to poet Ian Patterson, blurring the lines between fiction and reality in real-time 🔸 The novel incorporates actual tweets and news headlines from 2017, including coverage of North Korean missile tests and the Grenfell Tower fire 🔸 "Crudo" means "raw" in Italian and Spanish, reflecting both the book's unfiltered writing style and its inclusion of unprocessed current events as they happened