/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.17945853]

Which books deal with an "unlived life"?

An example would be Fernando Pessoa's 'The Book of Disquiet' (daydreaming as substitute for living), and the novel 'I'm Thinking of Ending Things' (an elderly man regretting his life of introversion and fantasy).

I'm turning thirty soon and so far my life has been defined by avoidance and isolation, mostly a conscious decision. It is strange to reach this age and realise how few experiences so common to others I have missed out on.

[Anonymous No.17945888]

>>17945853
>It is strange to reach this age and realise how few experiences so common to others I have missed out on.
*how many
Couldn't even get that right.

[Anonymous No.17945942]

Uncle Vanya

[Anonymous No.17945951]

>>17945853
This is the writer's personality anon. Start writing fagot. Anything at all.

[Anonymous No.17945957]

>>17945853
Just to get it out of the way, Death of Ivan Ilyich.

[Anonymous No.17945981]

Sea of Fertility tetralogy. It becomes a theme in the second novel and those after as Honda ages.

[Anonymous No.17945983]

Dostoyevsky is the king of this subject. Read white nights and pretty much all of his stuff.

[Anonymous No.17946025]

You did have sex though, right?

[Anonymous No.17946026]

Anon, you haven't missed out on shit. Life isn't that great. Many people try to convince themselves, and others, that it is by making much ado about nothing. Don't let the illusions pain you so!

That special love that will never betray you doesn't exist.

That achievement that makes your life worth living isn't there.

That adventure that would give your life meaning is a farce.

Don't buy into the bullshit. Life is suffering. The goal is to overcome life. Don't feed into its lies. They will always disappoint you.

[Anonymous No.17946033]

>>17946026
Cope

[Anonymous No.17946039]

Stoner.

[Anonymous No.17946048]

>>17946033
Cope.

[Anonymous No.17946079]

An entire generation lost to their screens.

[Anonymous No.17946083]

>>17946033
Sounds to me that you’re the one who’s coping.
Also, this is just what you’re looking for OP. I don’t know if it’s been translated into English, I read it in Spanish.

[Anonymous No.17946128]

>>17946033
sneed

[Anonymous No.17946143]

>>17946026
Lol OP is just sheltered and has an unrealistic fear of pain and rejection to pathological degrees, it’s not complicated. He should go to a decent psychologist instead of doubling down with schizoid books jeez.

[Anonymous No.17946150]

The Tartar Steppe

[Anonymous No.17946156]

The tartar steppe

[Anonymous No.17946164]

The tartar steppe

[Anonymous No.17946186]

OP here. Thank you for the suggestions.

>>17946025
No.

[Anonymous No.17946192]

>>17946143
This is accurate, I believe. An interesting insight from so little information. Are there any books on this subject also?

I have a book called Fear of Life, but it wasn't what I was looking for.

[Anonymous No.17946199]

>>17946083
Wow, have never heard of this. Thank you.

[Anonymous No.17946226]

>>17945853
A Winter's Journey by Emmanuel Bove

[Anonymous No.17946228]

>>17945853
The Tartar Steppe is what you want

[Anonymous No.17946232]

>>17946226
meant to highlight until "retreat is a vanity like any other"

[Anonymous No.17946240]

>>17945957
Extraordinarily black-pilled. Dont read this op unless you have the stomach.

[Anonymous No.17946255]

>>17946143
schizoid books > living life

[Anonymous No.17946329]

>>17946255
OP doesn’t seem very happy about this though

[Blarty Hongo !H0lVGXJNm6 No.17946364]

>>17945853
"Remains of the Day."

[Anonymous No.17946393]

>>17946026
I take back what I said.

I lost my virginity at 16 to a 15 year old cheerleader with double ds. Seeing that op is a virgin made me remember how many great experiences I've had.

Great sex with hot chicks when you are young cannot be beat. We fucked like rabbits. Once the condom broke and she told me to keep going raw even though she wasn't on birth control.

...there really are some great experiences out there...

[Anonymous No.17946403]

>>17946186
Damn. You did hold hands though, right?

[Anonymous No.17946405]

>>17946403
No

[Anonymous No.17946411]

>>17945981
It's a big theme with Mishima in general. Sun and Steel deals with it especially, and without the guise of fiction.

[Anonymous No.17946466]

>>17945957
This, it's what OP is looking for and is fairly short.

[Anonymous No.17946494]

>>17946405
Okay I'll be serious this time. I recommend reading Robert Bly's Iron John and Marie Louis von Franz's The Problem of the Puer Aeternus. The two books deal with exactly the thing you mention: the unlived male life, the life that goes on without experiences or meaning, wasted away in lethargy and daydreams.
Best wishes anon.

[Anonymous No.17946495]

>>17945853
>Man Without Qualities, Musil

[Anonymous No.17946533]

>>17946079
Blame the parents. If anyone had actually raised them, they could have at least done something aesthetic with the screens. Instead, they have them jerkoff, play video games, and generally wander the desert until they’re 27 or older while giving advice like “Don’t marry until you’re 35”. Fucking boomers.

[Anonymous No.17946537]

Honestly you still have time, it's not that late. You can still do things, yes innocent romantic love and teen sex is impossible now but you can still go to bars, still travel the world, still put yourself out there! I came to this same exact realization 3 days ago. I have realized that there is no happiness in literature. If God does not exist, why would I spend my entire life miserable deluding myself into thinking it's somehow intellectual? Lucky for me I'm only 21 and yes i chose to go to a small town college so my undergraduate years are gone but GRAD SCHOOL! I can still do things! Introversion has ruined my life thus far. I just have to get rid of it, I have to go out, get rid of the anxiety, I just have to do things or else I might turn into I suspect many of these reddit introverts who are genuinely introverts who will regret their life by the time they hit 40, when they realize they have no physical memories or anyone they are close to. You still have time OP! Go to a bar and start talking, travel, go to Japan, do stupid shit, just about anything that will leave a memory you can look back on later.

[Anonymous No.17946544]

>>17946495
how

[Anonymous No.17946922]

>>17945853
That's literally me.

>>17945951
How so? Shouldn't writers "live" in order to accumulate experiences? Although one could say that not "living" is an experience itself, like being a mere observant.

[Anonymous No.17946934]

>>17946537
>he thinks that by suppressing his nature he can overcome it
You will always have the anxiety, spending time with the normies will always be a matter of hiding your true interests and desires so as to appear normal. It's a matter of deciding whether or not you can tolerate the act, and for how long you can act.

[Anonymous No.17946954]

>>17946403
>>17946494
Im not op, but I spent some time with a slightly odd girl in Amsterdam during a study abroad program who I think was coming on to me, but I didnt do anything with it. I think about what could have been. We did get stroopwafel together though.

[Anonymous No.17947120]

>>17946329
No one is. Better to embrace the life and go full hermit if you cant change imo make it part of your character

[Anonymous No.17947200]

>>17946537
It is late. Our personality is shaped by habits. For instance if you want to be a good person, you must cultivate the habit of being good. In his case he cultivated the habit of avoidance so it will be a colossal task to let go of such a long-term habit. It's almost like quitting the habit of taking drugs after several decades. The best resort is to embrace it at this point, fighting it will cause more pain.

[Anonymous No.17947276]

I'm 25 in the same situation. I'm a horribly anxious mess terrified of interaction after years of being embarrassed at school and sexually abused at home. My therapist keeps pushing me to get out there and talk to women, but it's been 5 years and I've barely made any progress on that front because I'm a stupid coward. Only reason I haven't killed myself is it would ruin my mom's life. If not for her I would've jumped off a bridge years ago.

[Anonymous No.17947291]

>>17946026
Yet, there is nothing to "overcome" if you are a hermit.

Life is indeed shit, but there's a difference between not experiencing it and just "knowing it" by reading. You won't really be able to learn and overcome without the irl experience. If you have those experiences you're also socially "allowed" to be a doomer, as long as it doesn't consume you. But internet doomers are different and simply weirdos.

[Anonymous No.17947333]

>>17947276
that's not what's keeping you here. If you actually cared about your mothers feelings you wouldn't be a pathetic failure of a son. What's keeping you alive is the same thing that's keeping you from living, fear.

[Anonymous No.17947387]

>>17946934
I will get rid of that anxiety. I will talk to women. I will stop playing video games. I will dress up properly. I will go out everyday. I will not let laziness and fear keep me from experiencing fun things. If something bad happens, I will not let it affect my future choices. I will reach happiness, eventually.

[Anonymous No.17947487]

>>17947200
Taking risks of of rejection and diving into your fears is nothing like the habit of being a good person

[Anonymous No.17947696]

b

[Anonymous No.17947726]

>>17945853
Cioran

[Anonymous No.17947729]

>>17947291
>Yet, there is nothing to "overcome" if you are a hermit.
Exactly that's why its the best. Willful rejection of most aspects of a normal human life. Sounds pretty based. What is it with you infantile normies who want everyone to live the same life--eating, shitting, spewing cum, "how's the weather Phil?" etc.
If you like that shit thats fine, but dont force it on the rest of us.

[Anonymous No.17947749]

>>17945853
Oblomov

[Anonymous No.17947835]

[Anonymous No.17947858]

>>17945853
The best treatment of this theme that I've read is Henry James' "Beast in the Jungle." It's a long-ish short story, and even though it's more about self-absorption than about passivity, the result is the same. I think you will find it relatable and maybe even cathartic.

One tip if you decide to read it: don't get filtered by the seeming boringness of the prose...that's actually part of the meaning...

[Anonymous No.17947920]

>>17946026
I keep seeing posts saying that life is suffering and all that but I genuinely enjoy every single day in some way or another even if nothing is happening I might laugh at something stupid online or listen to some beautiful music or read something interesting or go out for a walk around the neighborhood. I can't relate to the nihilistic angst because I really do enjoy the little things in life.

[Anonymous No.17947953]

>>17947920
I think a lot of the people who harbor nihilistic angst are simultaneously lonely and don't enjoy the company of others (most of the time).

[Anonymous No.17947999]

>>17947729
If you can truly live like that then more power to you

Problem is a lot of people don't choose that life necessarily, they just end up there. So then we have posts in breads like this full of angst and sadness because they're social rejects. And if it's involuntary then that feeling of fomo will always remain and eat away at you. I truly believe you need to purge it from your system for you to truly embrace it

[Anonymous No.17948014]

>>17947858
I’ve recently got into James and he is phenomenal.He reminds me of Proust in that they can both be boring and wordy at times but at others they put into words what can only be felt.I didn’t get theme of The Beast in the Jungle till the very end and then it instantly reminded me of The Tartar Steppe.I thought Beast was about a man who is a closeted homosexual(I think so) but it didn’t click until the very end that he was waiting for a moment to come instead of making that moment happen.I just finished The Aspern Papers tonight and I highly recommend that as well

[Anonymous No.17948456]

[Anonymous No.17949705]

>>17947920

It becomes harder to do with age. How old are you?

[Anonymous No.17949833]

>>17947696
This is the first time I've seen someone randomly post my art desu.

[Anonymous No.17949891]

>>17946954
The memory will haunt you to the grave anon. Odd Dutch women are the best, you missed out on a lot.

[Anonymous No.17949951]

>>17945853
It's a comic but I'd recommend Jimmy Corrigan by Chris Ware.

[Anonymous No.17949998]

>>17948456
based aestheticschad

[Anonymous No.17950195]

>>17949951
Thank you, looks interesting.

[Anonymous No.17950208]

>>17945853
Michel Houellebecq's Atomised/the elementary particles touches on this subject quite a bit.

[Anonymous No.17950217]

>>17947835
This scenario was very unrealistic. Book of Skulls I could see happening

[Anonymous No.17950306]

Anne Frank's diary killed me. It was the fact that this teenage girl has lived more than I, in terms of experience of love and friendship. Whilst I on the other hand with my freedom have chosen to go into isolation, not just in my room, but in my mind. Read it, but be careful about feeling jealous and upset.

[Anonymous No.17950320]

I’m 26 and my life has also been marked by conscious avoidance. There’s a bunch of childhood friends that I hang out with but as soon as they start partying/drinking/toking I leave. I’ve gone to a bunch of parties but I never enjoy myself and can’t wait to go home (there’s not much we have in common, I’m just not interested in vidya, marvel films, or weed jokes). There’s no feeling of missing out, but I do wonder if a decade or two from now I’m going to look back and regret my solitude

[Anonymous No.17950400]

>>17950306
forced to read it in school and didn't really give a shit, classmate wrote "juden raus" on the blackboard as an edgy joke

[Anonymous No.17950402]

>>17946164
>>17946150
>>17946156
these
also to anyone who hasnt read it: read the tartar steppe

[Anonymous No.17950630]

>>17950320
Do you have a girlfriend?