A review by torchlab
Today I Wrote Nothing: The Selected Writings of Daniil Kharms by Daniel Kharms

4.0

What a strange, befuddling, delightful book. Reading this felt like finding a map that connected all these literary and artistic movements I’d known about individually (e.g. Oulipo, Theatre of the Absurd, microfiction, even alt-lit to an extent) but had never thought of before as descending from a common lineage. I love how many of Kharms’ stories end with an abrupt turn, or a refusal to continue the tale—it’s like the literary equivalent of a Looney Tunes character running straight into a brick wall. Also loved Matvei Yankelevich’s excellent introduction and notes, which provide a nuanced and careful look at the political context of Kharms’ work.