Four books that changed C.K. Stead

C. K. Stead, an award-winning novelist, literary critic, poet, and essayist, is New Zealand's poet laureate. One of four books that changed him, as shared at the Sydney Morning Herald:

CONJUGAL LOVE
Alberto Moravia

In my early 20s I discovered this novel, selected probably for its salacious title, but which taught me something quite new, how meta-fiction – the novel which, while telling its story, discusses itself and how it came about – can be compelling and intellectually satisfying. It also demonstrated (as did all of Moravia's fiction) how "I see" in the sense of apprehend, and in the sense of comprehend, can merge – a very Italian quality.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue