5ive books (in reverse order): Chris Killen

"I feel like he is being my friend when I'm reading them."



Do Not Bend by David Shrigley
This was my first introduction to David Shrigley. My friend Chris bought it for me for my birthday, I think. I like his sense of humour a lot. He is my favourite living artist. I like every David Shrigley thing I've ever seen.

A Sport and a Pastime by James Salter
I think the right word for this book is 'elegant'. (I don't care if that sounds a bit poncy.) It is quiet and sad and very well-written. I think most of my pleasure in reading James Salter comes from looking at the construction of the sentences and admiring them.

The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze by William Saroyan
I have an old Faber paperback of this, where the stories are arranged in a different order to the usual American edition. It opens with 'Seventy Thousand Assyrians'. I'd heard William Saroyan mentioned before somewhere, and found this in a charity shop. I read the first line ("I hadn't had a haircut in forty days and forty nights, and I was beginning to look like several violinists out of work.") and felt very excited and secretive. I read some of his other books afterwards, and found good moments in them too, but this one—in my opinion—is amazing.

Sombrero Fallout by Richard Brautigan
It is hard to choose a favourite Brautigan. Right now, it's either this or An Unfortunate Woman. I have the same birthday as him (January 30th). I find his books funny and melancholic and very beautiful. I feel like he is being my friend when I'm reading them. There is a lot of 'warmth' there, but not in a cheap, sentimental way.

Pan by Knut Hamsun
Knut Hamsun does something to me that no other writer does. I can't even describe it. I fantasise about one day learning Norwegian and reading his stuff in the original. I think I might explode. Hamsun causes an extreme physical reaction in me (knee-slapping, teeth-gnashing, howling, etc.) and I think Pan is his best novel.

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Chris Killen's debut novel, The Bird Room, will be published by Canongate in 2009. Read all about it here; read Chris's story On Mugging in Dogmatika here.