Laszlo Krasznahorkai and Max Neumann Animalinside

Laszlo Krasznahorkai and Max Neumann's Animalinside is the fourteenth installment of the Cahiers Series, a series of short, intellectual pamphlets published originally by Sylph Editions in conjunction with the American University of Paris. Translated from the Hungarian, Animalinside is the first piece written specifically for the project.

Animalinside is essentially fourteen sections, each one page in length, of Krasznahorkai's text. The text is paired with a single frame of what described to me as Neumann's enigmatic and disturbing artwork.The art becomes more dark and aggressive as the book progresses and creates a growing sense of unease from which the reader cannot escape.

Krasznahorkai wrote largely in response to Neumann's artwork and the text mirrors the haunting images. The words tear themselves off the page as Krasznahorkai describes metaphorical animal trapped within each of us. Instead of the uplifting story of taming the savage within however, the animal inside is gnawing at its host and quickly becoming the master.

Angry, frantic, savage, and bold. This book was a challenge for me because as a blind person, I cannot see the pictures. My partner and I sat with this one and worked it through together. He described each image. We read and discussed the passages. It was a joint effort that left us both breathless.