Laura Kipnis' 6 favorite books about wounded masculinity

The author of Against Love recommends works by John Updike, Norman Mailer, and more

Laura Kipnis
(Image credit: (Laura Kipnis/Facebook.com))

Self-Consciousness by John Updike (Random House, $16). Would Updike have been such a fabulous writer if he weren't afflicted with terrible psoriasis? And a stutter? According to Updike, they should be credited with whatever courage and originality he possessed. His shamelessness on the page distracted him from his real-life shame.

Experience by Martin Amis (Vintage, $18). In Experience, Amis transforms his horrendous dental problems into the sort of life-and-death epic we once got from men who'd gone to war: He's obsessional and (sorry!) biting. He provides a sharp portrait of his irascible father, too.

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