Hanif Kureishi's 6 favorite books

The author and playwright recommends works by Proust, Freud, and more

Booklister
(Image credit: (Courtesy Photo))

Psychopathology of Everyday Life by Sigmund Freud (Penguin $16). A seminal work of psychology. Freud looks at memory, the loss of it, misremembrances, words, and malapropisms to investigate the mental mechanics of his subjects and their engagement with the quotidian.

In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust (Modern Library, $100). I remember reading this when I was on the dole. I spent three hours reading it every afternoon, and it was a joy. This book had a profound impact on my own writing. Proust's gimlet eye and focus on everyday minutiae, and its reflective transcendence, have continued to inspire me. Perhaps the greatest examination of memory in fiction, it also bursts with colorful characters and gorgeous prose.

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