Reif Larsen, 2014
Oil on linen, 60” x 40”
Novelist Reif Larsen is known for his first novel, The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet, which was the subject of a bidding war among ten publishing houses landing him a million dollar advance in 2008 from Penguin Press at the tender age of 28. The novel is unique in that it incorporates charts, graphs, lists and maps that accompany the narrative in the margin of the pages of the book, almost as if a guide to the novel. It lends a layer of information and insight into the main character, 12 year old mapmaker, T. S. Spivet. Stephen King described the young novelist’s work, “I’m flabbergasted by Reif Larsen’s talent, and I was warmed by his generosity. Here is a book that does the impossible: It combines Mark Twain, Thomas Pynchon, and Little Miss Sunshine. Good novels entertain; great ones come as a gift to the readers who are lucky enough to find them. This book is a treasure.” The novel was recently adapted into a soon-to-be-released film entitled The Young and Prodigious Spivetby director Jean-Pierrer Jeunet that is scheduled to open this fall. Larsen is also a co-owner of Rucola, a small Northern Italian restaurant in the Boerum Hill section of Brooklyn.
In 2010, I was invited by Applied Brilliance to participate in a dialogue with Reif Larsen about Creativity and found the experience delightful. Possessing a keen wit and a generous spirit, Reif lent a sense of being in the present to the conversation that kept our dialogue moving and intriguing. I commented that his use of notes and drawings and his story telling in general was reminiscent of southern literature, not unlike Faulkner, as he led you down various paths describing every aspect along the way in detail.
Oil on linen, 60” x 40”
Novelist Reif Larsen is known for his first novel, The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet, which was the subject of a bidding war among ten publishing houses landing him a million dollar advance in 2008 from Penguin Press at the tender age of 28. The novel is unique in that it incorporates charts, graphs, lists and maps that accompany the narrative in the margin of the pages of the book, almost as if a guide to the novel. It lends a layer of information and insight into the main character, 12 year old mapmaker, T. S. Spivet. Stephen King described the young novelist’s work, “I’m flabbergasted by Reif Larsen’s talent, and I was warmed by his generosity. Here is a book that does the impossible: It combines Mark Twain, Thomas Pynchon, and Little Miss Sunshine. Good novels entertain; great ones come as a gift to the readers who are lucky enough to find them. This book is a treasure.” The novel was recently adapted into a soon-to-be-released film entitled The Young and Prodigious Spivetby director Jean-Pierrer Jeunet that is scheduled to open this fall. Larsen is also a co-owner of Rucola, a small Northern Italian restaurant in the Boerum Hill section of Brooklyn.
In 2010, I was invited by Applied Brilliance to participate in a dialogue with Reif Larsen about Creativity and found the experience delightful. Possessing a keen wit and a generous spirit, Reif lent a sense of being in the present to the conversation that kept our dialogue moving and intriguing. I commented that his use of notes and drawings and his story telling in general was reminiscent of southern literature, not unlike Faulkner, as he led you down various paths describing every aspect along the way in detail.