In December, Gagosian inaugurated Picture Books, their new book imprint, with Ottessa Moshfegh’s short story “My New Novel.” Imagined by the young writer Emma Cline, author of the 2016 novel The Girls, Picture Books pairs contemporary fiction writers with contemporary artists. Artists are given carte blanche to create work inspired by, or in response to, fiction.
Moshfegh, best known for her 2015 debut novel, Eileen, and her 2018 best-seller, My Year of Rest and Relaxation, tells her new story from the point of view of Jerome Littlefield, a total loser. And a novelist, sort of. Jerome tries to write his magnum opus but is paralyzed by his “damn intelligence.” Instead of writing, he smokes weed in his therapist’s Hollywood Hills office as he complains, drinks Cognac while posting on Craigslist, and pigs out on a frozen pasta dinner after masturbating to Asian porn.
