The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge

A young man named Malte Laurids Brigge lives in a cheap room in Paris, his belongings rotting in storage. He observes the city, where every person seems to carry their death within them, and with little to distinguish him from the city's untouchables, he reflects on the deaths and ghosts of his aristocratic family. This semi-autobiographical novel, suffused with lyrical brilliance, is a moving coming-of-age story.