Sartre's Sink
Encyclopedia
Sartre's Sink is a literary pastiche in the form of a DIY handbook. It contains advice about how to undertake 14 common household tasks each written in the style of a famous author from history. Sartre's Sink is the second book by photographer and author Mark Crick
. Excerpts have appeared in The Independent
and the Evening Herald
.
The book includes chapters on how to; bleed a radiator by Emily Bronte
, tile a bathroom by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, hang wallpaper by Hemmingway, unblock a sink by Sartre, repair a dripping tap with Marguerite Duras
, put up a garden fence with Hunter S Thompson, paint a panelled door with Anaïs Nin
, re-glaze a window with Milan Kundera
, board an attic with Edgar Allen Poe, loosen a stuck drawer with Samuel Beckett
and how to paint a room with Haruki Murakami
. Other parodied authors include Goethe and Joseph Conrad
. Mark Crick says that he found Dostoyevsky the most difficult author to parody.
As with his previous work, Sartre's Sink is illustrated with paintings by the author in the style of a number of famous artists including van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci
, Picasso, Magritte and Turner.
Carolyn Kellogg of the LA Times noted that the book was "only marginally instructive". The Telegraph
felt that the subject matter of Sartre's Sink was "not as interesting" as that of Crick's earlier book Kafka's Soup
. However, the editor nonetheless believed that the quality of the pastiche was equal to that of the earlier book calling both books "a gem". Roy Williams of The Australian
called it "a minor masterpiece" naming painting the panelled door and putting up the garden fence as his particular favourites. Ian Sansom of The Guardian
called it "hands-down droll". Nicolas d'Estienne d'Orves of Le Figaro
called it "Irresistible". Sartre's Sink was named Sunday Times humour book of the year 2008.
Mark Crick
Mark Crick is a British photographer and author, best known for his literary parodies Kafka's Soup and Sartre's Sink, in which he presents recipes and DIY tips in the style of famous literary writers. Mark Crick is married to Fiona Simmons Crick....
. Excerpts have appeared in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
and the Evening Herald
Evening Herald
The Evening Herald is a mid-market tabloid evening newspaper published in Dublin, Ireland by Independent News & Media. It is published Monday-Saturday, and has three editions — City Edition, City Final Edition and National Edition...
.
The book includes chapters on how to; bleed a radiator by Emily Bronte
Emily Brontë
Emily Jane Brontë 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother...
, tile a bathroom by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, hang wallpaper by Hemmingway, unblock a sink by Sartre, repair a dripping tap with Marguerite Duras
Marguerite Duras
Marguerite Donnadieu, better known as Marguerite Duras was a French writer and film director.-Background:...
, put up a garden fence with Hunter S Thompson, paint a panelled door with Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin was a French-Cuban author, based at first in France and later in the United States, who published her journals, which span more than 60 years, beginning when she was 11 years old and ending shortly before her death, her erotic literature, and short stories...
, re-glaze a window with Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera , born 1 April 1929, is a writer of Czech origin who has lived in exile in France since 1975, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1981. He is best known as the author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, and The Joke. Kundera has written in...
, board an attic with Edgar Allen Poe, loosen a stuck drawer with Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
and how to paint a room with Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami
is a Japanese writer and translator. His works of fiction and non-fiction have garnered him critical acclaim and numerous awards, including the Franz Kafka Prize and Jerusalem Prize among others.He is considered an important figure in postmodern literature...
. Other parodied authors include Goethe and Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
. Mark Crick says that he found Dostoyevsky the most difficult author to parody.
As with his previous work, Sartre's Sink is illustrated with paintings by the author in the style of a number of famous artists including van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
, Picasso, Magritte and Turner.
Carolyn Kellogg of the LA Times noted that the book was "only marginally instructive". The Telegraph
The Telegraph (Kolkata)
The Telegraph is an Indian daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Kolkata since 1982. It is published by the ABP Group and the newspaper vies with the Times of India for the position of having the widest widest circulation of any newspaper in Eastern India.According to the Audit...
felt that the subject matter of Sartre's Sink was "not as interesting" as that of Crick's earlier book Kafka's Soup
Kafka's Soup
Kafka's Soup is a literary pastiche in the form of a cookbook. It contains 14 recipes each written in the style of a famous author from history. As of 2007 it had been translated into 18 languages and published in 27 countries. Excerpts from the book have appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald and...
. However, the editor nonetheless believed that the quality of the pastiche was equal to that of the earlier book calling both books "a gem". Roy Williams of The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
called it "a minor masterpiece" naming painting the panelled door and putting up the garden fence as his particular favourites. Ian Sansom of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
called it "hands-down droll". Nicolas d'Estienne d'Orves of Le Figaro
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
called it "Irresistible". Sartre's Sink was named Sunday Times humour book of the year 2008.