the Grey - Inspirations and essential bibliography - Literature
Writing the Grey has been the journey of my life. In order to enter the mindset to spit out that nonsense it took extensive time to self-hypnotize. The only way I could do it was to be submerged by sensory stimuli. Reflecting back, in the moment it was all normal, not even thought out, but as I re-read the chapters, I can feel the influence those media played on me. It colors everything and adds a familiar scent here and there that makes you say, ah yes, I see from where this come from.
I have categorized the materials across 3 main categories Literature (Fiction/Non Fiction), Music (Album/Songs) and Visual arts (Movie/Anime/Manga/Social media) Below is a work in progress list of for the first category, in no particular order. In the future I promise to structure it further and complete commentary on where in the book you could find the strongest influence in each chapters of the novel.
Literature
Fiction
Siddharta - Herman Hesse
Jonathan Livinston Seagull - Richard Bach
A young man cannot say that he understands his place in the world without having read this two booklets. Have you? Click on the links FFS
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Phil, you atheist bastard. You had good taste tho. And that subtle knife. You stucked it into my brain and still is in there. It’s early to say, but you will see reference of that all across Part II and III of the book. And Lyra? what an exceptional female protagonist. It’s a shame that her importance in the story is overcome by her male counterpart. She deserved more. I hope that you can see her in the female characters in Part II, III and IV.
The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
The Silmarillion - J.R.R. Tolkien
The Master’s incluence requires no commentary.
Faust - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
JW is unparallelled. Faust is a piece that can only happen once. Done. No repeats. And the finale of Part I…
She is judged! (Sie ist gerichtet!) / She is saved! (Sie ist gerettet!).
…that is Eternal Writing. From Faust I took the ambition to depict an enormous, spread, open ended world. Full of symbolic meaning and coalescing around a grand metaphysical axis. A inhuman enterprise that only Goethe successfully pulled off (in rhyme WTH). I am doomed to fail, but what a thrill trying! Waiting for my wax wings to melt as I dare approach the greatest.
Foundation cycle - Isaac Asimov
Unparalleled world building. And the longing for home? The longing to become one with the source? It’s in here. The world-mind? It’s kinda in here as well. The Mule? split in multiple fragments, you will find it in here as well. I miss you, man.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig
Lila - Robert M. Pirsig
Two philosophical treaties that people have exchanged for trip novels. You trippin’ folks.
Fight Club - Chuck Palaniuk
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Gravity’s rainbow - Thomas Pynchon
Tales of Horror - Edgar Allan Poe
Notes of a Dirty Old Man - Charles Bukowski
For style and content inspiration.
From Chuck the raw style and the clear exposition about the meaniglessness of modern life. From Cormac because, FUCK YOU, I’m gonna make you bleed and then break your heart as you realize that, yes, it was worth it. From Tom because everybody needs to ask themselves “why am I reading this?” but then being unable to leave it be.
From Edgar because you need not to know what comes next but you just want. From Charles because it needs to be given raw, unapologetic, no matter how ugly. Dig deeper until it becomes sublime.
Non-fiction
The Bible - VV.AA.
Dialogues - Plato
Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu
The foundations of my philosophical system. A constant reminder that there is an identity between Truth/Beauty/Good, that those exist, can be thought but are ultimately unreachable for us in this current form. That the only way to get as closer as possible is to give up, renounce oneself, let go. Sacrifice the ego. Empty yourself to let the world fill you.
Ramayana - Maharishi Valmiki
Mahabharata - Vyasa
You want to write a metaphysical, world scale epic and don’t want to study the basics, noob?
They came later, but man, they dropped bombs on the field and then mic dropped with no more explanation. True bosses.
The World as Power - Arthur Avalon
Shakti and Shakta - Arthur Avalon
You need to be Indian to truly grasp Hindu metaphysics. A.A. went deep into the cave and brought the fire out for us novices to warm ourselves to its flame. Thanks to him we can grasp at least a little bit of it. Careful as you read to not fall victim of the seduction of the left hand path. Only heroes can ride the tiger into the black hole.
The User Illusion - Tor Norretranders
The mind is a sponge and filter. You are what you are because of the information you discarded. What does that mean? Read the freaking book.
Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World - Rene Girard
Opus Magnum of Girard. It’s a bit self referential and pedantic in style but worth the pain of reading through since the mimetic theory of behavior conceals a great truth: we don’t know what we want, and we want what others have. May those be things, status or purpose. It’s an eternal truth. From that the scapegoat mechanism emerges and the ritual elevation and assassination of the king is established as the symbolic axis around which societies develop in antiquity.
And so far so good.
Then the bastard hit me. Talking about Jesus. And how he toppled it completely. Coming here, and saying: put it all on me, I will take it. Suffering all the worst, the treason of the closest friends, your mother looking at you bleeding, suffocating, humiliated. The whole world scapegoating on you, unleashing their worst. Liberating themselves, finally feeling superior. Fully embodying any Girardian reference.
And when is done. When all comes back to normality. We will look for another scapegoat. A new sacrifice for the never ending wheel of life.
There you come back, big J. You turn back to me. Me that I cheered on your sacrifice, and I did not see. And you tell me: “I still love you”.
How is it possible that you can, J?
But you do. And from there the world is changed. A new one is born. From there you go on and conquer it, and with it my poor, wretched heart.
The Origins and History of Consciousness - Erich Neumann
The Great Mother - Erich Neumann
Erich, the greatest disciple of C.G.J., the guy that cracked the code 80 years ago. Read his stuff and become able to understand the world, how humanity is evolving and how to engage with it without being swallowed up.
Psychological Types - Carl Gustav Jung
Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious - Carl Gustav Jung
Psychology and Religion - Carl Gustav Jung
Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self - Carl Gustav Jung
Psychology and Alchemy - Carl Gustav Jung
Mysterium Coniunctionis - Carl Gustav Jung
The Red Book - Carl Gustav Jung
I needed to get the tools to write a book about mind. I also find a way to talk about meaning. Too many synchronicities between you and me C.G. maybe a couple of drops of your soul have reincarnated in me.
A few questions for you my dear reader
Was there among the material shared something that resonated with you as well?
Do you have any recommendation for me based on this list?
Please let me know, I would love to explore more.
In the mean time stay tuned for the next drop: Music influences.
Personally, I’ve always been fond of The Glass Bead Game—though Siddhartha remains pure gold in my view.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance has been a steady companion since my teenage years. Lila, on the other hand, never quite caught for me; perhaps it’s time for a fresh reading with older eyes.
If I might suggest, this list feels like it's missing a few essentials:
— Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins,
— The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,
— and crucially, Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence.
Thanks for curating a thoughtful selection, it’s always a pleasure to see books that shaped minds being passed forward.