Non-fiction

The preference for \ a pensive luster to a shallow brilliance.\ My quiet, soothingly minimalist room seems of no consequence when juxtaposed with the unearthly beauty that Jun'ichirō Tanizaki described in this splendid essay on aesthetics.A shōji. Lightning. Electric fans. The right heating system. Architecture. Food.Every detail to avoid the disruption of harmony in a Japanese room. An almost imperceptible line between an extremely refine taste and the subtlety of irony. \ We delight in the mere sight of the delicate glow of fading rays clinging to the surface of a dusky wall, there to live out what little life remains to them. We never tire of the sight, for to us this pale glow and these dim shadows far surpass any ornament. (9)Inside this book, there is a room that seems enraptured by the sobriety of the different shades of black. So much space beholding the magnificence of a dim light on a particular spot, barely illuminating the serene twilight the walls seem to be made of.Could this book be applied to people? It shouldn't. But that is subject to one's personality. You could be the reserved, darkened room. Except when writing. And that would be fine.Nevertheless, a book on beauty has its share of ugliness; people's skin and supposed degrees of purity.Above all, this is an essay that exalts the enigmatic candlelight. The particular beauty of a candle emanating a delicate glow that embellish a silent room. A most idyllic view under its mystical light. Nothing superfluous. Nothing pretentious. Nothing loud but the silence. A universe in one's thoughts. The encounter with oneself under the tenuous radiance of a candle, evoking a somber night and the bright moon someone is gazing at.Tanizaki observes. Tanizaki fights. Tanizaki pouts! Tanizaki misses. Tanizaki regrets.The sound of the rain playing gently with the dusky light of a candle. \ \ The mind wanders.Nov 21, 2015* Also on my blog.** Photo credit: Japanese room / via bluebu.usTatami room / via Kyoto ContemplationCandle / via Free images

About the Series: Oxford's Very Short Introductions offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, and Literary Theory to History. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given topic. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how it has developed and influenced society. Whatever the area of study, whatever the topic that fascinates the reader, the series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.

Eight months on the bestseller lists in France!From the timeless wisdom of the ancient Greeks to Christianity, the Enlightenment, existentialism, and postmodernism, Luc Ferry’s instant classic brilliantly and accessibly explains the enduring teachings of philosophy—including its profound relevance to modern daily life and its essential role in achieving happiness and living a meaningful life. This lively journey through the great thinkers will enlighten every reader, young and old.

Vita Nuova (1292-94) is regarded as one of Dante's most profound creations. The thirty-one poems in the first of his major writings are linked by a lyrical prose narrative celebrating and debating the subject of love. Composed upon Dante's meeting with Beatrice and the "Lord of Love," it is a love story set to the task of confirming the "new life" inspired by this meeting. With a critical introduction and explanatory notes, this is a new translation of a supreme work which has been read variously as biography, religious allegory, and a meditation on poetry itself.

Lo pulido, lo liso, lo impecable, son la seña de identidad de nuestra época. Son lo que tienen en común las esculturas de Jeff Koons, los smartphones y la depilación. Estas cualidades ponen en evidencia el actual "exceso de positividad" del que habla Han en otros ensayos, pero que aquí enfoca y desarrolla en el campo del arte y de la estética. Lo bello natural se ha atrofiado en lo liso y pulido de lo bello digital. Hoy nos hallamos en una crisis de lo bello en tanto que se lo satina, convirtiéndolo en objeto del «me gusta», en algo arbitrario y placentero, que se mide por su inmediatez y su valor de uso y de consumo. Pero sin la negatividad del quiebre de lo otro, queda obturado el acceso a lo bello natural y anulada la distancia contemplativa. La belleza es rezagada. No es un brillo momentáneo, sino que alumbra en silencio, y a través de rodeos. A la belleza no se la encuentra en un contacto inmediato. Más bien acontece como reencuentro y reconocimiento.

I summarize Nietzsche's thoughts in this book through the following short tale:I must have followed the hippie couple in my Volvo station wagon for seventeen miles or more. They finally pulled their Volkswagon Vanagon in to a Stop-and-Save in Ventura. I eased the wagon in behind them. I hesitated, not sure whether to approach. After sitting and sweating for several minutes, watching the hippie surfer check the engine in the back, watching the hippie chick head to the ladies room, I banged my hands on the steering wheel, muttered my motto, “All life is will, dammit,” and slowly got out of the car.The hippie did not even notice me until I was standing right beside him, looking at the dead bugs on the windshield. “Howdy,” I said. “Nice day for it,” I gestured at the board he had up on top. “Yeah,” he said. He seemed shy, hesitant to address me, because of my age (I was getting on) or perhaps my appearance—my crumb encrusted beard, my bushy mustache, my wildly unkempt hair, my bulging eyes. “I always wanted to live free,” I said. “Never got the chance. Ended up calculating trajectories for the government. Grinding my shoulder for the wife and kids.” He stared at me, unsure where I was headed. He glanced back at his hippie chick, who was looking at snacks in the store. “Nothing is a given,” I said. “Except passion. Don’t deny it. Those who deny it are dead.” Was I getting through to him? “Sure thing, man,” he said, checking the oily rag he had used on the dipstick. “You … you are lucky,” I continued. “You got your freedom. Living out of a van. That’s what life is. That is what it should be. Get in a van, and just go. Hit the road. Search for the truth. Ain’t that right?” I was nodding my head, encouraging him to agree. He slowly stuffed the rag into his cargo pants. Finally he looked up and said, “Could you lend me some cash? Me and Jackie are short and we haven’t eaten since yesterday.” Typical hippies. Some gall. Procreating and nourishment—they truly are the one problem—the will to power. Well I was going to show them some will power. Teach them, if necessary. “What do I look like?! Some kind of money bags? Besides, why should I help you? You think there is such a thing as the common good? To hell with that. What can you do for me?” The hippie looked disappointed. “You won’t help us out? That’s okay. I understand.” What a degrading display of shame and belief in goodness. It left a bad taste in my mouth. So bad I had to spit. Then I went back to my car. “There is no such thing as truth!” I yelled as I pulled past them, fools, lollygagging the days away instead of having convictions—but I had convictions, convictions enough for everyone. Then I drop clutched, spun my wheels, and in a cloud of dust and sand screeched back out onto that long, hard road to nothingness.

'What if everything in the world were a misunderstanding, what if laughter were really tears?' Either/Or is the earliest of the major works of Søren Kierkegaard, one of the most startlingly original thinkers and writers of the nineteenth century, and the first which he wrote under a pseudonym, as he would for his greatest philosophical writings. Adopting the viewpoints of two distinct figures with radically different beliefs--the aesthetic young man of Part One, called simply 'A', and the ethical Judge Vilhelm of the second section--Kierkegaard reflects upon the search for a meaningful existence, contemplating subjects as diverse as Mozart, drama, boredom, and, in the famous Seducer's Diary, the cynical seduction and ultimate rejection of a young, beautiful woman. A masterpiece of duality, Either/Or is an exploration of the conflict between the aesthetic and the ethical--both meditating ironically and seductively upon Epicurean pleasures, and eloquently expounding the noble virtues of a morally upstanding life.This lightly abridged edition fully conveys the vigour and eloquence of the original. Alastair Hannay's introduction explains the philosophical background to the work and places it in the context of its times.

"The Wisdom of Life and Counsels and Maxims," by philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, offers a more accurate and realistic outlook on life than his student, Friedrich Nietzsche. While many disagree with Schopenhauer's renunciation of life, there is much to agree with in this book. Schopenhauer doesn't see a whole lot to celebrate in this vale of tears. His general view in "The Wisdom of Life and Counsels and Maxims" is summed up thus: Life is hell. Try to find a room furthest from the flames. If you tend towards a sunnier view of things then you're very likely to find this book by the grandmaster of philosophical pessimism unduly cynical. But if you've pretty much had it with the world and seldom meet a man (or woman) you wouldn't rather see the back of, you'll be delighted to find a fellow traveler and find wit and solace in Schopenhauer's acidic view of this "wonderful gift of life." Though riddled with hard-nosed realism and misanthropy, "The Wisdom of Life and Counsels and Maxims" is positively entertaining and enjoyable. Schopenhauer's style is fluid, prosaic, and imaginative, unlike most German philosophy. In lieu of modern world events, it is probably more relevant a work today than ever before. Schopenhauer discusses an array of subjects, such as the emptiness of those things commonly pursued by the masses (money, status/position, vanity, sensual pleasure, etc.), and those most commonly ignored by most (temperance, good health, character, individuality, and developing one's mind). Small, fleeting pleasures notwithstanding, Schopenhauer casts an unflinchingly jaundiced eye on the experience of human life and doesn't sweeten the pill. For its bracing honesty alone, this book deserves its reputation as one of the greatest philosophical manuals of how to best live our lives ever written.

With an Introduction and Notes by Dr T.C.B.Cook Count Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) is best known for War and Peace and Anna Karenina, commonly regarded as amongst the greatest novels ever written. He also, however, wrote many masterly short stories, and this volume contains four of the longest and best in distinguished translations that have stood the test of time. In the early story 'Family Happiness', Tolstoy explores courtship and marriage from the point of view of a young wife. In 'The Kreutzer Sonata' he gives us a terrifying study of marital breakdown, in 'The Devil' a powerful depiction of the power of sexual temptation, and, in perhaps the finest of all, 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich', he portrays the long agony of a man gradually coming to terms with his own mortality.Librarian's note: See alternate cover edition of ISBN 1840224533 here.

It was to correct common misconceptions about his thought that Jean-Paul Sartre, the most dominent European intellectual of the post-World War II decades, accepted an invitation to speak on October 29, 1945, at the Club Maintenant in Paris. The unstated objective of his lecture (“Existentialism Is a Humanism”) was to expound his philosophy as a form of “existentialism,” a term much bandied about at the time. Sartre asserted that existentialism was essentially a doctrine for philosophers, though, ironically, he was about to make it accessible to a general audience. The published text of his lecture quickly became one of the bibles of existentialism and made Sartre an international celebrity.The idea of freedom occupies the center of Sartre’s doctrine. Man, born into an empty, godless universe, is nothing to begin with. He creates his essence—his self, his being—through the choices he freely makes (“existence precedes essence”). Were it not for the contingency of his death, he would never end. Choosing to be this or that is to affirm the value of what we choose. In choosing, therefore, we commit not only ourselves but all of mankind.This book presents a new English translation of Sartre’s 1945 lecture and his analysis of Camus’s The Stranger, along with a discussion of these works by acclaimed Sartre biographer Annie Cohen-Solal. This edition is a translation of the 1996 French edition, which includes Arlette Elkaïm-Sartre’s introduction and a Q&A with Sartre about his lecture.

Translated by Karen Reppin. With Kafka's own drawings.

John Berger’s Classic Text on ArtJohn Berger's Ways of Seeing is one of the most stimulating and the most influential books on art in any language. First published in 1972, it was based on the BBC television series about which the (London) Sunday Times critic commented: "This is an eye-opener in more ways than one: by concentrating on how we look at paintings . . . he will almost certainly change the way you look at pictures." By now he has."Berger has the ability to cut right through the mystification of the professional art critics . . . He is a liberator of images: and once we have allowed the paintings to work on us directly, we are in a much better position to make a meaningful evaluation" —Peter Fuller, Arts Review"The influence of the series and the book . . . was enormous . . . It opened up for general attention to areas of cultural study that are now commonplace" —Geoff Dyer in Ways of TellingWinner of the 1972 Booker Prize for his novel, G., John Peter Berger (born November 5th, 1926) is an art critic, painter and author of many novels including A Painter of Our Time, From A to X and Bento’s Sketchbook.

"Controversial in both life and art, Francis Bacon was one of the most important painters of the twentieth century. His monumental, unsettling images have an extraordinary power to disturb, shock, and haunt the spectator, "to unlock the valves of feeling and therefore return the onlooker to life more violently".Eminent writer and curator David Sylvester provides the definitive account of the career of an artist whose friend and collaborator he was for more than forty years. Drawing on his unparalleled personal knowledge of Bacon's inspirations and intentions, he first offers a critical overview of the development of Bacon's work from 1933 to the early 1990s, and then addresses its crucial aspects. Sylvester also reproduces previously unpublished extracts from his celebrated conversations with Bacon in which the artist speaks about himself, modern painters, and the art of the past. Finally, he gives a brief account of Bacon's life, correcting errors that elsewhere have been presented as facts.Accompanying the incisive and revealing text are reproductions of almost every Bacon work discussed, including twelve triptych fold-outs. The most complete work on Bacon yet, this book constitutes a portrait of one of the creative geniuses of our age by a writer of comparable distinction.

‘Language is a body, a living creature ... and this creature's home is the inarticulate as well as the articulate.’ John Berger's work has revolutionized the way we understand visual language. In this new book he writes about language itself, and how it relates to thought, art, song, storytelling and political discourse today. Also containing Berger's own drawings, notes, memories and reflections on everything from Albert Camus to global capitalism, Confabulations takes us to what is ‘true, essential and urgent’.