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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Everytime I read Bataille I’m reminded of how much he’s imprinted himself on my subconscious my framework for a lot of things, most of them terribly so. A great read but only if you like dying (I say that with all the love).
An interesting look at eroticism, violence, and mystic experience in terms of continuity and discontinuity. Bataille discusses how taboos form and how transgressing these taboos can affirm or deny this aforementioned continuity and discontinuity.
Bataille's prose here was a little unengaging at times, which is unlike him. He also (for better or for worse) has a tendency to spiral around points rather than state them clearly, which I actually enjoy as it makes the whole text feel more fleshed out and leaves some things unsaid for the reader to consider.
Bataille's prose here was a little unengaging at times, which is unlike him. He also (for better or for worse) has a tendency to spiral around points rather than state them clearly, which I actually enjoy as it makes the whole text feel more fleshed out and leaves some things unsaid for the reader to consider.
erotizam je potvrda zivota cak i u smrti......covjek zeli da ubija i da vlada.....orgazam je priprema za smrt.....lijep je onaj koji je sto dalje zivotinji a sto blize andjelu i nebeskom.....u djavolu je personifikovan animalni covjek, ima rep......religija ne moze bez seksualnosti ni seksualnosti ni seksualnost bez religije....bataj pristupa erotizmu kao sto teolog pristupa religiji, a ne npr istoricar religija....iako mu je sve potkrijepljeno dokazima iz istorije religija, antropologije, kulture...... dajte mu nobelovu nagradu za mir......
The first 1/3 of this book I really enjoyed... then it got very heteronormative and misogynistic (which I did sort of anticipate considering when it was published) so that dampened my experience plus the conversation seemed to turn a bit dull and repetitive, maybe the translation doesn't quite do it justice but it didn't interest me again until the final couple of chapters.
Finally I'm done with this book.
That was definitely a heavy read, and it's more a book to be discussed & talked about !
It's either gonna haunt me everywhere, or it's going to evaporate in a couple of months, not really sure.
Now should we follow up with Octavio Paz's " "double flame" on the same subject, or read de Sade's prison letters, or leave all that behind & carry on with the preplanned Abu Nawas dive
That was definitely a heavy read, and it's more a book to be discussed & talked about !
It's either gonna haunt me everywhere, or it's going to evaporate in a couple of months, not really sure.
Now should we follow up with Octavio Paz's " "double flame" on the same subject, or read de Sade's prison letters, or leave all that behind & carry on with the preplanned Abu Nawas dive
Eroticism is heterosexist and overwhelmingly Western in scope, with some bizarre choices in analysis making for a confusing read (e.g., a chapter on Kinsey focuses solely on numbers and statistics and less on actual sexuality). That being said, Bataille brings forth a novel argument: that the ordered, profane world is structured by taboos, and any attempt to transgress these taboos brings us closer to the sacred (which can be achieved through death or sex). Pretty interesting overall, but the negatives sort of interfere with the positives. Almost necessary reading following this is Foucault's response essay "A Preface to Transgression" (1963), in which we see Foucault building upon Bataille's work on transgression as well as establishing his own foundational thoughts on the connection between sexuality and power.
This book is a very useful resource for anyone seeking research on how eroticism links with death, either from a literary perspective or a psychological one. The way Bataille is very lyrical but also manages to stay on point, providing a lot of perspectives on something that people are usually too scared to talk about but effects most people. It's a great read, especially for aspiring writers, I think!
I love Bataille, have been reading him for a long time. The central conceit of this book is fully explained in the first 20-30 pages, and it’s a good one. The rest of the book is him providing support for this in a series of often suspect and rambling essays. There’s still a lot to love, but it’s probably my least favorite thing I’ve read from B yet (tedium and tangents reaching new heights).
I can say with certainty that this is a life changing book for me. I've started reading it for a second time as I'm sure there's a lot that I've missed. I can see how many readers could be repelled by Bataille's deconstruction of the heavy, harsh realities he grapples with. The subject matter, by itself, is brutally real. Some sentences jump out at me with absolute clarity; others remain murky and mysterious, refusing to give up their secrets -- Even after a second reading. Contradictions exist within the space of a sentence in this work. Bataille breaks down concepts that are at once elemental yet complex -- For example, "continuity" versus "discontinuity". This is an oversimplification, but in essence, Bataille examines the overlap between life and death; between existence and non-existence; and the role eroticism plays within that arena.
Bataille has been referred to as the "metaphysician of evil", a moniker that I find to be sensational. According to Bataille, eroticism moves man towards death; or alternatively, man moves towards death in pursuing the erotic, which he cannot help but doing, since eroticism is intrinsic to his very nature. Work acts as a barrier against the potentially malign influence of decadent eroticism. Although sex and sexuality in themselves are amoral -- Bataille makes use of a moral perspective in his study of the connection between eroticism and death. Human sacrifice (and its evolution into pastel Christianity / puritanical monotheism) and the writings of Marquis DeSade appear as two memorable themes in this work; as several other Goodreads reviewers have noted -- The chapter on DeSade is compelling.
While reading "Erotism" I asked myself the question: "Must I now view life through Bataille's dark prism? And the answer was unequivocally: "Yes". On a technical note, I find the translation to be problematic [this has been observed by other Goodreads reviewers as well]; typos abound and while many of them are innocuous -- There are instances where both the typos and the mistranslations possibly contribute to misinterpretation of specific shades of meaning.
Bataille has been referred to as the "metaphysician of evil", a moniker that I find to be sensational. According to Bataille, eroticism moves man towards death; or alternatively, man moves towards death in pursuing the erotic, which he cannot help but doing, since eroticism is intrinsic to his very nature. Work acts as a barrier against the potentially malign influence of decadent eroticism. Although sex and sexuality in themselves are amoral -- Bataille makes use of a moral perspective in his study of the connection between eroticism and death. Human sacrifice (and its evolution into pastel Christianity / puritanical monotheism) and the writings of Marquis DeSade appear as two memorable themes in this work; as several other Goodreads reviewers have noted -- The chapter on DeSade is compelling.
While reading "Erotism" I asked myself the question: "Must I now view life through Bataille's dark prism? And the answer was unequivocally: "Yes". On a technical note, I find the translation to be problematic [this has been observed by other Goodreads reviewers as well]; typos abound and while many of them are innocuous -- There are instances where both the typos and the mistranslations possibly contribute to misinterpretation of specific shades of meaning.
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced