Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
fast-paced
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
"The tradition of the oppressed teaches us that the 'state of emergency' in which we live is not the exception but the rule. We must attain to a conception of history that is in keeping with this insight... One reason why Fascism has a chance is that in the name of progress its opponents treat it as a historical norm. The current amazement that the things we are experiencing are "still" possible in the twentieth century is not philosophical. This amazement is not the beginning of knowledge-unless it is. the knowledge that the view of history which gives rise to it is untenable."
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
It’s hard to judge this book, since it’s a pretty diverse collection. Benjamin is an interesting cultural critic, but he’s criticizing figures I have very little knowledge of. There were some essays that made my eyes glaze over, and there were some that I thought were totally brilliant.
I recommend, unreservedly the following: “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, “Unpacking my Library,” and the introduction by Hannah Arendt. For the others, I suggest a discerning reader pick those relevant to their interests, and simply sample the rest. Perhaps they will hook you, perhaps not. We 21st century readers are not exactly Walter Benjamin’s target audience.
I recommend, unreservedly the following: “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, “Unpacking my Library,” and the introduction by Hannah Arendt. For the others, I suggest a discerning reader pick those relevant to their interests, and simply sample the rest. Perhaps they will hook you, perhaps not. We 21st century readers are not exactly Walter Benjamin’s target audience.
Walter Benjamin is awesome, and any difficulties I had following the work, I ascribe to the translation and to my ignorance about some of the subjects (especially Baudelaire and Proust). He's wonderfully aphoristic, able to quickly sketch little metaphors that both illuminate and dramatize what he's talking about. He can be amazingly captivating, and absolutely rewards your attention. Very quotable, too!
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Benjamin (pronounced BEN-ya-mean) is one of those writers you just can't help loving in a sort of "oh poor Walter" way. His longing for an "aura" even as it seems to be dissolving before his very eyes is so likable and so tragic that you just want to give the guy a hug.
Certainly his life's tragedy leans over the edge of the reader's shoulder and one really can't separate the ideas in these essays from the idea of Walter Benjamin: a guy who's been dealt none of the right cards, can't figure himself to be an employee, who just wants to be left alone to read great books, write great essays, and to lead the life of an homme de lettres, and of course, the final tragedy of his bad luck, when he's off by a single day. I can relate to his frustrations, as well as to the seeming impossibility of leading the life he wanted.
Poor, poor Benjamin.
Certainly his life's tragedy leans over the edge of the reader's shoulder and one really can't separate the ideas in these essays from the idea of Walter Benjamin: a guy who's been dealt none of the right cards, can't figure himself to be an employee, who just wants to be left alone to read great books, write great essays, and to lead the life of an homme de lettres, and of course, the final tragedy of his bad luck, when he's off by a single day. I can relate to his frustrations, as well as to the seeming impossibility of leading the life he wanted.
Poor, poor Benjamin.
Mystical marvelous magic... Benjamin brings spirit back to the dusty tomes of literary theory and history. His work on Kafka is brilliant at the same time it's enigmatic, a fact Kafka himself would have been delighted about. Some of the sharpest insights on film, historical materialism and being a keeper of libraries. Long live the old, the dusty, the useless. Long live Benjamin