Reviews

The Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

syphoche's review against another edition

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I read this book intermittently over a number of years. Most of the Mesdames and Messieurs blurred together after a while. I enjoyed Rouseau's insights, though, and treated each time I picked the book up as a separate experience. I could vaguely imagine Rousseau's ghost haunting my book case, monologuing incessantly about his grievances and virtuousness. I used the receipt for another book I'd bought as the bookmark.

va87's review against another edition

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4.0

Honesty, which you can find in any tawdry internet ejaculation, is worthless when shameless. Shame is what makes Jean-Jacques Rousseau's honesty in this book brilliant, startling, and human. Not surprisingly, honesty is only one of many traits to adore in Rousseau -- the man, the writer, the character -- and his intriguingly layered voyage into the textual self.

lnatal's review against another edition

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4.0

Les Confessions de Jean-Jacques Rousseau est une autobiographie couvrant les cinquante-trois premières années de la vie de Rousseau, jusqu'à 1765.

nicholasbobbitt1997's review against another edition

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4.0

I'd certainly recommend it if someone's looking for a good autobiography of a historical figure. This stands as second to Mill's Autobiography for me.

tonianni's review against another edition

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3.0

Fascinating.

johnaggreyodera's review against another edition

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3.0

I think the best thing about Confessions is the context it gives, which then helps our understanding of Rousseau’s ideas. I think the lives of philosophers (and thinkers generally) are remarkably understudied, and I think it would be much more useful to us in understanding ideas if we gave as much thought to the social, political and emotional Milieus that gave rise to those ideas as to the ideas themselves.

tapsandtomes's review against another edition

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2.0

started interesting, but mostly it is a dense, rambling, mess. Rousseau is so dramatic and prideful. however, I think this could be turned into a netflix/hulu/hbo/starz serial and be cool. there's a lot of material here for a biographical period drama.
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