Reviews

The Agony of Eros by Byung-Chul Han

hieronymusbotched's review against another edition

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4.0

The strength of the book is the intensity and brevity of its argument.

The weakness of the book is the intensity and brevity of its argument.

I find myself agreeing with most of Han's assessments of modern afflictions - the commodification of love, the smoothing of emotional corners, the grand mediocrity of contemporary life - but for that same reason I do wish he'd spend more time with his own beliefs on the page.

All the same, not one word is a waste of your time.

jmichaelw28's review

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challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

zritsa's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

cvall96's review

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5.0

guauuuu

(recommended by hajin)

mahir007's review against another edition

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5.0

إننا نعيش اليوم داخل مجتمع نرجسي مفرط . حيث تستثمر الغريزة الجنسية بشكل أساسي داخل الفرد . غير أن النرجسية ليست هي نفسها حب الذات . فالذات في هذا الأخير تكون قادرة على رسم حدود سلبية بين نفسها وبين الآخر . أما الذات النرجسية ، فلا تتمكن أبدا من وضع حدود واضحة ، لأنها لا ترى الآخر أساساً . نتيجة لذلك ، تغدو الحدود بين النرجسي والآخر ضبابية . لا يظهر العالم إلا بوصفه مدخلات داخل ذوات النرجسيين ، وهي غير قادرة على الاعتراف بأن هناك ما يسمى بالآخرية -وهذا أقل بكثير من الاعتراف بالآخر كوجود متحقق . الذات النرجسية لا تعترف بمعاني الأشياء سوى تلك التي تكتشفها داخل نفسها بطريقة ما . تتمرغ الأشياء في ظلها حتى تغرق بداخلها ؛ داخل ذاتها .
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بيونغ - شول هان
معاناة إيروس

jadeliizabeth13's review

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

1.0

Han is the perfect example of how to say nothing while saying absolutely everything. This was a painful read. 

mia_angeline's review

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4.0

As someone who just recently entered a really wonderful relationship that has made me confront "The Other" in ways I did not think possible, I found this a very interesting read. I disagree with some instances and wonder at the originality of the thesis, because I think this has been said just with a less intellectual framing, but I enjoyed the content and found it thought provoking and made me think a lot about my life and Self. 

interlibraryloan's review

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3.0

this book looked me in the eyes and said “the erotica you just read? the lacanian i erotica surrounding doubles and twins and having sex with your doppelgänger? that was not erotic, love is erotic” and i can do nothing but nod and say yes sir!! another byung-chul han BANGER, a must read for people thinking about love and eroticism

hlovdali's review

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informative reflective fast-paced

4.5

dov's review

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3.5

reading this while studying for finals was definitely a choice… but I enjoyed it, specially the lasts chapters of the book. I love the idea that politics is closely related to love and art, and how in order to cambiar y tener una ideología determinada tenemos que intentar habitar en la realidad del “tu” para poder hacer un mundo más justo, y todo el amor que esto conlleva.