Customer Reviews (2)

slyly cynical aphorisms ...
"The principal defect of philosophy lies in the fact that academic philosophy is too bearable..." wrote Cioran (too bitterly for the general main stream); born 1911 in Romania, died 1995 in Paris: these two basic data of the CIORAN-curriculum vitae already are marking the subtle personal traumata: being divided by two very different cultural identities. Still loving Romania but emigrated and living safely in France, however not willing to integrate with French society he remained stateless not accepting any national identity. Obstinate he refused to receive the highest literary awards of his host country. Lost in exile - this was the everlasting frame of his mind. In an enthusiastic manner in his early years he engaged himself politically defending his Romania. Later on he was ashamed of such affectations and classified such poses as delirium, "kitsch", scrupulousness. High-skeptically he wrote, referring to the possibility of finding the real truth: "After all I know, that all these ideas and dogmatic thoughts are wrong and absurd. At last only human beings remain. And they are what they are. I am cured of the illness, to follow any ideology." Cioran liked characters as Nietzsche, Beethoven, Luther, Rousseau: He adored their individual strength to resist against the surrounding societies - he loved the stubbornness of these famous thinkers - though sometimes obstinacy seemed to be a subject for psychiatrists. During all his life in exile the backbone of his Romanian identity was broken and Cioran did not allow himself to use Romanian language any more (remember Elias Canetti and his metaphor of the "robbed tongue" and the phenomenon of hating fragments of the own identity and history). Cioran was attracted by the chronic despair of Soeren Kierkegaard and the nihilism of Friedrich Nietzsche. His university diploma he wrote about the thesis of the "Elan Vital" in the writings of the French existence-philosopher Henri Bergson. "Elan Vital" for Cioran indeed did not mean cheerfulness - but alike an Arthur Schopenhauer or an Ambrose Bierce, filled with a badly mixture of too much brain and bile, he enjoyed to produce cool, relaxed and slyly cynical aphorisms ...

We never see Cioran's real face, but it is in this book!
We have Cioran's image in our each mind. His books tell of himself too much. However, what's his real life and thought? This book leads us the truth of Cioran and we can see his real face. ... Read more

Product Description
This collection of eleven essays originally appeared in France thirty years ago and created a literary whirlwind on the Left Bank. E.M. Cioran writes incisively about Western civilizations, the writer, the novel, mystics, apostles, and philosophers. "An intellectual bombshell that blasts away at all kinds of cant, sham and conventionality. . . ". --Jonah Raskin, L.A. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Cioran, Briefly
Cioran is quite an interesting character but this book is not for everyone and, in fact, not for very many. It is dense stuff that might be read, say, if you were imprisoned for a lenghty time with only one book. Read his aphorisms instead.

unveiling realms of awareness
a stunning exposition of the wondrous caverns of the human heart, soul and mind. Somehow, through unearthing the darkest regions of consciousness, this author managed to enrich and edify us. By tearing down constructs, and destroying myths, he freed us to experience the full range of awareness; and thereby attain higher degrees of joy.

This one serves as a great accompaniment to such mind bending works as: The Supreme Identity, by Alan Watts; Rebels and Devils, edited by Christopher S. Hyatt Ph.D.; and anything by Nietzsche.

Me review Cioran? Let him turn in his petit grave, le salop!
If you don't know who Cioran is... the only thing I could do is try to seduce you to be introduced to him through this book.. through Temptation. If you know who he is and are wondering which book of his to buy.. go no further! If you have read that awful, premature tome, "Heights of Despair".. toss it, forget it, and replace it with Temptation to Exist! If you have the slightest disciple of Zarathustra somewhere inside you, then I believe we understand each other.

This book is a powerhouse of essays. The only thing I can disagree with are Cioran's opinions, and even then I am merely naive. I have little right to criticize him otherwise: to give these ... singular essays, these pages fertile with cerebral energy, this relentless gnawing at obstructing myth... to give it a spit in the face with my insignificant Amazon.com review? Well it would be unfathomable insolence! If, on the other hand, I seem hopelessly reverent toward Cioran... well, ya got me.

This book isn't for casual reading while on the can or in the dentist's office waiting to get drilled. The Cartesian reference, cogito ergo sum, is here pressed in a book and displayed in bad taste with the "seductions of thinking"... but that's just a crumb of what you'll find.

evil incarnate
Mola RAM Vola Ram

funniest and deepest pessimist since schopenhauer
in this book of short essays, cioran uses irony and paradox to achieve an absolute black humor. life is described as mind looking at itself and finding no significant content. death, the final exit, is a betrayer inthat contemplating it leads one to wish to affirm life once more, yetwithout knowledge of what in life can be affirmed. many key words in thebook begin with "a": abulia, aporia, askesis, ataraxia, andacedia define cioran's mood. perhaps the most brilliant essay, "beyondthe novel," informs us that the novel is either dead or dying, in anycase in agony, since both "character" and "meaning" nolonger signify anything. here art mirrors life, where certitudes are merelyfunctioning lies and the only goal is a futility achieved by severingoneself from those lies. the curious thing is that humor shines through allthis, and while i don't find this book as funny as others of cioran's,particulary his books of very short aphorisms, there were still somelaughs: "...at any price we must keep those who have too clear aconscience from living and dying in peace," for example. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Siempre!, published by Thomson Gale on October 2, 2005. The length of the article is 642 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Émile Cioran y Dios.(filósofo)(Columna)
Author: Javier Sicilia
Publication: Siempre! (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 2, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 52Issue: 2729Page: 74(1)

Article Type: Columna

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more