In this brilliant book, a preeminent literary thinker muses over
the central question of how we can feel at home in the world, given
that the world is independent of and indifferent to our wishes.
Drawing on books and films, cultural history and his own
experiences, Gabriel Josipovici argues that it is possible to feel
comfortable in the world and in our relationships with others only
if we value touch over sight, if we respect distance but also work
to overcome it. Josipovici moves from a Charlie Chaplin film to
passages from Proust, from the world of sport to the world of
addiction, from medieval pilgrimages to the cult of relics, from a
wedding photograph of his grandparents to some of Chardin's most
enigmatic paintings. Through these seemingly disparate topics he
provides engaging and wise commentary on connection and
communication in life. Contrasting the senses of sight and touch,
Josipovici notes that although sight seems to give us the totality
of what we behold, it is only when we walk or feel our way across
the distances that things become more than images and begin to
constitute the world in which we, as touchers and not mere
observers, are included.If we depend on sight - which seems to
offer a frictionless domination over reality - we may avoid the
pains and uncertainties of living, but we also lose our involvement
with life. Lucid, imaginative and daring, Josipovici's book will
intrigue, inspire and indded touch a wide range of readers. Gabriel
Josipovici is professor of English in the School of European
Studies, University of Sussex, and visiting professor of
comparative literature at Oxford. As well as novels, volumes of
short stories, and plays, he has published a sequence of major
works of criticism and cultural theory, including 'The Lessons of
Modernism' (1977), 'Writing and the Body' (1982), 'The Book of God'
(1988), 'Text and Voice' (1992), and 'Whatever Happened to
Modernism?' (2010).
General
| Imprint: |
Yale University Press
|
| Country of origin: |
United States |
| Release date: |
October 1996 |
| First published: |
September 1996 |
| Authors: |
Gabriel Josipovici
|
| Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 9mm (L x W x T) |
| Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
| Pages: |
156 |
| ISBN-13: |
978-0-300-18106-7 |
| Categories: |
Books >
Social sciences >
Education >
General
Promotions
|
| LSN: |
0-300-18106-X |
| Barcode: |
9780300181067 |
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