Émile Michel Cioran

Edu Borger

Fred Backus

Geboren zijn is ongemak

E. M. Cioran

It presents us with the youthful Cioran, who described himself as "a Nietzsche still complete with his Zarathustra, his poses, his mystical clown's tricks, a whole circus of the heights." It also presents Cioran as a connoisseur of apocalypse, a theoretician of despair. For Cioran, writing and philosophy are closely related to physical suffering: both share the "lyrical virtues" that alone lead to metaphysical revelation. The result is a book that becomes a substitute for as well as an antidote to suicide. By enacting the struggle of the Romantic soul against God, the universe, and itself, Cioran releases a saving burst of lyrical energy that carries him safely out of his desperation. On the Heights of Despair shows the philosopher's first grappling with themes he would return to in his mature works: despair and decay, absurdity and alienation, futility and the irrationality of existence.

On the Heights of Despair

Al culmine della disperazione

Précis de décomposition

Emile M. Cioran

Mon idée, quand j'écris un livre, est d'éveiller quelqu'un, de le fustiger. Etant donné que les livres que j'ai écrits ont surgi de mes malaises, pour ne pas dire de mes souffrances, c'est cela même qu'ils doivent transmettre en quelque sorte au lecteur. Un livre doit tout bouleverser, tout remettre en question.

Œuvres

Émile Michel Cioran

Books

Your next favorite book is out there