Overview

We cannot understand the phenomenon of remembering without invoking its opposite, forgetting. Taking his cue from Beckett - 'only he who forgets remembers' - Josipovici uncovers a profound cultural shift from societies that celebrated ritual remembrance at fixed times and places, to our own Western world where the lack of such mechanisms leads to a fear of forgetting, to what Nietzsche diagnosed as an unhealthy sleeplessness that infects every aspect of our culture. Moving from the fear of Alzheimer's to invocations of 'Remember the Holocaust' and 'Remember Kosovo' by unscrupulous demagogues, from the burial rituals of rural societies to the Berlin and Vienna Holocaust Memorials, from eighteenth-century disquiet about the role of tombs and inscriptions to the late poems of Wallace Stevens, Josipovici has produced, in characteristic style, a small book with a very big punch. Gabriel Josipovici's novel The Cemetery in Barnes (2018) was shortlisted for the 2018 Goldsmiths Prize and longlisted for the 2019 Republic of Consciousness Prize.

Full Product Details

9781784108908

Table of Contents

Reviews

"'Gabriel Josipovici provides an elegant lesson, to cite the title of his final chapter, in letting go' Ben Hutchinson, Times Literary Supplement 'In prose that is lively and learned, perceptive and persuasive, Josipovici's timely meditations proffer both consolation and challenges to the knotty problem of forgetting and remembering...[a] slim yet insightful volume.' Ian Ellison, Journal of European Studies 'Josipovici is at his best in his dissections of art's representations, its bridges between personal and cultural worlds.' Bernadette Ashby, DURA Dundee 'To call it a ""success"" would be praise too simple for such a rich work. It is a book to be remembered and re-remembered' Scott Beauchamp, The New Criterion '... a fascinating book of reflections on memory and forgetting... This mix of detailed readings has been typical of Jisopovici's critical work... It is what has made him one of the outstanding critics of our time.' David Herman, The Jewish Chronicle 'As always, Josipovici asks big questions. Why, as a culture, are we fascinated by issues of forgetting? Is there something a little anxious about the injunction to ""never forget""?' David Herman, The Jewish Chronicle 'Forgetting is second to none on the demands of the present when it comes to our cultural memory. Josipovici writes generously, with deep consideration and empathy, on the subject and has written an enlightening collection that serves as both consolation and a warning during this time of crisis.' Jack Solloway, Review 31"

Author Information

Gabriel Josipovici was born in Nice in 1940 of Russo-Italian, Romano-Levantine parents. He lived in Egypt from 1945 to 1956, when he came to Britain. He is the author of eighteen novels, three volumes of short stories, nine critical works, and numerous stage and radio plays, and is a regular contributor to the Times Literary Supplement. His plays have been performed throughout Britain and on radio in Britain, France and Germany, and his work has been translated into the major European languages and Arabic. In 2016, Carcanet published The Teller and the Tale: Essays on Literature and Culture, 1990-2015.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available