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| Curiosity
ISBN: 9780300189414
Platform/Publisher: Ebook Central / Yale University Press
Digital rights: Users: Unlimited; Printing: Limited; Download: 7 Days at a Time
Subjects: Literature;
The search for knowledge, and the discontents associated with that search, provide a loose pretext for this rambling literary meditation. Manguel (All Men are Liars) frames his text around The Divine Comedy, his model for a soul-shaking inquiry into the cosmos, examining Dante's approach to a raft of questions about the nature of language, reasoning, animals, acquisitiveness, good and evil, and much more. Along the way he calls in other writers and philosophers, including Aquinas, Hume, Dickens, and Primo Levi, and visits topics such as economic inequality, environmental devastation, the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and language skills among chimpanzees. Manguel's loose-jointed, free-associative chapters make for a hit-and-miss intellectual tour. At some points, he gets bogged down with ornate self-indulgence, while at others his thoughts focus into sharp, insightful discussions of intriguing themes, such as identity in Alice in Wonderland, the unjust disparagement of the ancient Sophists, and the contrast between the morally coherent punishments in Dante's hell and the inexplicable torments of Auschwitz. Throughout, Manguel's main guiding principle seems to be to simply follow his nose to whatever tangentially related topic interests him. The average reader's curiosity will be piqued by some, though perhaps not all, of the discoveries he makes. Photos. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Alberto Manguel is a Canadian writer, translator, editor, and critic, but would rather define himself as a reader. Born in Buenos Aires, he has since resided in Israel, Argentina, Europe, the South Pacific, and Canada. Today he divides his time between Canada and a small village in France. |
