I’m sure Wolf is familiar with Laszlo F. Foldenyi, a professor at the University of Theater, Film, and Television in Budapest. I’ve read a fair amount of Dostoyevsky and Hegel so the title attracted me to this book of essays (translated from the Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet).
Of course my favorite essay in Foldenyi’s volume is “Dostoyevsky Reads Hegel in Siberia and Bursts into Tears.” Dostoyevsky spent four years in Siberia (not his choice). During that time, he somehow came into contact with a friendly prison official who shared Hegel’s Lectures on the Philosophy of World History with Dostoyevsky. Foldenyi makes a strong case that that book influenced Dostoyevsky’s writings.
I enjoyed the other essays, but the essay that stands out for me is “A Capacity for Amazement: Canetti’s Crowds and Power Fifty Years Later.” Around 1969, I bought a copy of Crowds and Power and read it. I remember being impressed by Canetti’s range of knowledge. After reading Foldenyi’s essay, I wanted to drop everything and reread Crowds and Power. If you’re in the mood for some thought-provoking essays, take a look at Dostoyevsky Reads Hegel in Siberia and Bursts into Tears. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Preface vii
Mass and Spirit 3
Dostoyevsky Reads Hegel in Siberia and Bursts into Tears 19
The Globe-shaped Tower: The Tower of Babel at the Turn of the Millennium 51
Belief in the Devil 67
Happiness and Melancholy 77
“For All but Fools Know Fear Sometimes”: Fear and Freedom 101
The Shadow of the Whole: The Romantic Fragment 123
“Only That Which Never Ceases to Hurt Stays in the Memory”: Variations on the Human Body, Subjugated by Fantasies of Power 145
Sleep and the Dream 171
A Natural Scientist in Reverse 183
Kleist Dies and Dies and Dies 193
The Fatal Theater of Antonin Artaud 219
A Capacity for Amazement: Canetti’s Crowds and Power Fifty Years Later 247
Notes 269
Credits 283
I must admit that is an intriguing title. It is definitely the kind of thing that interests me, though at the moment, I don’t think there is room on my dance card.
Jeff, DOSTOYEVSKY READS HEGEL IN SIBERIA AND BURSTS INTO TEARS is a short book and very engaging.
Of course, this would have been great for Phil.
Patti, Phil would have loved DOSTOYEVSKY READS HEGEL IN SIBERIA AND BURSTS INTO TEARS.
Not on your life.
Rick, everyone needs a little Hegel in their lives.
Shame on me!
I have to admit that I haven’t read Földényi though he is well known in Germany and most of his books have been translated into German.
I’ll ask my Hungarian friends about him.
Wolf, just based on DOSTOYEVSKY READS HEGEL IN SIBERIA AND BURSTS INTO TEARS, I can recommend Földényi to you.
Make it Katherine Heigl and I’m in!
I can definitely see how Hegel might suit Dostoevsky down to the ground. Maybe Hegel’s students Proudhon and Marx rather less…
CROWDS AND POWER I’m not aware of. Perhaps my fault. Probably, in fact.
What an intriguing title, George! The other essays seems interesting today, esp. Sleep and the Dream.
Neeru, I like the title DOSTOYEVSKY READS HEGEL IN SIBERIA AND BURSTS INTOT TEARS, too! This is a thought-provoking book.