explain Maurice Blanchot's 'Death Sentence' to me

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

OK, so I bought this after seeing it referred to somewhere (ILE, probably) in a way that made it sound interesting. And I read it (no great feat, it's only 80 pages), and it is interesting, but it also drove me slightly mad. I mean, I get that it's a chronicle of existential alienation and horror, being and nothingness and all that jazz, but the writing is so deliberately elliptical that it almost seemed to defy any attempt to follow Blanchot's thoughts. The ideas seemed to sort of evaporate before they ever really took shape. Of course, this was the first thing I've read by Blanchot, so maybe reading some of his essays and being more familiar with his thinking would make the book make more sense.

― spittle (spittle), Wednesday, 21 April 2004 04:27 (twenty-one years ago)

(and I'm not saying the book is bullshit or anything, I think there's a lot there -- or it at least gives the impression of there being a lot there. it's just that I would be hard-pressed to give the book's themes any concrete definition. beyond, you know, "it's about death. and love.")

Any help?

― spittle (spittle), Wednesday, 21 April 2004 04:30 (twenty-one years ago)

From what I know of Blanchot (which is not much) it may be that you've already got whatever the Planet Blanchot equivalent of "the gist" is.

A text which "gives the impression of there being a lot there" without actually attaining, or ultimately endorsing the idea of, "thereness" - that might be exactly what the novel wants to be.

― Neil Willett (Neil Willett), Thursday, 22 April 2004 18:01 (twenty-one years ago)

one year passes...

Reading the book becomes an uncertain journey where the traveller is enveloped by existential questions on love,death and meaning to/or of life.It asks questions on how it feels to experience and to defeat or be a victim of death.I think he suggests that death like life can be lived,even though it fails to give conclusive solutions or answers to these questions,it provides useful suggestions on how to understand them.
Altogether a painful read.

― lawrence Ngoveni, Tuesday, 18 October 2005 13:54 (twenty years ago)

three years pass...

Revive! Though it's been years sine I read death sentence, some of his other writings have followed me around through out the years. The Infinite Conversation and The Most High I have read repeatedly. Anyone around here have any thoughts on Maurice Blanchot, or Georges Bataille who I think is important in understanding Blanchot's thought.

― Jacob Sanders, Wednesday, 5 August 2009 22:57 (sixteen years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.