{"product_id":"on-the-heights-of-despair-9780226106717","title":"On the Heights of Despair","description":"Born of a terrible insomnia-\"a dizzying lucidity which would turn even paradise into hell\"-this book presents the youthful Cioran, a self-described \"Nietzsche still complete with his Zarathustra, his poses, his mystical clown's tricks, a whole circus of the heights.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ci\u003eOn the Heights of Despair\u003c\/i\u003e shows Cioran'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. It also presents Cioran as a connoisseur of apocalypse, a theoretician of despair, for whom writing and philosophy both share the \"lyrical virtues\" that alone lead to a metaphysical revelation. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"No modern writer twists the knife with Cioran's dexterity. . . . His writing . . . is informed with the bitterness of genuine compassion.\"-Bill Marx, \u003ci\u003eBoston Phoenix \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"The dark, existential despair of Romanian philosopher Cioran's short meditations is paradoxically bracing and life-affirming. . . . Puts him in the company of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard.\"-\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly, \u003c\/i\u003e starred review \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"This is self-pity as epigram, the sort of dyspeptic pronouncement that gets most people kicked out of bed but that has kept Mr. Cioran going for the rest of his life.\"-Judith Shulevitz, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eReview\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCioran, E. M.:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eE. M. Cioran\u003c\/b\u003e (1911-1995) was born and educated in Romania and lived in Paris from 1937 until his death. He is the author of numerous works, including \u003ci\u003eOn the Heights of Despair\u003c\/i\u003e, also available from the University of Chicago Press.","brand":"University of Chicago Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50644459946258,"sku":"9780226106717","price":30.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_86d0faa1-98e1-44bc-b0a6-f03b713e99e7.jpg?v=1733110728","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/on-the-heights-of-despair-9780226106717","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}