Customer Reviews

Essays Critical And Clinical

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I must confess, I've only read three of the essays so far in this book, but it's the introduction that I'm most grateful for. Daniel W. Smith does a magnificent job of explicating many of the concepts that have perplexed and confounded my poor artistic mind. I feel that Deleuze had a special understanding of literature, and I was interested to see what he has to say about some of the writers I also love (Beckett, Kafka, Melville). But I've mostly had this experience of wishing I could get what it was he was saying. I felt all along like I was just-this-close, until Smith cracked it open for me. Lots of "Aha" experiences. For people with an artistic bent and with an attraction to philosophy, Deleuze is perhaps a kindred spirit whose words and thoughts about literature, painting and music can give hope and faith to whatever projects we work on at the foot of the capitalist mountain. I've also read his book on Kafka, and I selected that one because I want to understand more, and based on a review here on Amazon where someone said "this was the one to start with." I would say, that Kafka is definitely the one to start with, but Smith's intro to this book gives a very helpful overview of what one can expect. So Start with the Intro, go to Kafka, then come back to the essays. My .02.