The Girard Reader [Paperback]

Rene Girard (Author), James G. Williams (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1996

In one volume, an anthology of seminal work of one of the twentieth century's most original thinkers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 310 pages
• Publisher: Crossroad Herder (November 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824516346
• ISBN-13: 978-0824516345
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #144,122 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Key to All Mythologies, May 31, 2001

By 

Arch Llewellyn "arch-l" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Girard Reader (Paperback)

This is a remarkably complete introduction to Rene Girard's ideas. His key theory has the clarity and simplicity of a mathematical proof--desire is not an innate drive but a behavior we learn through imitation (mimesis). When we mimic our model's desire for the same object, violence breaks out. Through ritual scapegoating, human communities manage to divert this violence by directing it at a random victim (thus hiding its real source in mimetic rivalry). According to Girard, this mechanism is at work across all times and cultures, and shapes the plot of nearly every major novel. For those with a suspicion of grand unifying theories, his idea raises many questions. Even more controversial is his belief that Christianity brings an end to myth by exposing the scapegoat's innocence. Christ doesn't die as a sacrifice to God for human sin; instead, the crucifixion reveals the fiction at the root of all sacrifice--the victim's culpability. This helps to humanize one of Christianity's more troubling doctrines, but it also asks us to believe that the authors of the New Testament understood the workings of mimetic desire 2000 years before Girard articulated the theory. Read the book and come to your own conclusions. Whatever you decide, after reading Girard you'll look at myth and religion with new eyes.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive introduction to Girard's work, February 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Girard Reader (Paperback)

One of the most interesting aspects of this good general introduction to the brilliant work of Rene Girard is the interview with editor James G. Williams, which touches on Girard's biography and his conversion to Catholicism. The other texts included here span the entirety of his long career as literary critic, groundbreaking anthropologist, and Biblical exegete. The texts address all facets of mimetic theory, from triangular desire to scapegoating, sacrifice, Satan, and the paradoxical place of Nietzsche in the history of mimetic anthropology.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to Girard's theories, July 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Girard Reader (Paperback)

Girard's insight into the origin and interrelation of violence, religion, competition, etc., are, as advertised, one of the primary intellectual achievements of the 20th century. This volume contains key excerpts from his published works, so it's a fine general introduction. Even those who may disagree with some of Girard's conclusions will find it exhilarating to read and ponder.