Customer Reviews

Guilty

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This outstanding translation supersedes the old 1988 translation by Bruce Boone, and is vastly superior in every way. This edition includes, in English translation for the first time, the notebook and manuscript versions of the book, allowing the reader to see the work in development as well as much of the context of the book's writing that was deleted from the published version. While I could quibble over a very few renderings, the translation is eminently readable and provides an accessible introduction to Bataille, the philosopher, during his greatest and most overlooked period (Kendall's translation largely matches up with those I have myself done). Along with Inner Experience, On Nietzsche and the "fictions" of The Impossible, Guilty presents the philosophical foundation upon which Bataille's later works (The Accursed Share, Erotism, The Tears of Eros) rests. At last, the English-speaking world can hear Bataille's words undistorted by an unreliable translation. Highly recommended. Let's hope that Stuart Kendall is already at work on new translations of Inner Experience and On Nietzsche!