Customer Reviews

Hatred of Capitalism: A Semiotext(e) Reader

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As an avid reader of numerous books published by Semiotext[e] I found this anthology to be an excellent sampling of essays and short-stories. There are a few pieces included which are pointless--some shortstories and interviews--but there are enough gems to make this book worthwhile.

The selling point for me was the two entries by Ulrike Meinhof (of the Baader-Meinhof Gang, RAF) entitled "Armed Anti-Imperialist Struggle". I've always been interested in the Red Army Faction (which, for some reason, other authors in this anthology call the "Red Army Fraction") so I was excited to read Meinhof's apologetics. Some of the Deleuze and Guattari entries were worth the purchase as well.

Chris Kraus and Sylvere Lotringer have complied an interesting, diverse and brilliant array of writings from the
last 25 years. "To the Memory of an era (1974-2002)" is the
dedication of the book that covers every concevible idea about different views of the cutlure we happen to live in, construct and deconstruct. Hatred of Capitalism is stimulating, thought provoking and subversive in its multitude of ways artists; writers; thinkers; philsophers talk about their lives, bodies and thoughts.....This is a stimulating must read...

The title, "Hatred of Capitalism" could also be subtitled: "The Love of So Much that is not Capitalism": 'easy-read' essays and stories; rare thoughts and visions of contemporary life; even a poetic filmscript by Chris Marker. Chris Kraus and friends at Semiotext(e) magazine have gathered together a very fine collection of works from authors you might not run across otherwise: Lynne Tillman; Felix Guattari; Ann Rower; David Wojnarowicz; Michelle Tea; Michel Foucault; Cookie Mueller and Eileen Myles.

This book was a springboard for so much reading and literary discovery. After reading this, I had to read everything I could find by everyone inside. A real inspiration for the many young people I know who look around and feel hopeless: "there's really a lot still to do", the book seems to say - tied to love, desire and an intuition that things could be very different.
This is the very, very best from the end of last century and the beginning of ours. Bravo!!!