In the summer of 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo, an event which led to the horror of World War I and which many historians suggest marked the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1992, Sarajevo again lurched into prominence as the focal point of one of the century’s bloodiest civil wars. Yet Sarajevo at one point epitomized the dreams of the Enlightenment, a city where Christians, Jews, and Muslims peacefully coexisted. In the midst of Sarajevo’s recent decline into chaos and destruction, Susan Sontag decided to produce Act I of Waiting for Godot, which, despite ever-looming danger, played to packed houses. Why? Why did this city of hope lie crushed at the end of the twentieth century? Why did Sontag stage an artistic production in the middle of such overwhelming tragedy? Why Waiting for Godot? And, most important, why the appreciative, silent tears of audience members who risked their lives to attend a play in the middle of a war?These are the questions that guide David Toole’s theological reflections in Waiting for Godot in Sarajevo, where he seeks to come to terms with what it means to live a life of dignity in a world of undeniable suffering. Toole skillfully weaves together Friedrich Nietzsche’s views on nihilism with Michel Foucault’s analysis of power to produce a metaphysics of tragedy, or a “politics of dying.” Such politics are then used to shed new theological light on the Christian apocalypse and what it means to be alive at the end of the twentieth century. In making his argument, Toole draws innovative connections between such diverse figures as John Milbank, Alasdair MacIntyre, Euripides, John Howard Yoder, and Norman Maclean (author of A River Runs Through It and Young Men and Fire), all the while using Beckett’s play as a compass for his direction. The end result is a fascinating, eminently readable, unexpectedly adventurous theological inquiry into the meaning of life.
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David Toole is visiting assistant professor of liberal studies at the University of Montana.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must-read book on Christianity and the 20th Century.,
By Vincent F. Rocchio, PhD (vrocchio@ultranet.com) (Lawrence, MA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Waiting For Godot In Sarajevo: Theological Reflections On Nihilsim, Tragedy, And Apocalypse (Radical Traditions) (Hardcover)
David Toole's book is an outstanding contribution to a world struggling to reconcile the fundamental tenets of Christianity with a modernized (some would say post-modernized) materialist, and secular world. Indeed, for all our church going etc., we are a society that will not think twice about desecrating creation to put up yet another strip-mall. What Toole's book so clearly and so provacatively demonstrates is the philosophical underpinnings that have lead to our more dominant and invisible ideologies. Rather than trotting out a history of philosophical thought and putting a bunch of dead white guys through their paces, Toole deftly organizes his discussion thematically, bringing together brilliant historical/cultural analysis with modern philosophical thought and theological insight. In the process, Toole has written what is perhaps the most nuanced--and clear-- presentation of Nietzsche in the English language. Most scholars would give their arm to have accomplished that. Toole goes even further. In linking together philosophy, history, and theology, Toole provides an insiteful, and downright stunning analysis of our contemporary "global society". Not since Ched Meyer's "Binding the Strongman" has there been such bold undertaking to resituate christianity's profound political dimensions with how we live and think--it should be on the bookshelf of every activist-christian who is concerned about the world and taking a moral position in it. The only thing confusing about this book is why it is not getting enormous readership. Although Nietzshe, Foucault, and Beckett do not exactly make for light reading, Toole's clarity and poetic vision make this an enormously accessible and engaging read. This is the book that the New Yorker crowd should be discussing as a way out of dead-end secularism and materialism. Reviewing it in under 1,000 words is almost impossible. It cannot be discussed enough.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Toole's writing is both clear and illuminating.,
By
This review is from: Waiting For Godot In Sarajevo: Theological Reflections On Nihilsim, Tragedy, And Apocalypse (Radical Traditions) (Hardcover)
This is not a book for those who want to live a comfortable life, avoiding sorrow and despair at all costs. It is instead a moving work intended for readers who have either experienced the suffering in this fractured world or who are compelled to know more in general about the human condition. In Waiting for Godot in Sarajevo David Toole portrays a world fraught with endless and often escalating conflicts, a world pregnant with pain and death. He seeks to answer the pensive questions: How do we come to grips with the endless suffering in this world? How can we live a good life in the face of suffering Toole answers by telling us that, in today's world, we are confronted with three alternatives from which we can choose: despair (nihilism), tragic resignation (fatalism) or hope (apocalyptic faith). The opening chapter of this book is set in 1993 Sarajevo, Bosnia, at the height of the slaughter and carnage. Taking place is the stage performance of Samuel Beckett's play "Waiting for Godot." Susan Sontag directs this work during a time when Sarajevo was both battlefield and concentration camp. "Waiting for Godot" is a powerful play that depicts tragic politics, the art of suffering, dying and, of course, the eternal waiting that accompanies suffering. Godot, for whom the cast waits, represents hope, a potential redeemer. In Toole's words, "I began in Sarajevo and that Sarajevo both is and metaphorically represents a world of suffering." This suffering is simply another instance of the unfolding in nihilism that Nietzsche declared would be the distinguishing mark of both the 20th and 21st centuries - Sarajevo depicts for us the despair of radical nihilism." Make no mistake, this is not a summer-day-at-the-beach read as the text is complex and challenging. Toole deals with the philosophy of great minds and thinkers such as the following: Fredrick Nietzsche, Martin Heideggar, Michael Gillespie, John Milbank, John H. Yoder and Michael Foucault. However, do not despair, Toole's writing is both clear and illuminating. He has done us a valuable service as he spurns today's doomsayers who proclaim "this world is a world with no bounds, no constraints and a world run amok." He challenges us to believe in a life that has meaning, dignity and God's presence. Recommended
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A challenges to believe in a life that has meaning &dignnity,
By
This review is from: Waiting For Godot In Sarajevo: Theological Reflections On Nihilsim, Tragedy, And Apocalypse (Radical Traditions) (Hardcover)
This is not a book for those who want to live a comfortable life, avoiding sorrow and despair at all costs. It is instead a moving work intended for readers who have either experienced the suffering in this fractured world or who are compelled to know more in general about the human condition.In Waiting for Godot in Sarajevo David Toole portrays a world fraught with endless and often escalating conflicts, a world pregnant with pain and death. He seeks to answer the pensive questions: How do we come to grips with the endless suffering in this world? How can we live a good life in the face of suffering Toole answers by telling us that, in today's world, we are confronted with three alternatives from which we can choose: despair (nihilism), tragic resignation (fatalism) or hope (apocalyptic faith). The opening chapter of this book is set in 1993 Sarajevo, Bosnia, at the height of the slaughter and carnage. Taking place is the stage performance of Samuel Beckett's play "Waiting for Godot." Susan Sontag directs this work during a time when Sarajevo was both battlefield and concentration camp. "Waiting for Godot" is a powerful play that depicts tragic politics, the art of suffering, dying and, of course, the eternal waiting that accompanies suffering. Godot, for whom the cast waits, represents hope, a potential redeemer. In Toole's words, "I began in Sarajevo and that Sarajevo both is and metaphorically represents a world of suffering." This suffering is simply another instance of the unfolding in nihilism that Nietzsche declared would be the distinguishing mark of both the 20th and 21st centuries - Sarajevo depicts for us the despair of radical nihilism." Make no mistake, this is not a summer-day-at-the-beach read as the text is complex and challenging. Toole deals with the philosophy of great minds and thinkers such as the following: Fredrick Nietzsche, Martin Heideggar, Michael Gillespie, John Milbank, John H. Yoder and Michael Foucault. However, do not despair, Toole's writing is both clear and illuminating. He has done us a valuable service as he spurns today's doomsayers who proclaim "this world is a world with no bounds, no constraints and a world run amok." He challenges us to believe in a life that has meaning, dignity and God's presence. Recommended
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