2009 Reading #40: On Revolution

[snurri]

Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
31. Dôra, Doralina by Rachel de Queiroz.
32. The Mercenaries by Donald E. Westlake.
33. A Faint Cold Fear by Karin Slaughter.
34. Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart (Part One of the Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox).
35. Saint Paul: The First 150 Years by Virginia Brainard Kunz.
36. The Story of the Stone by Barry Hughart (Part Two of the Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox).
37. Planet of Exile by Ursula K. Le Guin.
38. Eight Skilled Gentlemen by Barry Hughart (Part Three of the Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox).
39. Tapping the Source by Kem Nunn.

40. On Revolution by Hannah Arendt. Sample thoughts that went through my head while reading this book:

- Man, I am so not in shape for this kind of reading. How many times have I re-read this paragraph? Just twice? If I get up to three on a consistent basis I may have to admit defeat.

- I guess I can understand why writers of a certain period all assume that everyone reads Greek and Latin, but would it kill a modern publisher to provide some translations? Footnotes, at least? I can figure out some of these Latin nouns and adjectives, but I sure as hell can't conjugate.

- I think I would feel better about some of these arguments about how great the American Revolution was if there was more of an effort to address the lack of moral authority of the Founding Fathers with respect to slavery, genocide, etc.

- That said, I need to read Jefferson and Adams and Paine.

- Am I crazy or does the way she talks about the Immortal Legislator, Constitution-worship, and the "new Rome" sound a bit like Eliade's axis mundi and the Eternal Return? Does a constitution have to be "dead" in order to guarantee stability?

- I need to read more of Arendt's stuff. But first my brain needs a rest.

Comments

[snurri.livejournal.com]

I was trying to remember who it was that inspired me to pick up Arendt; I think I'd also seen one of her books around Karen and Pär's place, but now that you've commented I recall you mentioning her in some context. This book was like few things I've read before--I was afraid I was going to bounce off it, but despite the work I'm glad I persevered. This book in particular dovetails nicely with some things I've been working on or plan to, so that was nice as well.

[czakbar.livejournal.com]

I confess I hadn't been a heavy reader in philosophy until I stumbled upon her. Her language is abstract and yet somehow extremely poetic at moments. I read Between Past and Future as if it were an up-all-night novel, and I think maybe because it felt like it was telling me things I needed to know in regards to the novel I'm working on now. One of the side benefits of reading her has been being able to see a lot of abstractions in practice on the ground afterward, stuff that was invisible to me before reading her. I hear people talk about certain books that changed their life. I don't have a lot of books that I would say truly changed my life in big ways, major ways--there are many that I just love, or that did change my life, but in smaller ways--but Arendt picked me up, turned me inside out, and then set me down again. The weird thing about it was, even while I was reading, I kept furrowing my brows, wondering, how the hell am I seriously enjoying this stuff?!? And then I'd turn a page.

I liked On Revolution, but I came to it after all of those other books I mentioned, so by then I had come across a lot of the same stuff she talked about in it, just in different contexts. Liked it, but the first three books I mentioned were the ones that blew me away.

Glad to hear this book may dovetail with some stuff you're working on. Two for Arendt. :)