Roberto Calasso

[Anonymous No.18982981]

Has anyone read him? Was he based? Should I get into him? If so, where should I start?

[Anonymous No.18982994]

>>18982981
start with the greeks

[Anonymous No.18983014]

>>18982994
Is this an allusion to the Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony or are you doing le epic meme?

[Anonymous No.18983900]

>>18982981
I've actually read all his books except Ardor which I'm reading now
Cadmus and Harmony and The Unnameable Present are the quickest to get through
My favorite's actually The Celestial Hunter (a fantastic book) then Kasch then Ka
Tiepolo Pink's wonderful, but his book on Baudelaire's perhaps his one disappointment: I expected more
K's solid but don't read it unless you've read The Castle and The Trial
Literature and the Gods would be a great introduction but will mean nothing to anyone who hasn't predigested his longest book, Ka, so don't start there
Start rather with The 49 Steps collection of essays and then read Kasch--you'll love him

[Anonymous No.18984840]

>>18983900
Thanks anon, this was a more elaborate and precise answer I was expecting to get!

[Anonymous No.18984896]

>>18982981

[Anonymous No.18985340]

>>18984840
Codicil: His book on the Old Testament will be released in English in early November (you can pre-order it via B*N, Am*zon, or some discount house or other). Also just as Ardor follows Ka as a kind of philosophical supplement to that mythography, so Celestial Hunter is meant to follow Cadmus and Harmony, despite the immense lapse of time in their productions--the former from the mid-90's, the latter just out a few years ago.

[Anonymous No.18986263]

Surprised at the want of interest here

[Anonymous No.18986582]

>>18983900
This is very helpful.

[Anonymous No.18986594]

>>18982981
Damn incels are right, nature is brutal.

[Anonymous No.18986649]

>>18985340
Similarly, Unnamable Present should follow Ruin of Kasch.

[Anonymous No.18986827]

>>18986649
Absolutely

[Anonymous No.18986869]

>>18982981
Anons have advised very well, marriage of Cadmus and Harmonia is where I would start. I would read everything he wrote, but I'm super autistic about the complete works when I like an author so if you want to be selective then Kasch, K, the celestial hunter and literature and the gods are absolute must read.

[Anonymous No.18986961]

>>18986869
Itali-anon? If so what is your opinion of Claudio Magris? Just finishing up Microcosm (such a good book) and have already ordered Danube. Curious. Also what else of his would you recommend? And, are there any other contemporary central European writers of this same ilk?

[Anonymous No.18987817]

>>18982981
Yes
Yes
Yes
Ruin of Kasch

[Anonymous No.18988001]

>>18986961
I'm Spanish and I have read most of his works in translation, a big publisher here took on a lot of his works.
I didn't know Magris but his works look interesting, I will check him out more carefully in the future.
>Also what else of his would you recommend?
I loved pretty much all of his books I read, maybe the most forgettable one was the unnamable present, but that could be simply subjective, so I would recommend everything by him that you can find. If my italian was better I would just throw all of my savings at adelphi and get everything I possibly can, maybe in the future lol.
>And, are there any other contemporary central European writers of this same ilk?
I believe Calasso was one of the greatest literary figures of the late 20th century, so I don't know what I could recommend.
Some other authors I really enjoy: Borges, Sebald, Handke, Pavić, Uždavinys and Solovyov (this list doesn't really make any sense but whatever)

[Anonymous No.18988036]

>>18988001
Good taste anon. I wish I had friends who read Calasso, Uzdavinys, and Solovyov.

[Anonymous No.18988106]

>>18988036
I know that feel. Only two of my friends read and it's fantasy a la Sanderson and the witcher books for one of them and divulgative and more specialized science books for the other.
I don't think i have ever met anyone irl that knew Calasso, much less Uždavinys. That's why I keep coming here I guess.

[Anonymous No.18988221]

>>18984896
Can someone give me a QRD on Theophrastus' Characters?

[Anonymous No.18989823]

>>18988001
>Pavić, Uždavinys and Solovyov
have you read them in Spanish? in which edition? I couldn't find them anywhere
also, any link or copy would be greatly appreciated

[Anonymous No.18990803]

>>18989823
Pavic is readily available in English, if that helps

[Anonymous No.18991183]

>>18989823
Uždavinys I read in only in English.
For Pavić you have diccionario jázaro and paisaje pintado con té in Anagrama and pieza única in Herder.
Editorial Sígueme has great editions for Solovyov and El Buey Mudo edited los tres diálogos y el relato del Anticristo.
For lesser know works you have to go for English or French translations, no other way around that, Spanish has a shamefully weak publishing industry if we take into account the number of speakers.

[Anonymous No.18992428]

>>18988001
>>18991183
>Uždavinys
>Pavić
What's a good place to start with them? I didn't know them prior to this post, but they seem interesting.

[Anonymous No.18992866]

>>18992428
For Uždavinys start with The Golden Chain, then go for Philosophy and Theurgy in Late Antiquity and later Philosophy as a Rite of Rebirth.
Pavić just read in whatever order you like, I would start with Dictionary of the Khazars (male and female are pretty much the same so pick whatever) and if you can get into his style go for his other works, landscape painted with tea would be a great followup.

[Anonymous No.18994145]

>>18992866
Dif anon, but thanks the same

[Anonymous No.18995142]

>>18992866
gracias, anón.
unrelated, but is there any somewhat underrated or obscure (contemporary?) spanish writer that you enjoy? not specifically from Spain, though.

[Anonymous No.18995862]

>>18987817
Rec Duff Cooper's Talleyrand to any who decide to pick up Kasch

[Anonymous No.18995986]

For those of you who have read Kasch, what's your favorite vignette? I always get a chuckle out of the one about Goethe's birthday.

[Anonymous No.18996453]

>>18995986
I think the central myth itself dominates my thinking about the book; that and Talleyrand's almost unconscious success at gambling (as well as the way he dealt with Napoleon on a few occasions). Also, as Calasso threads have appeared 2 to 3 times yearly since /lit/'s inception, I'm convinced the vogue for Stirner received its initial impetus from this book, but acknowledge that this would be very difficult to prove. I personally only became interested in Max's critique after discovering Stirner here

[Anonymous No.18996459]

>>18996453
*Marx's

[Anonymous No.18997352]

>>18995986
Stirner versus Nietzsche; Talleyrand's frightening impressions of the good ol' U.S.A. (during The Reign of Terror period)

[Anonymous No.18997357]

Bump

[Anonymous No.18997868]

>>18995142
Mmm, I'm a bit out of touch with the more up to date stuff, but a few years back I enjoyed Kanada by Juan Gomez Barcena and I heard el cielo de Lima is good too, so maybe you can check him out.
Spain's contempoprary literary landscape seems quite dry anyways so I wouldn't go out of my way to search for hidden gems when there is so much obscure writers to read.
One I would absolutely recommend are Vsevolod Garshin's short stories pblished by editorial contraseña (la señal y otros relatos first, los osos later if you enjoyed it), they are an absolute gem, if you must read only one of my recs then pick this one. Pic rel is his portrait by Ilya Repin.

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