Eric Jarosinski

Affirmations are for wimps

Nein. A Manifesto by Eric Jarosinski (Grove Press/Black Cat, $16).

Sick of all the positive-thinking, affirming assholes in your life? Be reassured; there’s a philosophical underpinning for your desire to negate everything.

In Nein. A Manifesto, Eric Jaronsinski collects Twitter-length thoughts on existential nothingness in the most Germanic negative way imaginable, drawn from Jaronsinski’s account @NeinQuarterly.

Curmudgeonly ranting that stares into the abyss and then bludgeons it with snark, these aphorisms are often poetic (“Ideology: The mistaken belief that your beliefs are neither beliefs nor mistaken.” ) and almost always funny (The good news:/Technology has brought us together/And yes:/That is also the bad news.”).

Jaronsinski calls it “utopian negation.” It’s also known as being fed up with everything, and it’s worth a good laugh.

(Reviewed on Lit/Rant: www.litrant.tumblr.com)… (more)