Illuminations (edition 1986)

I knew I had arrived when I read Benjamin. ( )

Just about everything I know I learned from the Theses on the Philosophy of History. The other things that I've learned relate to the essay. ( )

Just brilliant except for the Kafka business. ( )

The bit about the angel of history is one of my favorite passages anywhere. A chilling epitaph for the first half of the 20th Century, and one of the enduring images for me of that maelstrom of modernism and destruction and acceleration. Lots of other great stuff in here too, but I can't remember much except some interesting thoughts on translation and trenchant criticism on Kafka. Oh, and of course the famous Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, but I can't say that left much of a mark on me on first reading. This is definitely a book I'll dip back into repeatedly in the future. ( )

So much to say about this book. One of my favorite times when i read it was when the power was cut out due to a storm, I lit a candle and proceeded to read Illuminations. Not making this up. "N'empêche," this is perhaps one of the best books in my library and one that I will continue to read due to its exhaustive and wide-spread arch on literature. I enjoy his essay on his library, as anyone who has had to pack and unpack his library can understand the simplicity, yet complexity, of thoughts that one experiences as we touch the covers of the books so precious to us. Next, his essay on Baudelaire is extraordinary, if I'm not mistaken he briefly talks about love and the randomness of this feeling with living in a large city. His "Task of the Translator," is simply amazing and not only does it paint a distinct approach to Translation, but I feel that he plants the seed for the Evan-Zohar/Tourey Polysystems approach to translation and, in general, its application to Literary Theory as a whole. There is so much to say about this book, and much time and thought has been put into understanding all of what Benjamin shared with us, any review is a far cry from the influence of this collection of essays. Any person wanting to learn about 20th Cent. Literary Influences MUST read Benjamin, and this would be a great starter. For anyone just looking to broaden their mind and learn something along the way this is also good for that. Maybe even a bathroom book... if you happen to spend a lot of time pondering on the porcelain throne, mimicking Rodin's "thinker." ( )