Pascal Mercier (1944–2023)

As someone who totally enjoys their philosophy Huxley style, i found this book absolutely wonderful and incredibly thought provoking.

I really do love good philosophers who are able to place deep philosophical discourse into novels that can either be read just as stories and/or as works of philosophy. Aldous Huxley was a master at this after becoming annoyed that only academia would ever read his philosophy papers and wishing for a far further reaching demographic than academia - which Huxley certainly achieved. Peter Bieri, AKA Pascal Mercier, while not having written as much as Huxley certainly matches him, IMHO, for depth of thinking and skill of writing.

What i really enjoy about the philosophical novel is that, to my mind, it frees up the thinking of the philosopher to say much much more than if they were simply writing an academic paper. In the novel form the philosopher can ascribe thoughts and ideas to fictional characters and not then have to carry any burden for holding such a view point themselves, whether they do or not, they can simply blame it upon the character and distance themselves from it entirely. While in academic philosophy what is written is pretty much always blamed on the philosopher and history has shown that philosophers have expressed certain views while muting others in order to appease and placate the ruling powers of their societies, peers and academia. The philosophical novel, is in my opinion, far more honest than the academic paper.

Anyways, get your thinking cap on if you want to read this one. It'll certainly get the neurons fired up.… (more)

Perlman's Silence demands a lot of courage, patience and persistence of the reader, but it is worth it. Bieri's insightful description of the slow inner deterioration of the middle aged academic Perlman is a compelling read. At first I thought that it was all too detailed and long, but that is the way it also is for the protagonist. As a reader you have to crawl so deeply into Perlamn's skin that his thoughts almost become yours. And that is great writing!
Just like in 'Ńight train to Lisbon', the protagonist is a man who is well settled in his academic interest, but through an emotional upheaval starts to obsess about something completely illogical, which changes the way he experiences the world around him, and the course of his life. Both books are sort of a quest for the right relationship with reality.
I found Perlman's quest harder to read, because I didn't like Perlman as a person, so I was not always sympathetic to crooked reasoning of this egocentric man.

By the way the English translation of this book is a lot better than the one for 'Night train to Lisbon'.… (more)

This book is proof that even a melodramatic plot can, in the hands of a superb writer, become a meaningful and compelling story. The composition with alternating accounts of the twins Patrice and Patricia, allows the story to be woven intricately, with enough tension to make you want to read on.. The disadvantage of using only the twin's point of view is that the other characters, like the parents, seem flat and stereotyped
No, the book is not as well rounded as ¨Night train to Lisbon¨ or ¨Perlman's silence¨, but i is a enjoyable, be it a somewhat disturbing read.… (more)