Philosophical genre books (171)
141.
The Seventh Function of Language : A Novel by Laurent Binet EN
FranceDescription:
From the prizewinning author of HHhH, “the most insolent novel of the year” (L’Express) Paris, 1980. The literary critic Roland Barthes dies—struck by a laundry van—after lunch with the presidential candidate François Mitterand. The world of letters mourns a tragic accident. But what if it wasn’t an accident at all? What if Barthes was . . . murdered? In The Seventh Function of Language, Laurent Binet spins a madcap secret history of the French intelligentsia, starring such luminaries as Jacques Derrida, Umberto Eco, Gilles Deleuze, Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, and Julia Kristeva—as well as... continue
142.
The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau EN
Country: Europe / 
Switzerland
Switzerland
Description:
"Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains" These are the famous opening words of a treatise that has not ceased to stir vigorous debate since its first publication in 1762. Rejecting the view that anyone has a natural right to wield authority over others, Rousseau argues instead for a pact, or 'social contract', that should exist between all the citizens of a state and that should be the source of sovereign power. From this fundamental premise, he goes on to consider issues of liberty and law, freedom and justice, arriving at a view of society that has seemed to some a blueprint for t... continue
143.
The Stranger by Albert Camus EN
AlgeriaDescription:
With the intrigue of a psychological thriller, Camus's masterpiece gives us the story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on an Algerian beach. Behind the intrigue, Camus explores what he termed "the nakedness of man faced with the absurd" and describes the condition of reckless alienation and spiritual exhaustion that characterized so much of twentieth-century life. First published in 1946; now in translation by Matthew Ward.
144.
The Sublime Object of Ideology by Slavoj Žižek EN
SloveniaDescription:
In this provocative and original work, Slavoj _i_ek takes a look at the question of human agency in a postmodern world. From the sinking of the Titanic to Hitchcock’s Rear Window, from the operas of Wagner to science fiction, from Alien to the Jewish Joke, the author’s acute analyses explore the ideological fantasies of wholeness and exclusion which make up human society. _i_ek takes issue with analysts of the postmodern condition from Habermas to Sloterdijk, showing that the idea of a ‘post-ideological’ world ignores the fact that ‘even if we do not take things seriously, we are still doing t... continue
145.
The Sunny Nihilist : A Declaration of the Pleasure of Pointlessness by Wendy Syfret EN
AustraliaDescription:
An examination of a traditionally pessimistic concept of living that will redefine what we place importance on--and leave us happier because of it. Disillusioned with the search for meaning? If career success, a beautiful life, and a beautiful Instagram account are meant to make us feel safe and happy, why does this generation remain defined by stress, burn out, and obsessive individuality? Award-winning writer Wendy Syfret examines how meaning pervades our modern experience of work, love, religion, and wider society, and asks whether a touch of upbeat nihilism could actually lighten our loads... continue
Greece147.
The Tale of Genji : (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) by Murasaki Shikibu EN
JapanDescription:
The world’s first novel, in a translation that is “likely to be the definitive edition . . . for many years to come” (The Wall Street Journal) A Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, with flaps and deckle-edged paper Written in the eleventh century, this exquisite portrait of courtly life in medieval Japan is widely celebrated as the world’s first novel. Genji, the Shining Prince, is the son of an emperor. He is a passionate character whose tempestuous nature, family circumstances, love affairs, alliances, and shifting political fortunes form the core of this magnificent epic. Royall Tyler’s superi... continue
148.
Country: Europe / 
Czech Republic
Czech Republic
Description:
From its gripping first sentence onward, this novel exemplifies the term "Kafkaesque." Its darkly humorous narrative recounts a bank clerk's entrapment in a bureaucratic maze, based on an undisclosed charge.
149.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera EN
Country: Europe / Czech Republic
Czech Republic
Description:
A young woman in love with a man torn between his love for her and his incorrigible womanizing; one of his mistresses and her humbly faithful lover—these are the two couples whose story is told in this masterful novel. In a world in which lives are shaped by irrevocable choices and by fortuitous events, a world in which everything occurs but once, existence seems to lose its substance, its weight. Hence, we feel "the unbearable lightness of being" not only as the consequence of our pristine actions but also in the public sphere, and the two inevitably intertwine.
150.
The Undiscovered Self by Carl Gustav Jung EN
Country: Europe / Switzerland
Switzerland
Description:
In The Undiscovered Self Jung explains the essence of his teaching for a readership unfamiliar with his ideas. He highlights the importance of individual responsibility and freedom in the context of today's mass society, and argues that individuals must organize themselves as effectively as the organized mass if they are to resist joining it. To help them achieve this he sets out his influential programme for achieving self-understanding and self-realization. The Undiscovered Self is a book that will awaken many individuals to the new life of the self that Jung visualized.