As every good reviewer knows, one should never judge a book by its cover.\u00a0 If one were to ignore that rule then the Penguin Great Ideas edition of Fear and Trembling by S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard would garner the highest praise.\u00a0 The cover design of slightly embossed text is plain but beautiful and, unlike many publishers these days, Penguin employs typesetters who understand the importance of ligatures.\u00a0 This is a book that feels wonderful and is a joy to look at.<\/p>\n
No, one should never judge a book by its cover.\u00a0 The only sound way to review a book is by its smell.\u00a0 Open it up and bury your nose in its pristine pages – only then will you truly know whether the book in your hand is worth a second glance.\u00a0 A book may have many smells: knowledge, excitement, adventure, romance, paper, ink and glue.\u00a0 Mainly paper, ink and glue I concede.\u00a0 Try it for yourself.\u00a0 Grab your favourite novel and, lets say, the Microsoft Windows user manual.\u00a0 The Windows manual will probably have you reaching for a bucket – which is entirely appropriate considering the subject matter.\u00a0 Fear & Trembling, on the other hand, smells unexciting but mind expanding which I put down to the high solvent content of its raw material.<\/p>\n
I mentioned earlier that Fear and Trembling is a joy to look at.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t, however, a joy to read.\u00a0 That isn\u2019t to say that it\u2019s not interesting – but it is a bit of a headful and it\u2019ll take longer to read than its diminutive 152 pages suggest.\u00a0 I\u2019m a fast reader, I can polish off the Lord of the Rings in a week (although I admit that I do tend to skip the dire poetry and the boring battles, which helps).\u00a0 It took me the same amount of time to read Fear and Trembling, because I\u2019d reach the end of a section and, realising that I hadn\u2019t fully grasped the concepts, have to reread it.\u00a0 If you have no interest in philosophy and theology then you probably won\u2019t want to put the necessary effort in and if, like me, you\u2019re an amateur in the field then you\u2019d be better off dipping into it rather than reading it in one go.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a dangerous book too, because it doesn\u2019t present a cut-and-dried philosophy for the reader to accept or ignore.\u00a0 It retells and then dismantles the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, subjecting it to the kind of forensic analysis that\u2019ll boil the blood of any dyed in the wool \u2018it\u2019s in the Bible so it must be true\u2019 zealot.\u00a0 It considers whether Abraham\u2019s faith was justified and whether or not he was on ethically sound ground.\u00a0 There are people who attempt filicide today, claiming that their offspring are demonically possessed or that they were acting under orders from God.\u00a0 We, rightly, lock them up for the loonies that they are, but how are they any different from Abraham?\u00a0 Of course, the Bible, and the Old Testament in particular, is full of nasty, violent, prejudiced and contradictory claptrap.\u00a0 The intelligent mind questions it and excises the poison from the basic worthwhile message, but one can understand how the socio and psychopathically inclined (think of Alex from A Clockwork Orange or any number of real life cult leaders) are drawn to it like flies to rotting meat.\u00a0 All Kierkegaard does is shine a light on this paradox.\u00a0 According to Kierkegaard, Abraham chooses faith (do as God says, unquestioningly) over morals (thou shalt not kill).\u00a0 In doing so, Abraham surrenders free choice and becomes an automaton for another Mind.\u00a0 Even today, there are zealots in every creed who claim that, like Abraham, their faith is the most important thing in their lives.\u00a0 Like Kierkegaard I\u2019d argue that they are dangerous and that the world would be better if they lived their lives morally instead.\u00a0 A truly faithful person can abdicate responsibility for their actions and commit the most appalling atrocities.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve long believed that one should never accept only one point of view and that everything should be questioned – and Kierkegaard goes far beyond my own limited enquiries.\u00a0 Fear and Trembling should be read by anyone, of any faith, who claims to have any interest, however limited, in religion.\u00a0 It is not an easy read but, if nothing else, it\u2019s laid out nicely and it smells quite pleasant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As every good reviewer knows, one should never judge a book by its cover.\u00a0 If one were to ignore that rule then the Penguin Great Ideas edition of Fear and Trembling by S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard would garner the highest praise.\u00a0 The cover design of slightly embossed text is plain but beautiful and, unlike many publishers these … <\/p>\n