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The Trouble With Being Born
The Trouble With Being Born
Nov 18, 2024 4:49 PM

Author:E. M. Cioran,Richard Howard

The Trouble With Being Born

'Not to be born is undoubtedly the best plan of all. Unfortunately it is within no one's reach.'

In The Trouble With Being Born, E. M. Cioran grapples with the major questions of human existence: birth, death, God, the passing of time, how to relate to others and how to make ourselves get out of bed in the morning.

In a series of interlinking aphorisms which are at once pessimistic, poetic and extremely funny, Cioran finds a kind of joy in his own despair, revelling in the absurdity and futility of our existence, and our inability to live in the world.

Translated by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and critic Richard Howard, The Trouble With Being Born is a provocative, illuminating testament to a singular mind.

Reviews

Fascinating and timely. Truly the story of the fabric we see before us. Required reading for every developer, planner or councillor who holds London in trust today

—— Griff Rhys Jones

Jenkins's handling of the preceding two millennia is clear and informative . . . there are also nuggets and insights . . . accessible, clear and readable

—— Rowan Moore , The Observer

Simon Jenkins has written a vivid and deeply well-informed account of London's history which is throughout much enlivened by his knowledge of London's planning, buildings and topography, his admiration for terrace housing and London squares, his interest in how London has been depicted and described, and his detestation of so much insensitive modern development

—— Charles Saumarez Smith, Professor of Cultural History, Queen Mary University of London and former Chief Executive of the Royal Academy

Extremely informative and witty

—— Roy Porter, author of London: A Social History, on Landlords to London

'He [Jenkins] brings much knowledge and experience to his defence of those streets, in this study of the battle for "London's appearance - why it looks as it does today, more variegated and visually anarchic than any comparable city"

—— Christopher Howse , The Telegraph

A handsome book ... full of the good judgements one might hope for from such a sensible and readable commentator, and they alone are worth perusing for pleasure and food for thought

—— Michael Wood, New Statesman on A Short History of England

Any passably cultured inhabitant of the British Isles should ask for, say, three or four copies of this book for Christmas...I can imagine no better companion on a voyage across England

—— Max Hastings, Daily Telegraph on England’s Thousand Best Houses

A short, invigorating gallop over two and a half thousand years

—— Allan Massie , Scotsman on A Short History of Europe

Simon Jenkins has written a remarkably brisk, vivid and deeply well-informed account of London's history which is throughout much enlivened by his knowledge of London's planning, buildings and topography, his admiration for terrace housing and London squares, his interest in how London has been depicted and described, and his detestation of so much insensitive modern development

—— Charles Saumarez Smith, Professor of Cultural History, Queen Mary University of London

'I decided I'd reduce the height of a pile of recommended books by actually reading some of them. Thus I sampled the delights of Simon Jenkins's A Short History of London

—— Sue MacGregor, broadcaster

A searing memoir about growing up in poverty in Derry

—— Lucy Caldwell

An astonishing window onto a world that has been painted with such limited palettes by decades of news coverage, but also a marvellous poetic reminder that every place is a universe of magical possibility to the perceptive mind. I’ll never forget this book

—— Damian Le Bas

Anderson recounts with levity and humour his explorations of Derry—burnt-out cars, wastelands on the city’s outskirts, the roof of a church and abandoned houses, all while evading the looming presence of British troops and sectarian conflict... Short, lucid chapters carry the narrative at a comfortable pace... Inventoryshines most when we see a child navigate a gruesome conflict

—— Finn McRedmond , Prospect

Inventory is a powerful, palimpsestic map of a wounded landscape that opens up again and again, revealing something new to the observer each time, in tantalising glimpses

—— Dr Dawn Miranda Sherratt-Bado , Dublin Review of Books

Inventory is an endearing portrait of familial resilience, written in some of the most beautiful prose I have ever encountered in an autobiographical work. Every sentence is perfectly constructed, all at once elegantly descriptive and harsh in its grinding realism... The book’s passages and chapters shiver with tension, a copper wire on the brink of snapping loose to slash open your cheeks.

—— Amy Riddell , Bookmunch

In intimate, beautifully allusive vignettes, Anderson guides readers through his youth... An impressively pensive, impressionistic work from an attentive writer

—— Kirkus Reviews

A tense, atmospheric study of life in a war zone... Anderson's evocative prose takes disasters in stride while measuring their toll with restrained lyricism... A grim but engrossing frontline take on the Troubles

—— Publishers’ Weekly

[A] marvellous book

—— Éamon Sweeney , Quietus

Some names you will recognise, others will be new. All deserve your respect. In a world where equality still feels like an uphill struggle, it is wonderful to celebrate eleven epic and ultimately victorious battles.

—— Anita Anand

A witty and wise corrective to the whitewashed heroines of the “rebel girls” and “awesome women” industry.

—— Tom Gatti , New Statesman

I loved Difficult Women. Helen Lewis writes with a devilish wit and a clear eye about the harder edges of meaningful progress. Engaging, moving, witty and sobering - Difficult Women is a book for all humans who value all humans, as difficult as they may be.

—— Stephen McGann

An extremely important and timely book that shows why sometimes it pays to be a "difficult woman".

—— Konnie Huq

[Difficult Women is] written in a feistily accessible style…so it’s easy to engage with the actual substance.

—— Melanie McDonagh , Evening Standard

Intellectually rigorous, satisfying, eloquent and witty with it. What more could you want?

—— India Knight , Sunday Times

Ultimately it chimes with a resounding clarion call: we are difficult women. Don’t sand our edges away. Celebrate us in all our uneven glory. After all, well-behaved women don’t make history.

—— Jemma Crew , UK Press Syndication

Blending rigorous research with passages that make you bark with laughter, this is an effortlessly smart study of feminism’s power to make society better for everyone.

—— Gwendolyn Smith , Mail on Sunday

Helen Lewis has produced a real gem in Difficult Women... With wit and understanding...it is effective and often very moving.

—— Julia Langdon , Tablet

A collection of fascinating, well-researched and vividly told biographies of women who made tangible contributions to the lives we live now… Lewis’ book is challenging, punchily written and refreshing in equal measure, and a joy to read.

—— Clare Jarmy , Times Educational Supplement Scotland

A lesson modern progressives would be remiss to ignore.

—— Phil Wang , Guardian

Any one of these women could fill a book on her own, but Lewis deftly threads their lives together into an irresistibly rumbustious account of this movement; sometimes affecting, sometimes very funny (the footnotes are a sass-filled joy) and sometimes shocking.

—— Sarah Ditum , In the Moment

[Difficult Women] is meticulously researched and intelligently argued whilst also being extremely readable. Unusually for a non-fiction book, it is a page-turner. Lewis' style is playful and engaging, and after each chapter you find yourself turning the page asking eagerly "but what happened next?”… Interspersed with personal anecdotes and often funny footnote asides, she deals with the serious alongside the light-hearted in a way which demonstrates her talent as a writer, researcher and journalist

—— Emily Menger-Davies , Glasgow Guardian

This history of feminism eschews feelgood, empowering clichés and goes in search of the 'difficult women' who shaped the fight for gender equality.

—— The Times, *This year's best reads so far*

Engaging and witty, this history of feminist fights will keep you gripped to the last page.

—— Independent

This often hilariously funny book taught me about the women who fought for my freedoms. Unlike in so many accounts, these women are not canonised but written as they are, imperfect.

—— Jess Phillips , Week

Helen Lewis is one of the very few journalists whose every word I will read.

—— Adam Rutherford , Week
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