Fear and Trembling (Penguin Great Ideas)

Fear and Trembling (Penguin Great Ideas)
Average customer rating:

Fear and Trembling

Provocative but flawed

Goes Good With Free On-line Course

true faith is not completely reliant on logic

Kierkegaard Missed It

Fear and Trembling (Penguin Great Ideas)
Soren Kierkegaard
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0143037579

Book Description

The perfect books for the true book lover, Penguin's Great Ideas series features twelve more groundbreaking works by some of history's most prodigious thinkers. Each volume is beautifully packaged with a unique type-driven design that highlights the bookmaker's art. Offering great literature in great packages at great prices, this series is ideal for those readers who want to explore and savor the Great Ideas that have shaped our world.

Customer Reviews:

Fear and Trembling.......2007-09-05

Faith, it goes without saying, is a personal thing. It is a private aspect of a person's life that may, if they wish, become public, though there is no real need for this to occur. Faith is something that cannot be explained - certainly not to the satisfaction of an atheist - rather, it is something that is believed. Faith, in short, is faith. The particularities of faith are among the causes of many great schisms of the last thousand or so years of European history. Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard's small, dense work on faith, tackles the problem of what is means to believe.

In the 19th century, secular philosophy believed that religion was explicable, whereas the difficulties of Hegel were exceedingly great. 'I for my part have devoted a good deal of time to the understanding of the Hegelian philosophy, I believe also that I understand it tolerably well, but when in spite of the trouble I have taken there are certain passages I cannot understand, I am foolhardy enough to think that he himself has not been quite clear. All this I do easily and naturally, my head does not suffer from it. But on the other hand when I have to think of Abraham, I am as though annihilated.'

Annihilated. Kierkegaard explores the biblical story of Abraham, who was commanded by God to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. Abraham sets out with the full intention of doing so, but is prevented at the last moment. A ram is provided as a sacrifice instead. Kierkegaard saw this as the supreme example of what it means to have faith, and how faith could never be properly understood through the lens of faith. He puts forth, at the start, alternate versions of internal thoughts for Sarah (Abraham's wife), Abraham and Isaac, and then explores what it means that Abraham was willing to go to such lengths for God.

The concepts Kierkegaard is dealing with are obviously very heavy, but there is a lightness of touch to his philosophy that makes reading Fear and Trembling a pleasure rather than a chore. Kierkegaard's language is conversational, almost casual, but it is also elegant and quite powerful. He wrote the novella through the pseudonym Johannes de Silentio, the text is heavily personalised throughout, with much of the opinion coming directly from the author. Kierkegaard suggests that 'the ethical expression for what Abraham did is that he was willing to murder Isaac; the religious expression is that he was willing to sacrifice Isaac', he goes on to say that it is this very contradiction that shows the chasm between reason and faith. For any reason, and in almost any context, the story of Abraham is the story of a man willing to murder his own son. But only when the story is read from the viewpoint of faith does it become something more, indeed it becomes something so far above our experience that Abraham will forever remain impossible to understand. He asks whether the duty to obey God supersedes the ethically negative choice to murder. To say that Abraham acted admirably or ethically is to miss the point, Kierkegaard answers. Abraham acted with faith. He was not, at any time, aware of the outcome of his actions, other than the outcome which had been directly demanded by God. He was going to sacrifice his son with the full understanding that what he was doing was committing murder in the name of God, that he was spared at the final instant reflects nothing on Abraham, because he passed every challenge perfectly. If Abraham had known Isaac would be spared, the whole story would remain at a level which we, as humans using our reason, could understand. But that he did not know, that he was willing to sacrifice his son, shows a level of faith that can only be understood by faith.

Kierkegaard asks difficult questions with Fear and Trembling. Faith, whether one possesses it or not, is a fascinating topic for discussion and contemplation. Kierkegaard was writing at a time when faith was on the wane - and this time has arguably continued until the present - indeed, when philosophical energy was devoted to purely secular problems. He argues, emphatically and convincingly, that a true understanding of God can only come about after a supreme test of faith akin to that of Abraham's. Abraham proved that he had faith by being faithful in the absolute sense of the word - Kierkegaard dubs him a Knight of Faith. He also introduces the concept of a Knight of infinite resignation who, though they may live a similarly heroic, majestic, important, influential life, know that at some stage they will get it all back - be it historical justification, or wealth and power while they are alive. Abraham only knew that he would end his day having killed his only son, and yet he still climbed the mountain and raised his knife high. That is faith.

Provocative but flawed.......2007-03-30

Essential reading for anyone with the slightest interest in religion or philosophy. He makes an important point: faith cannot be collapsed into the ethical, taking the Old Testament story of Abraham's aborted sacrifice of Isaac as his proof text. If faith was simply a matter of acting ethically, then we wouldn't need religion, only ethics. That said, I don't like how he makes faith into something so superhuman and difficult that only a few spiritual athletes are capable of it. Which is wrong. Christian faith is available to anyone. Christ said, "come unto me all ye that are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." And I don't believe that faith contradicts ethics either, as Kierkegaard suggests. Kierkegaard's message was to a largely Christian society that took faith for granted. He wanted to bring out the radicality of faith, which is a valuable message. But today, when Christian Churches are losing members, we need the evangelical message, to bring people in. Faith is first of all an expression of love for God and our fellow humans, not a leap into the absurd. Kierkegaard used to appeal to me more when I was younger, and I liked the idea of viewing my faith as something radical and even scandalous. Now that I'm more mature, I realize that faith is really about loving and trusting God and loving my neighbor as myself. Yes, there's a sacrifice involved; Kierkegaard is right about that, but trusting God means trusting his goodness and love.

Goes Good With Free On-line Course.......2007-01-01

Fear and Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard originally published in the mid-1800s is widely considered a classic of existentialist literature. These comments pertain to the Penguin version of Fear and Trembling translated by Hannay.

Though Kierkegaard talent is readily apparent, his work can be a difficult slog without the appropriate context or guidance. Personally, I have always found Kierkegaard difficult and as a result have tended to refer to secondary rather than primary sources in dealing with him. My experience with Fear and Trembling was different and markedly more fulfilling. I stumbled across a wonderful free, on-line University of California Berkley existentialist literature course available at [...] The first half dozen or so lectures of this course deal with Fear and Trembling - I highly recommend it.

Overall, it is an excellent version of an important work. I recommend the text as well as a look at the Berkley site.

true faith is not completely reliant on logic.......2006-11-12

The value of this work is that it correctly argues that faith is ultimately a choice that cannot be completely supported by logic or rational proof. It was Kierkegaard's experience of losing the chance to be with the person he loved that forced him to confront the absurd nature of faith. Although believers in many religions will argue that their faith is logical and rational, Kierkegaard fully grasped that if conviction is based fully on logic, it does not need faith to support it.

Perhaps the best metaphor can be found in the New Testament passage where Christ invites Peter to walk on water -- Peter takes a step with faith and does not sink, but then looks down, and begins to evaluate the situation using his rational mind, and begins to sink. True faith walks on water. Only true faith could be sufficient to base a life on the conviction that a dead guy in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago came back from the dead and has his own kingdom where his followers will live forever in eternal bliss. On the other hand, this conviction has become so entrenched in the popular culture of the last 2,000 years that it has just become an unremarkable backdrop to the modern world and is considered a socially acceptable belief.

The challenge for a modern christian is to find true faith when they mistakenly believe that the story of Jesus Christ is completely supported by logic and rational thinking. The mere act of mentally assenting to what has been accepted in popular culture, a broad and shallow idea that God and Jesus exist, is not faith at all; just an unexamined conclusion of a lazy mind that has not yet questioned its own surroundings. True faith is a radical departure from the status quo, a renewal of personal conviction despite all contradictions and a recognition of UNCERTAINTY. Without a recognition of uncertainty, faith has no meaning. The strength of true faith is that it acknowledges that uncertainty exists, and yet still forges on in spite of the uncertainty, willingly accepting and embracing the consequences of conviction in the face of uncertainty. There is not fear that the conviction may be misled and flinching because of the uncertainty, there is a recognition that this lack of absolute rational proof and certainty is what gives faith its supreme virtue. This is what makes faith courageous and is something that only mortal humans can do, since angels are blessed with absolute knowledge whereas humans are blessed with uncertainty, which is the only way that true freedom can exist. Without this freedom, the choice of "faith" would not be possible, would not be courageous, and would not make mortals eligible for the reward of heaven.

The believer who claims that all faith is logical has not yet come to the moment of testing, like Abraham, like Kierkegaard, where the object of the soul's deepest longing and only happiness is seen, but yet out of reach. For Kierkegaard it was the girl he loved, that he could never be with, but yet he retained hope and transformed that hope into a lifetime of faith. The personal pain of such an experience leads a person to exclaim "it doesn't make sense!" Only when one reaches the point where it just doesn't make sense can the ultimate nature of real and profound faith be experienced and put into action. Anything else is a shallow beginning, and not yet a sufficient faith to walk on water, just as Peter found when he was invited to take that step...

This book is full of such profound insight because Kierkegaard understood this and knew that faith was not a shallow, cheap or easy achievement:

"In those old days it was different. For then faith was a task for a whole lifetime, not a skill thought to be acquired in either days or weeks. When the old campaigner approached the end, had fought the good fight, and kept his faith, his heart was still young enough not to have forgotten the fear and trembling that disciplined his youth...." (p.42)

Kierkegaard Missed It.......2006-09-04

God had revealed Himself to Abraham on numerous occasions. Abraham saw God, talked with God, had promises fulfilled by God. One cannot isolate Abraham's faith in the 'sacrifice' of Isaac from what Abraham had already experienced God to be. At this point Abraham knows there is one God and that He can be trusted. From this LOGICAL line of thought, Abraham can conclude that no matter what happens God will be true to Himself. There is no need for a suspension of ethics, based upon who God already revealed himself to be. From this standpoint there is faith, but notice there is no 'leap of faith' totally devoid of reason. This is what Kierkegaard missed. It is unfortunate that this existentialist thought has so permeated the secular and theological world.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale (Popular Culture and Philosophy)

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Not too bad - If you're a fan and even a little bit interested in Philosophy and Ethics it's worth reading.
Thoughtful and accessible.
Jhaeman's Review
So much fun!!
Teachers should recommend this book for class

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale (Popular Culture and Philosophy)

Manufacturer: Open Court
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0812695313

Book Description

How can Buffy’s religious symbolism be squared with creator Joss Whedon’s professed atheism? Is Buffy truly a Kierkegaardian knight of faith? Do Faith’s corruption and return to the good life demonstrate Platonic eudaimonism? Or do they illustrate the flaws in Nietzsche’s superman concept? What does the show’s treatment of vampires, demons, and other entities say about ethical attitudes toward nonhumans? These are some of the questions asked and answered in this lively collection of essays that link classical philosophy to the long-running series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy’s status as the leading vehicle for exploring the evil underlying everyday life has made it ripe for the kind of witty, penetrating philosophical analysis this book delivers -- fully disintering the intellectual issues that underlie this cult favorite.

Customer Reviews:

Not too bad - If you're a fan and even a little bit interested in Philosophy and Ethics it's worth reading. .......2007-03-31

I found this book helpful in doing an Ethics class. Some of the chapters helped me understand what my text book couldn't -- the situations were all familiar and I love Buffy.

The reason I gave it 3-4 stars is because the writing is not consistently great, but it was interesting reading.

Thoughtful and accessible........2006-02-24

I picked up this book for a friend who is a Buffy fanatic, and read it myself, converting me into a fanatic, as well. Taking the seminal television series, and applying some of the classic philosophers' take on the world -- Aristotle, Plato, Kant, Nietzsche (though, the author UTTERLY distorts and misapprehends Nietzsche's philosophy), Hume -- this collection of essays demonstrates just how many layers upon which Buffy the Vampire Slayer was constructed. It also provides a decent primer for the works of some of Western thoughts' most notable philosophers (but see my caveat re Nietzsche), bringing to life the abstract concepts in the guise of a very entertaining television series. Add to that, clever writing by a group of essayists who obviously love the show, and it is a very amusing and informative read, and, arguably, one of the best to take on the series.

Jhaeman's Review.......2005-12-23

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE AND PHILOSOPHY: FEAR AND TREMBLING IN SUNNYDALE
James B. South, editor (2003)

RATING: 3/5 Stakes

BACK-OF-THE-BOOK SUMMARY: "So, if you're kind of killing time between apocalypses or just wondering about that meaning of life thing, here's some readage . . . Look, these guys'll I-think-therefore-I-am you into the freakin' ground. And the happy is better than shoe shopping. What? If I don't consult the oracle I'll, like, turn to stone? Well, yeah, if not already."

REVIEW

Buffy's entry into Open Court's "Popular Culture and Philosophy" line takes the form of a collection of short essays written by junior academics in fields such as women's studies, philosophy, and sociology. The essays are roughly grouped by subject: feminism, knowledge/science, ethics, religion/politics, and miscellaneous. Each is written with reference to the first six seasons of Buffy, with Season Seven unfortunately taking place after final deadlines for the writers.

Most of the essays are accessible, though they tend to expect the reader to have a basic understanding of long-standing philosophical concepts such as the difference between utilitarian and deontological theories of justice. On the whole, I find the essays largely mundane and forgettable, obviously written by huge fans of the show using Buffy to embody a particular academic issue they're currently working on.

However, there are a couple of stand-out articles, such as Neal King's "Brownskirts: Facisim, Christianity, and the Eternal Demon" and Michael P. Levine and Steven Jay Schneider's "Feel for Buffy: The Girl Next Door." The first is a fascinating essay on Buffy as a fascist hero, while the second doesn't fall into the hagiography trap and is willing to both criticize the show and the cult of frequently simple-minded scholarship that has grown up around it.

I don't think Buffy and Philosophy will prove particularly interesting to the average fan of the show (whether or not philosophically inclined), and is probably best browsed before purchase.

So much fun!!.......2004-05-14

This book is amazing and covers a wide range of topics. It's highly academic and well-respected in the academic community. It was a good lead in as far as asking my professors if I could incorporate Buffy into my papers. Hehe. I found that it also made some things much clearer, by putting it in the light of my favorite television show. I particularly liked the comparison of Faith to Nietzsche and the incorporation of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason and relating that to "Out of Mind, Out of Sight." It brought Kant's view into a new perspective, rather than trying to understand specifically with Kant's text and just accepting what he said as his view, it made his view make sense. I really do recommend it for any fan of Buffy in general(although it may seem tough at first, it was for me) or a philosophy fan. (I also found that it heavily related to my Conscience and Literature class)

Teachers should recommend this book for class.......2004-01-28

I took Philosphy in my first semmester of college, and I didn't do to well. After I started reading this book, I began to understand Plato, Kant, and other philospohers better. If my teacher had recommended this book I may have gotten higher than a C.
This book takes themes from the show: Faith's downfall, feminisim, education, violence, etc. and explains the themes through philosphy. I love BTVS and this book gave me a different way to watch the show. I definately recommend this book to anyone who is currently taking philosphy or will take a class or has. It helps the reader get through a subject that may not be very clear on its own.

Fear and Trembling/Repetition : Kierkegaard's Writings, Vol. 6

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Theological Tour de Force
and isaac cried out, "if i have no father on earth, then you
Was Kierkegaard a "Knight of faith"?
The meaning of Repetition
A brilliancy prize

Fear and Trembling/Repetition : Kierkegaard's Writings, Vol. 6
Soren Kierkegaard , Edna H. Hong , and Howard V. Hong
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0691020264

Customer Reviews:

Theological Tour de Force.......2005-10-26

This edition of 'Fear and Trembling' is an excellently produced and translated edition, with the interesting and helpful prefaces and selections of journal quotes typical of the Writings series.

'Fear and Trembling' presents a very penetrating, and ultimately disturbing, investigation into the personal and 'existential' implications of the religious concept of faith, as illustrated by the story of Isaac's sacrifice in Genesis 22.

Reviewers like to analyse the text either in respect to the biography of Kierkegaard, or of his literary output (or in relation to the other book in this collect, 'Repetition'), which are fair enough, but nevertheless, this book stands on its own with the question of whether religious faith can be a 'teleological suspension of the ethical.' This sounds like it could be a tendious philosophical excercise, but his erudition and literary skill constantly defies ones attempt to reduce or domesticate the paradoxes which he throws forward to his reader. The text still today offers each reader a choice of his own.

and isaac cried out, "if i have no father on earth, then you.......2005-02-20

be my father!" those hongs really know how to edit a book, wow. still i think most of the credit has to be given to johannes de silentio for writing it. i haven't read repetition yet. it'll probably a really brain teaser.

Was Kierkegaard a "Knight of faith"?.......2001-03-31

In addition to the parallels between this story and SK's relation with his father mentioned by previous reviewers, another important parallel is his failed engagement with Regine Olsen. She is his Isaac, who he must sacrifice. Perhaps he thinks his own calling, means that he too can "teleologically suspend" the ethical (duties to Regine). Its remarkable, that we now should be so concerned about the private live of a pseudonymous author. Is Johannes de Silentio a poetic side of Kierkegaard? Poetic yes, but paradoxically he also says he is purely dialectic.

The different takes of the Abraham story, remind me of Rabbinical midrash. The four different accounts did not happen, but they might have. It is a way of stretching the story, and a way to introduce his "faith by virtue of the absurd". The tragic hero remains in the ethical, but Abraham is different that this, and is related to the Absolute. Very thought provoking!

The meaning of Repetition.......2000-07-12

These two books are twins: published on the same day, with the same purpose: the failed explications of an essential Kierkegaardian concept: Repetiton. Why, when an author clearly knows the meaning of a concept in his own terminology, would he fail to be able to explain it? Why would an author make failure part of the purpose of a book? There is a reasons. The authors of both books are pseudonyms. Kierkegaard does not use nom de plumes. He creates characters and then writes the book from that perspective. Johannes de Silento (the author of "Fear and Trembling")is a poet. Constantine Constantinus (the author of "Repetition") is an experimental psychologist. These characters attempt to define repetition, but their methods will not allow them. Repetition is not reducible to poetry (romanticism) or science (reason). Now why is that? It is necessary to Kierkegaard's project (the book "Repetition" shows that it is necessary) because his project is essentially Christian and Revelation cannot be derived philosophically (Hence Constantine Constantinus' failure). But how do you get to discuss Christian ideas, then? By an elaborate method of importation and laundering. For instance, Constantine Constantinus introduces Repetition by comparing it to Platonic recollection. But the real source for importation is the Old Testament. Fear and Trembling is an elaborate interpretation of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac. Repetition ends with the Young Man (the guinea pig for Constantine Constantius' psychological experiments) writting on the Book of Job. In each case, something is sacrificed and yet the one who sacrifices finds the sacrifice restored to him. Much ink has been spilt showing how this copncept relates to Kierkegaard's abortive engagement or his relations to his father (and I am sure SK appreciates this muddying of the waters; he never liked an audit trail), but the primary image is that of God the Father sacrificing his Son, and, through the Ressurrection (as Johannes de Silento would say, by virtue of the absurd) receiving him back again.

A brilliancy prize.......1999-12-11

SK once claimed had he written no other book, Fear and Trembling would have sufficed to make his reputation as one of the greats of literature. A fair assessment, but he did indeed write other books and Fear and Trembling needs to fit within that context. This is especially the case in relation to its twin: Repetition. This is even more urgent when you recognize Fear and Trembling's subject matter, which is: Repetition. SK introduces the concept with typical irony: neither Constantine Constantinus nor the Young Man, nor Johannes de Silento actually achieve repetition. Repetition is negatively defined: we are told not what it is, but what it is not. We are told that repetiton occurs "by virtue of the absurd." Sartre took this construction directly into his philosophy and made himself a laughing stock. This goes to show that either you keep you sense of humor fully operational in reading SK's books or he will make you look like a jerk. People who do not laugh long and loud at these books will not be able to interpret them without claiming for themselves absolute idiocy. And people who do not understand Repetition may as well stop wasting their time on Kierkegaard. Perhaps the can do Nietzsche and perspectivism instead?

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Replacing toilet paper rolls in Japan
Mesmerizing, sad, haunting.
The author was young, inexperienced and had no useful skills
FEAR AND TREMBLING: A Review
from a Japanese point of view....

Fear and Trembling: A Novel
Amelie Nothomb
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312347324
Release Date: 2004-11-04

Book Description

Raves for the film: 'Classy, funny cross-cultural adventure....should be marketable wherever there are offices and office politics.'-variety 'Like Secretary without the spanking, but with a perversely erotic undercurrent.'-Time out new york

Customer Reviews:

Replacing toilet paper rolls in Japan.......2007-05-09

Although this novel, whose title in French is "Stupeur et Tremblements," is available in an English translation, read it in the original French if you can. It is the funny (and sometimes appalling) account of Amélie-san, a young Belgian woman living in Tokyo who goes to work for Yumimoto, a Japanese corporation. Because she speaks excellent Japanese, she looks forward to an opportunity to use her language skills. Instead, she misunderstands the arcane codes of conduct that govern the relationships between employees and their superiors, and her relationship with the beautiful Fubuki Mori, her boss, deteriorates to the point where Amelie finds herself in charge of her very own "office"---the company toilets. All of the novel takes place inside Yumimoto, on the 44th floor of a skyscraper office building, although Amelie occasionally peers out of a window in the bathroom as if she is encapsulated in some strange underwater vehicle from which she cannot escape. In addition to detailing the bizarre hierarchy that has assigned her to replacing toilet paper rolls, she makes interesting observations on the nature of Japanese employee relationships and on the difficulty of being a female executive in Japan. You'll have to decide for yourself how much truth lies behind the slapstick quality of her wacky encounters with her bosses. The novel is evidently based on the author's own experience as an employee of a Japanese company. It makes a nice counterpoint to those rhapsodic East-meets-West memoirs that over-romanticize Japan.

Mesmerizing, sad, haunting........2007-02-20

The spare writing and stark story are captivating. This writer's magically elegant, restrained prose is magnetically beautiful. I felt as though I couldn't tear my eyes away. I started reading the book at lunch time, sitting alone at a table in a restaurant, and didn't stop reading until I had finished the whole book; I had completely forgotten where I was (and was blind to the rudeness of occupying a whole booth by myself long after I'd finished eating, while hungry people waited in line). Nothomb's prose brings to mind the haunting, restrained style of Jane Smiley in "The Age of Grief," or of Jamaica Kincaid in "Lucy." Like those works, it reads like a novella or a short story: each word that is written, as well as each word that the author chose to omit, carries individual weight and commands the reader's full attention. Equally compelling is the mysteriously fateful story arc that carries the heroine to ever greater suffering and isolation. Although it's a realistic novel, it reads a little like a fairy tale; it brings to mind Paul Coelho and, to some extent, Haruki Murakami. You feel, as with those writers, that you're reading about magically meaningful, symbolically rich events whose meaning you can't quite grasp. The book is also compelling in the way a nonfiction memoir of a miserable childhood or adolescence can be compelling; you can't stop reading it in the way you can't stop reading "Name All The Animals," "Prep," "Don't Lets Go To The Dogs Tonight," "The Glass Castle," or "Are You Somebody?" You have to keep reading just to discover whether the heroine survives. This book is a perfect little jewel; to change a single word would diminish it.

The author was young, inexperienced and had no useful skills.......2006-09-20

It can indeed be extremely stressful for a Japanese speaking foreigner working at a Japanese company in Japan. I say this from direct personal experience. But my impression is that the author's only skill was the ability to speak Japanese. She had no basic office skills e.g. she was unable to perform simple calculations. And she had neither business training nor business experience. Amelie Nouthomb's degree was in philology not business or economics or finance. This being the case she was unqualified to perform any complex tasks. Little wonder that her brief experience of working in Japan was such a disaster.

FEAR AND TREMBLING: A Review.......2006-07-19

A charming and funny read. Nothomb establishes themes she more fully develops in THE CHARACTER OF RAIN. Fascinating details about Japan.

from a Japanese point of view...........2006-04-02

It was a quick engaging read for sure and most of the time I enjoyed it. But at times I was annoyed by her satirical views of Japanese culture that went on and on, which seemed to have grown rather too quickly and too extensive out of such a short period of her work experiences. Therefore, I couldn't help but feel that the writer had set off to work for the Japanese corporation, regardless of the impression that she gave at the beginning of the book that she always admired Japan, with a mindset to convince her pre-existing views and make fun of the company, with the pretentious ambition that someday she would write an entertaining book about her experience. And, she succeeded! Yes, there's some truth in what she described about the corporate culture where a new female worker often starts a day/work making tea for others, a boss could be very unreasonable and just order you something with no explanation, envy issues towards other's promotion which lead to some bullying, a woman who's over 26 feels pressure to be already married and so on... I am a Japanese woman, I know. But, commiting a suicide is family pride? Com'on! Nobody in Japan hears that kind of value since 40's. Except for during the Second World War when the nationalism drove people mad, if anything, a suicide is a big shame to the family, nothing to be proud of. And, there's no such a name as "Tsutomeru" ( meaning Work), described as her boss' child's name and made a big deal out of as a proof that Japanese people are work crazy. The name must be "Tsutomu" ( meaning Earnest). There were other rudimental mistakes in Japanese words which the author inserted here and there. All of which made me think that she's not as fluent in Japanese as she claimed to be and that she may have developed more misunderstanding about Japan than she would ever doubt. But, the author has a very perky style of writing which I liked, and has a hilarious way of seeing and describing things which made me laugh out loud at times, so here I am giving 4 stars. And, the peculiar "sadist-masochist" type relationship between Amelie and her boss, Fubuki, was so funny and very well written, however, it's not at all a typical relationship between a westerner female worker and a Japanese boss. Although this book has a look of non-fiction, you need to remind youreself to read it as a " novel" as is so categorized!! And lastly, I liked the movie better than this book which made things more balanced between her own clumsiness and a Japanese caricature.

Fear and Trembling and the Sickness Unto Death (Princeton Paperbacks)

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Fear and Trembling and the Sickness Unto Death (Princeton Paperbacks)
Soren Kierkegaard
Manufacturer: Princeton Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Kierkegaard: Fear and Trembling (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy)

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Kierkegaard: Fear and Trembling (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy)

Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521612691

Book Description

In this rich and resonant work, Soren Kierkegaard reflects poetically and philosophically on the biblical story of God’s command to Abraham, that he sacrifice his son Isaac as a test of faith. Was Abraham’s proposed action morally and religiously justified or murder? Is there an absolute duty to God? Was Abraham justified in remaining silent? In pondering these questions, Kierkegaard presents faith as a paradox that cannot be understood by reason and conventional morality, and he challenges the universalist ethics and immanental philosophy of modern German idealism, especially as represented by Kant and Hegel. This volume presents the first new English translation for twenty years, by Sylvia Walsh, together with an introduction by C. Stephen Evans which examines the ethical and religious issues raised by the text.

Knights of Faith and Resignation: Reading Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling (Philosophy Series)

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Knights of Faith and Resignation: Reading Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling (Philosophy Series)
Edward F. Mooney
Manufacturer: State University of New York Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0791405737

Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to Kierkegaard and Fear and Trembling (Routledge Philosophyguidebooks)

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Very Good Companion to the Actual Work
disappointing

Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to Kierkegaard and Fear and Trembling (Routledge Philosophyguidebooks)
John Lippitt
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0415180473

Book Description

Kierkegaard, described by Wittgenstein as "by far the most profound thinker of the [nineteenth] century," has influenced a wide range of philosophers and theologians. Fear and Trembling, which investigates the nature of faith and its relation to ethics via a discussion of the story of Abraham and Isaac, is one of Kierkegaard's most compelling and popular works. Kierkegaard and Fear and Trembling introduces and assesses:

* Kierkegaard's life and the background to Fear and Trembling
* The ideas and text of Fear and Trembling, possibly his most famous work
* Kierkegaard's continuing importance in philosophy

Customer Reviews:

Very Good Companion to the Actual Work.......2007-05-02

This is not the first Routledge Philosophy Guidebook that I have read. However, this is the first one that I have read along with the actual work. I read the actual work and then read that portion of the Guidebook that dealt with that part of the actual work that I just read.

I found this book to be very good in explaining what I just read. The actual work is not easy to follow and it does take someone who knows the work to explain it in much greater and clearer detail. Mr. Lippitt does just that. He also gives other points of view from other scholars which is a good idea.

If you are looking to read Fear and Trembling but need help in interpreting what is going on, this is a very good source. Mr. Lippitt does a very good job in explaining the difference between the "Knight of Infinite Resignation" and the "Knight of Faith". This was a very difficult concept for me to grasp from the actual work but I did get it after reading the Guidebook.

This book is worth the price so as to better understand a classic piece of philosophical and religious writing. The reason for the 4 star rating is that I have not read other interpreations of Fear and Trembling so I did not yet want to give it a 5 star rating.

disappointing.......2007-03-04

I was really unimpressed by Lippitt's Guide of Fear and trembling. I thought he misinterpreted a lot of it and was way too into trying to express the ideas in this book through logic even though Johannes spends considerable time trying to distance himself from systematic philosophy and abstract principles (at least in regards to faith). Lippitt's book was almost as difficult to read as the original Fear and Trembling. I'd avoid this book, it really wasnt worth the money.

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Great stories from a great writer.

Fear and Trembling
Robert Bloch
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0812515854

Customer Reviews:

Great stories from a great writer........2000-11-10

Robert Bloch was a national treasure. He could chill your blood and put a stitch in your side while doing it. Whether it be horror or satire Bloch usually hit the nail on the head in an entertaining and unique tale that was distinctly his own. Any collection of his stories is required reading and a book well worth owning.

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Fear and Trembling
S. Kierkegaard
Manufacturer: Doubleday Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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