benjaminwylie1's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Remarkable set of lectures by one of the greatest cultural theorists of the 21st Century. Hard to grasp in some parts but the content is very difficult. Mark is also very funny and his humor permeates throughout. I also found out while reading that the book is edited by a friend of a friend.
RIP Mark Fisher
RIP Mark Fisher
maddb_96's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
Would have maybe enjoyed it more if I could have read the reading for each lecture beforehand. I might do this and come back to it. I really enjoyed every lecture, apart from lecture 5! That was super difficult to understand.
santeris's review
5.0
Heartbreaking book given the context of its creation. Incredibly stimulating stuff in the lectures but it all comes to a tragic end.
porlarta's review
3.0
A dense, melancholy collection of lectures that ends just as it really gets going. It's presents a serious of complex ideas tied together by a lengthy Introduction, nessecitated by the untimely death of its author.
At one point, in the introduction the author writes: "If only Mark Fisher were still here". This stands tall over the entire text, which hints at a greater conclusion that sadly never fully comes together. I liked this book, and it gave me a treasure trove of further readings both by Fisher and others. Yet it remains tragically incomplete.
At one point, in the introduction the author writes: "If only Mark Fisher were still here". This stands tall over the entire text, which hints at a greater conclusion that sadly never fully comes together. I liked this book, and it gave me a treasure trove of further readings both by Fisher and others. Yet it remains tragically incomplete.
gjpeace's review against another edition
4.0
I’m definitely not well-versed enough in all the theory being worked through here, but, to Fisher’s credit, his teaching makes me WANT to be. (The passages he picks out from Lyotard, for instance, have had me seriously considering buying Libidinal Economy all week, despite knowing there’s a slim chance I’d ever read the whole thing.) I’d imagine this is more interesting on the whole to those who are familiar with Lyotard, Delueze & Guattari, Lukács, Nick Land, and Marcuse, who all provide the theoretical foundation for much of the discussions. Those seeking more of Fisher’s writing on music and pop culture would be better off looking elsewhere—though this may reveal to you, too, that you’re more interested in Marxist theory than you thought you were.
One of my best friends and I talk often of albums that are “for the heads,” albums with a lukewarm critical (even audience) reception that are actually essential to the artist’s discography or exploration of their overall sound. (Some relatively recent examples that come to mind: Radiohead’s King of Limbs, Sufjan’s Ascension, Animal Collective’s Centipede Hz.) This seems to me like a book for the heads.
One of my best friends and I talk often of albums that are “for the heads,” albums with a lukewarm critical (even audience) reception that are actually essential to the artist’s discography or exploration of their overall sound. (Some relatively recent examples that come to mind: Radiohead’s King of Limbs, Sufjan’s Ascension, Animal Collective’s Centipede Hz.) This seems to me like a book for the heads.
gregbrown's review against another edition
3.0
Like me, so many readers of Mark Fisher develop a personal attachment to his work. He drew out the link between personal despair and the overwhelming doomed feeling that There Is No Alternative to capitalism.
In his last few lectures, he tried to understand with students how we might find a way out, by harnessing the power of desires to drive ourselves towards a post-capitalist existence, and find new ways of relating to each other that didn't carry the same accumulated ideological baggage. Sadly, his suicide abridged the series, so all we have are the first five lectures to go off of, but they're a wonderful example of his mind in motion, engaging with these convoluted works and constantly making them legible and urgent to his students.
This is kind of a curio thought: only published because his untimely death prevented him from forming the thoughts into a finished work. Still, a worthwhile read and makes me want to revisit the rest of his work.
In his last few lectures, he tried to understand with students how we might find a way out, by harnessing the power of desires to drive ourselves towards a post-capitalist existence, and find new ways of relating to each other that didn't carry the same accumulated ideological baggage. Sadly, his suicide abridged the series, so all we have are the first five lectures to go off of, but they're a wonderful example of his mind in motion, engaging with these convoluted works and constantly making them legible and urgent to his students.
This is kind of a curio thought: only published because his untimely death prevented him from forming the thoughts into a finished work. Still, a worthwhile read and makes me want to revisit the rest of his work.
daanl's review
4.0
Door de behoorlijk ongeredacteerde transcriptie van de lessenreeks te volgen, wordt je helemaal meegezogen in de Mark Fisher Zone™
Het voortijdig einde triggert nog meer om zelf verder te denken
Het voortijdig einde triggert nog meer om zelf verder te denken