Benjamin Kunkel Libri

Dwight B. Wilmerding ha ventotto anni, una buona famiglia alle spalle (i genitori divorziati da poco, un'amata - anche troppo - sorella maggiore, Alice), e un lavoro precario e molto insoddisfacente: è laureato in filosofia ma risponde all'help desk di un colosso farmaceutico, dove risolve i problemi informatici di quadri e dirigenti. Vive a New York insieme a tre amici, ha una ragazza molto bella, si impasticca parecchio ed è indeciso a tutto. Uno dei suoi amici, studente di medicina, gli passa un farmaco sperimentale, l'Abulinix, che dovrebbe guarire dalla sindrome di indecisione cronica. E subito Dwight prende una decisione d'impulso: parte per l'Ecuador e raggiunge Natasha, la compagna di liceo più bella e ammirata.

Cat's Cradle is the story of ice-nine and just what it meant when the stuff got loost. With chill, deadpan humour the author spatters the targets of religion and science as the hunt for the three children of Dr Felix Hoenikker, one of the fathers of the atomic bomb, draws towards the end that, for all of us, is nigh.

After the financial crash and the great recession, the media rediscovered Karl Marx, socialist theory, and the very idea that capitalism can be questioned. But in spite of the publicity, the main paths of contemporary critical thought have gone unexplored outside of the academy. Benjamin Kunkel’s Utopia or Bust leads readers – whether politically committed or simply curious – through the most important critical theory today. Written with the wit and verve of Kunkel’s best-selling novel, Indecision, this introduction to contemporary Leftist thinkers engages with the revolutionary philosophy of Slavoj Žižek, the economic analyses of David Graeber and David Harvey, and the cultural diagnoses of Fredric Jameson. Discussing the ongoing crisis of capitalism in light of ideas of full employment, debt forgiveness, and “fictitious capital,” Utopia or Bust is a tour through the world of Marxist thought and an examination of the basis of Western society today.

Mit dem Roman Unentschlossen machte sich Benjamin Kunkel auch in Deutschland einen Namen. Parallel zu seinem erzählerischen Werk verfasst Kunkel Essays für Magazine wie n+1 , The Jacobin und The London Review of Books . Dieser Band versammelt seine wichtigsten Aufsätze über Autoren wie Fredric Jameson, David Graeber und Slavoj Žižek. Daraus ergibt sich nicht nur ein Panorama linken Denkens: Indem Kunkel das Gelesene mit eigenen Erfahrungen verknüpft, reflektiert er zugleich darüber, was es heißt, in neoliberalen Zeiten erwachsen geworden zu sein. Seine Jugend, so Kunkel, habe er großenteils während des Endes der Geschichte verbracht – das nun selbst an sein Ende zu kommen scheint.