The Gay Science
Decide its fate
The record
Time
An eveningA season305 pages, about 6 hours: about the length of a typical book on the shelf.
Getting in
Walk right inSteep climbNietzsche begins by arguing that humans invent beliefs about existence, then turns to what he calls the intellectual conscience.
What it gives
Plot and actionIdeas to live byIn 10 reviews from critics and book blogs, none credit the plot and 10 credit the ideas or a change in how they live.
One of a kind
Others do thisNothing else doesTed Metrakas on Substack notes that its eternal recurrence anticipates Thus Spoke Zarathustra, also on the shelf.
The case for it
on the Nauckhoff translation
“This new edition is a great achievement, which should for most purposes supersede Kaufmann”
Christopher Janaway · Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, 2002 on Book IV
“Book IV, titled ‘Sanctus Januarius’ is most impressive”
a book blog on its critique of morality
“it’s crucial for understanding where he’s coming from with his more complicated critique”
a book blog on its aphorisms
“I found myself fascinated with trying to explain them to someone”
a Substack review
The case against
on the cultural critique
“Nietzsche’s cultural critique is perhaps the most tedious and archaic part of the book”
a book blog on the madman passage
“This is one of those purple passages whose impact is virtually deadened by comment”
Stephen N. Williams · The Shadow of the Antichrist, 2006 on the aphoristic form
“give the appearance of a collection of random, contradictory thoughts on a variety of topics”
Matthew Meyer · Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, 2011 on the Wagner aphorisms
“It’s all interesting but doesn’t particularly add to the general theme of the whole book”
a book blog
