A Short History of Decay

Few - if any - books have made me laugh out loud as often as this one. In a good way. Of recognition, of the cleverness, of the depth of insight into the 'History of Decay' of which we turn the blind eye. This is a glorious book, you smell Nietzsche in there, also in a good way. It's a person alive and Seeing, and I think, like all the Existentialists (who refused the title) he sensed the need to be a prophet for the non-prophet-attitude. Here is also taoism and Zen Buddhism. I absolutely LOVE this book. I am so happy I 'stumbled upon it'. Get it. And as for the difficulty of reading it - it is actually very concise, clear, compact and ALIVE (again, Nietzsche) so give it a go, you might just benefit from pondering what you have read with some breaks now and then, to exactly let it sink in, so we can all adapt to a more honest approach to life.

Personally I think Cioran is at his funniest in the short aphorism form (eg All Gall is Divided). Here we have page length aphorisms, a la Nietzsche but written as if by some amalgam of a symbolist poet and post-structuralist. The result is somewhat dense, semi-lucid but highly creative and evocative musings on such topics as abstraction, meaning, death, etc. I can see why it’s considered his main work. It’s certainly more work to read! However it’s less enjoyable than the shorter form works. My mind wanders more reading this, where Cioran’s flights of verbal fancy leave me occasionally sighing and then alert. Edit: After making it someway through the book, my opinion of it is elevated for sure. Highly cynical, but does what the best writing is capable of: alters your perspective and gives a new way of looking at things. There are some fabulous sentences here that are truly otherworldly on their beauty as well.

I own most of the Arcade paperback editions of Cioran’s French works, and they are quite good. The introductions by Eugene Thacker are brief and useful. Richard Howard’s translations are masterful. Précis de décomposition is (I think) Cioran’s best book, and is certainly the one that put him on the map. Howard’s prize-winning translation is exemplary, especially his wonderfully mordant rendering of the title—A Short History of Decay. It does exactly what it says on the tin, as the saying goes. (Howard also has an impressive translation of Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du mal.) Whether you do or do not subscribe to Cioran’s extreme (but not humorless) form of pessimism doesn’t matter so much: it’s simply a great work of literature that should be read. Cioran was one of the twentieth century’s great, if lesser known, prose stylists. Every sentence is quotable. And the same goes for the whole corpus of Cioran’s French works, all of which I would recommend. For Cioran’s writings originally published in Romanian, look for the University of Chicago Press editions translated by Ilinca Zarifopol-Johnston. Unfortunately, she was able to complete only two translations before her untimely death: Cioran’s first book, On the Heights of Despair, and his take on mysticism, Tears and Saints. These are less mature but no less important than his later works. Zarifopol-Johnston also has an excellent memoir, Searching for Cioran.

Cioran sat quietly at a coffee shop beside Sartre for nearly a decade before re-inventing himself in French, his second language, with arguably the finest French Prose since Paul Valery. This book consists entirely of medium length essays which all seem to advance the same central theme: Nihilism and History. Its hard to consider Cioran among the philosophers. When I hear his name I think first of Poets, Novelists and Dramatists...yet he never wrote poetry, drama or novels. I consider him a character with the world as his stage...his entire existence seems like it dropped out of a poet's brain, a dramatists tact and a Novelist's irony. Never boring. Always engaging. Full of surprise, even when we've guessed the score. Highly Recommended!

I would have gave this book 5 stars, but it's tough reading. Cioran's vocabulary was tremendous. Reading this book just might have you rethinking every aspect of your existence. Be ready and be brave. I gave you fair warning.

I love reading Cioran. I've read eleven of his books in my native language. I bought it now for my English. Fast delivery and complete.

I’ve never read something so hilarious and terrible, glorious and tragic, fantastic and devastating, besides Shakespeare. I LOVE IT!

Book is new and shipping was quick.

Severe ambivalence, Leaving nothing standing, Nothing except silence. And facing that silence; No way out; None except lamentation, Over life, over all. Beyond confrontation: Deliverance via formulation. A final expression, Utterance without hesitation, Kindness of the unbridled… Longing for the dead.

Think like Cioran, read to be offended, speak to be misunderstood.

Overall a compelling read, an interesting dive into nihilism. The book itself came packaged and protected well.

My, my, my.... Cioran is not only a philosopher, but also a master of seen life and the crudeness it hides. Deem a pessimist he peels the unsavory reality of humanity and society. The falsehood of religion, politics, friendship and civility. A must read. Although I had to re-read some of his chapters to understand the wisdom involved. A true reading pleasure.

You either get Cioran or you don’t. If you don’t like him, this book won’t change your mind. If you think you might, or if you do, then you should read this. Still think that The Trouble With Being Born is better but this one has a perrmanent place on my shelf.