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4.0 

Eros the Bittersweet

By Anne Carson
Eros the Bittersweet by Anne Carson digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time

A book about romantic love, Eros the Bittersweet is Anne Carson's exploration of the concept of "eros" in both classical philosophy and literature. Beginning with, "It was Sappho who first called eros 'bittersweet.' No one who has been in love disputes her," Carson examines her subject from numerous points of view, creating a lyrical meditation in the tradition of William Carlos Williams's Spring and All and William H. Gass's On Being Blue.

Epigrammatic, witty, ironic, and endlessly entertaining, Eros is an utterly original book.

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Eros the Bittersweet Reviews

4.0
“One of the most beautiful essays I have ever read. Eros the Bittersweet explores the phenomenon of desire as understood by the archaic poets and Greek storytellers, an inevitability of the human condition that is at once bitter and sweet, as defined by Sappho. Despite the suffering it entails, desire is portrayed as necessary for imagination and, ultimately, for the pursuit of knowledge and reason. I am currently working on a graphic novel that often touches on erotic and romantic themes (isn’t everything erotic, anyway?) and this book offered a wealth of insight into how desire operates, in our constant reaching and our endless play against its invisible barrier.”

About Anne Carson

Anne Carson was born in Canada and teaches ancient Greek for a living. Her awards and honors include the Lannan Award, the Pushcart Prize, the Griffin Trust Award for Excellence in Poetry, a Guggenheim fellowship, and the MacArthur “Genius” Award.

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