{"product_id":"between-quran-and-kafka-west-eastern-affinities-hardback-9781509500338","title":"Between Quran and Kafka; West-Eastern Affinities (Hardback) 9781509500338","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eBetween Quran and Kafka\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eWest-Eastern Affinities\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eNavid Kermani (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781509500338, Polity Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 2 September 2016\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e300 pages\u003cbr\u003e23.1 x 15.5 x 2.8 cm, 0.612 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This engaging collection of essays by Kermani… examines topics ranging from 10th-century poetic convention to modern-day extremist attacks in an expertly crafted critique of the East-West paradigm that often dominates contemporary discussions of immigration, globalism, and the preservation of ethnic and national identities... [It] will be a worthwhile read for anyone who is interested in better understanding the intellectual ties that bridge a social and cultural division that is popularly conceived as being thousands of years wide.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher's Weekly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"The moral power behind Kermani’s extraordinary achievements is scarcely paralleled among all the great figures of German literature.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSüddeutsche Zeitung\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Through his work Kermani shows us the challenges facing the critical mind today and what it can achieve.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"As one of its best-known intellectuals, Kermani represents the new Germany.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eDer Spiegel\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Kermani is living proof that, even in the generation after Walser and Habermas, the intellectual has not become obsolete as a public figure. He also attests to the source of this vitality, which comes both from education and from an active participation in the world that he observes.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eDie Zeit\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"In the end, Kermani's exquisite book is marked by a refusal of the fundamentalist’s temptation to let Islam's dogma eclipse its aesthetic permeability, and a refusal to let taut entanglements slacken into cultural amnesia. Taken together, these essays give texture to the tapestry of affinities that weaves together the two poles of his heritage — and, perhaps, of ours.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eLA Review of Books\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat connects Shiite passion plays with Brecht�s drama? Which of Goethe�s poems were inspired by the Quran? How can Ibn Arabi�s theology of sighs explain the plays of Heinrich von Kleist? And why did the Persian author Sadeq Hedayat identify with the Prague Jew Franz Kafka?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  �One who knows himself and others will here too understand: Orient and Occident are no longer separable�: in this new book, the critically acclaimed author and scholar Navid Kermani takes Goethe at his word. He reads the Quran as a poetic text, opens Eastern literature to Western readers, unveils the mystical dimension in the works of Goethe and Kleist, and deciphers the political implications of theatre, from Shakespeare to Lessing to Brecht. Drawing striking comparisons between diverse literary traditions and cultures, Kermani argues for a literary cosmopolitanism that is opposed to all those who would play religions and cultures against one another, isolating them from one another by force. Between Quran and Kafka concludes with Kermani�s speech on receiving Germany�s highest literary prize, an impassioned plea for greater fraternity in the face of the tyranny and terrorism of Islamic State.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Kermani�s personal assimilation of the classics gives his work that topical urgency that distinguishes universal literature when it speaks to our most intimate feelings. For, of course, love too lies �between Quran and Kafka�. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eA Personal Note\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1. Don't Follow the Poets!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Quran and Poetry\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2. Revolt against God\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAttar and Suffering\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3. World without God\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eShakespeare and Man\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4. Heroic Weakness\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLessing and Terror\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e5. God Breathing\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGoethe and Religion\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e6. Filth of My Soul\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKleist and Love\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e7. The Truth of Theatre\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Shiite Passion Play and Alienation\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e8. Liberate Bayreuth!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWagner and Empathy\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e9. Swimming in the Afternoon\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKafka and Germany\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e10. The Purpose of Literature\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHedayat and Kafka\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e11. For Europe\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eZweig and the Borders\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e12. In Defence of the Glass Bead Game\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHesse and Decadence\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e13. The Violence of Compassion\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eArendt and Revolution\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e14. Tilting at Windmills\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMosebach and the Novel\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e15. One God, One Wife, One Cheese\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGolshiri and Friendship\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e16. Chant the Quran Singingly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNeuwirth and Literalist Orthodoxy\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAppendix\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn the 65th Anniversary of the Promulgation of the German Constitution\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpeech to the Bundestag, Berlin, May 23, 2014\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn Receiving the Peace Prize of the German Publishers' Association\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpeech in St Paul's Church, Frankfurt am Main, October 18, 2015\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAbout the Text\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Language: reference \u0026amp; general [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Language: reference \u0026amp; general\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Language:%20reference%20\u0026amp;%20general%20%5BCB%5D%22\"\u003eCB\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Polity","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52441779634456,"sku":"9781509500338","price":47.69,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9781509500338.jpg?v=1785024585","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/between-quran-and-kafka-west-eastern-affinities-hardback-9781509500338","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}