Cioran sau un trecut deocheat

by Marta Petreu

„Oamenii nu vorbesc decat despre ceea ce ascundem“, observa, nu fara amaraciune, Cioran, adaugand: „Dac-am comis o greseala in trecut, cu cat o marturisim mai putin, cu atat ceilalti revin asupra ei si-o comenteaza“. Filosoful roman refugiat la Paris si devenit unul dintre marii autori de limba franceza stia ce spune: in Franta, el a fost permanent in situatia de a-si ascunde trecutul romanesc, adica articolele politice extremiste si volumul Schimbarea la fata a Romaniei (1936).

Cartea Martei Petreu reconstituie, minutios si documentat, circumstantele filosofice si istorice care l-au dus pe tanarul Cioran la o optiune politica extremista si analizeaza o combinatie de idei - de extrema dreapta legionara si de extrema stanga bolsevica -, aducand dovezile despartirii de trecutul sau „deocheat“.

432 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2011

About the author

Marta Petreu is the pen name of Rodica Marta Vartic, née Rodica Crisan (born March 14, 1955 in Jucu), a Romanian philosopher, literary critic, essayist and poet. A professor of Philosophy at the Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, she has published eight books of essays and seven of poetry, and is the editor of the monthly magazine Apostrof. Petreu is also noted as a historian of fascism, which she notably dealt with in her book about the controversial stances of philosopher Emil Cioran (An Infamous Past: E. M. Cioran and the Rise of Fascism in Romania, 1999).

Reviews

[Naia Pard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I`ll write this review in English, even if the book was written in Romanian (and I believe) with a Romanian audience at heart.

Why did I write it like this? Because I felt like it.

First of all, why walnuts? Why have those on the cover? Is that some metaphor for a broken skull and if so, is that a reference to a type of madness? Is that a representation of Cioran`s own head?

The majority of the book is formed not by the author`s own impressions as much as its is made up of paragraphs from Cioran`s own writings (be them letters, articles or books). I don`t know if I liked the book because the author did not try directly to influence my viewpoint on the matter, or if I liked it less because of it. It remains to be seen, after I read more on this subject.

Because I am not a Cioran reader. I have never read one of his books (and such a pity as the new editions have such pretty covers), just merely heard about it. I consistently tried to divorce from my mind the image of a pork knuckle

[insert random pork knuckle pic]

Because in Romanian the word for pork knuckle is C I O L A N (so it`s like cioran but instead of r you`d have l--an image that I bet would deeply disgust him as he had been always a bit touchy when it came to his ancestry and all that entailed it--- his family`s name, his family`s status, etc.)

I can see that as I am going further on in this review I am saying almost nothing about the book itself. So-->

The book was quite good. I saw that the author has an entire series done on the generation of `30s Romanian intellectuals (you may have heard of Mircea Eliade) and I might check some other titles, too.

What I did not expect going into this read (but I was grateful for it) was the legionary part. The author took her time to describe some parts of the movement from its genesis to its demise. That was a right extremist movement that was formed in Romania at the (roughly) beginning of the 20th century. They had some pretty god damn awful views all in the name of nationalism.

I think this was an useful read. It gave me a more ample view of Cioran, beyond his works, on the times he had lived in, and the ideas he had met along the way.


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[Bogdan Liviu · Rating 4 out of 5]

O carte absolut minunata, incantatoare mai ales prin rigoarea ei profesionala. O recomand tuturor celor care doresc o intelegere mai aprofundata a lui Emil Cioran. In acelasi timp, am sarit anumite pagini – e mult prea stufoasa cu detalii ale unor evenimente fata de care n-am niciun interes. Nu e vina autoarei, fireste, ci a mea – poate nu sunt atat de indragostit de Cioran pe cat am crezut. Sau poate nu ma intereseaza “trecutul” sau legionar pe care temperamentul sau il explica de la sine (si el insusi in interviuri a explicat clar frenezia acelui timp), e un subiect inchis pentru mine, nu ma fascineaza acea vreme, n-am nevoie de o poate prea minutioasa relatare a acelor vremuri pentru a-l intelege bine pe Cioran, consider ca sunt mai aproape de Cioran citindu-i “Caietele”, sau operele publicate de el. Fireste, poti avea o mai buna intelegere a tanarului Cioran urmarindu-i pas cu pas articolele tineretii, puse impecabil de Marta Petreu in contextul acelor vremuri.

Cred totusi ca decat sa citesc despre miscarea legionara si despre discursurile unor insi care n-aveau legatura cu Cioran si cu strucctura sa interioara pentru a intelegere aderenta sa la acea miscare, sunt mai castigat citindu-i o carte si savurandu-i stilul, tonul si umorul.

“Toate ideile sunt absurde și false; nu rămân decât oamenii, indiferent de origine și credințe. Niciodată nu voi mai îmbrățișa nici o ideologie.” (Cioran, trezindu-se dupa delirul miscarii legionare, cu care nu rezona ideologic dar de a carei frenezie si agresivitate avea nevoie pentru cutremurarea poporului roman, pentru ca numai asa vedea ca Romania va mai putea avea un destin)

[laurentiu]

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