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okiwill's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
colin_cox's review against another edition
3.0
Weaving together a collection of disparate stories, essays, and reviews of a writer or thinker without his or her expressed consent is a tricky operation. If successful, the collection clarifies a set of ideas and concepts relevant to the writer in question that would otherwise remain opaque or invisible. In addition, such collections may open new territories of inquiry about the author in question. Although, if such a project fails, the writer becomes increasingly distant, drifting beyond our comprehension and confirming our worst impulses which the following sentiment approximates: I simply won't get them!
There is, however, another category, and that category represents my reaction to The Storyteller: Tales of Loneliness by Walter Benjamin. Here's the thing: I like Benjamin, I have studied Benjamin, but I would not under any circumstances characterize myself as comfortably familiar with the scope of his profoundly mesmerizing body of work. I am a Benjamin tourist, therefore, The Storyteller: Tales of Loneliness leaves me befuddled but not discouraged. I concurrently want to read this collection again while also reading more of Benjamin's critical work. I want to understand how his fiction informs and illuminates his nonfiction.
So, to some degree, after reading The Storyteller: Tales of Loneliness I don't comprehend more about Benjamin than I did before, but that doesn't mean I'm rolling my eyes. If anything, my eyes are focused, steady, and longing to hover over a copy of Arcades Project.
There is, however, another category, and that category represents my reaction to The Storyteller: Tales of Loneliness by Walter Benjamin. Here's the thing: I like Benjamin, I have studied Benjamin, but I would not under any circumstances characterize myself as comfortably familiar with the scope of his profoundly mesmerizing body of work. I am a Benjamin tourist, therefore, The Storyteller: Tales of Loneliness leaves me befuddled but not discouraged. I concurrently want to read this collection again while also reading more of Benjamin's critical work. I want to understand how his fiction informs and illuminates his nonfiction.
So, to some degree, after reading The Storyteller: Tales of Loneliness I don't comprehend more about Benjamin than I did before, but that doesn't mean I'm rolling my eyes. If anything, my eyes are focused, steady, and longing to hover over a copy of Arcades Project.
tuckrodi's review against another edition
3.0
Liked the one about the earthquake and Lisbon. I thought it was kind of funny that the story of the Egyptian king that he talks about a few times is misconstrued to his benefit. The mark of a good storyteller is selective hearing.
breadandmushrooms's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
mrichman's review against another edition
fast-paced
3.0
Only read a few of the short stories. You have to know the history and context behind the story, but makes you value the culture that has been white washed for so many years
extreme_metaphors's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
h2oetry's review against another edition
3.0
Perhaps this assessment is unfair since I am a huge fan of Illuminations and The Arcades Project, but I was not blown away by these stories of fiction. The novellas, fables, histories, aphorisms, parables, and riddles are interesting but do not hold the same weight as his cultural critiques. Perhaps this is a book reserved for Benjamin completionists or those who've never read him.