Exploring Life's Existential Struggles in Eugene Thacker's 'The Trouble with Being Born', Inspired by E.M. Cioran

Anthony: Being a lifelong sufferer of mental illness, I am all too familiar with the troubles that come with being born. I have tried almost every method under the sun, dedicated myself to countless philosophies, in the hopes that I would find some reprieve. Although therapy has been a great saving force, it doesn't necessarily fill in the blanks of the problem of being. This is where Cioran comes in for me. Thinking positive thoughts, practicing gratitude, attempting to use the 'law of attraction' to manifest great and beautiful things may be the solution for some. And there are ample books on such topics. For the disturbed, long-time sufferer, however, this is clearly a farce. Cioran offers me a sense of comfort, safety and dare I say hope, which is fueled by pessimism and dreary, miserable and depressing prose. I am truly grateful that Cioran never did kill himself, as it would've been too late, but also because this work has been able to see the light of day. This is a must read, and one that I frequently revisit.

United States on Sep 20, 2023

Priya: Great book

India on Jul 07, 2023

Daniel Cherney: Cioran’s form throughout this book is short form wisdom collated by subject (from what I can tell) into chapter. Cioran has a lot of wisdom to dispense and his comparisons to contemporaries like Nietzsche allow a sort-of meta commentary on nihilism in general. What I loved about this was the observations made of those who become doom-obsessed and fail to realize that the idea of nothingness is liberating, not oppressing. While Cioran definitely finds himself at times indulgent in his negativity, I feel this negativity surrounding society and social structures is more reminiscent of old man shaking his fist at cloud. Harmless, albeit a touch unnecessary. Overall, he does a good job remaining objective in his poignant and sometimes humorous observations.

United States on Jun 16, 2023

Francisco: All good and fast

Canada on Apr 04, 2023

The ReaDeR: Not a cheerful read but an eloquent argument for killing yourself, I suspect.

A collection of short sharp sentences, each with an example of why life has no value trotted out one by one, and they all make sense and yet. And yet I enjoy life even if it is sometimes difficult and depressing.

They are also days when you laugh all day or fight or just play with the kids.

And so, even if it can be dark, it can also be light, and that is something he very much misses in his worldview.

United Kingdom on Sep 12, 2022

Ransen Owen: You don’t need to read more than the first 10 pages of this book, the rest is the same.

Sometimes Cioran is very illogical. He says that if there is the possibility of a depressing/evil event happening then it WILL happen BECAUSE it is depressing/evil. That is clearly untrue. There are many possible depressing/evil events which have never happened.

He says that a mediocre mad man will cause the end of the world. What he means is the end of humanity, which is a very different thing.

He ignores the two greatest mysteries. The fact that the universe exists and the fact that humans are conscious.

He says the world is pain and torment, but did not commit suicide, which would have been the most logical thing to do, given his own ideas.

Above all this book is boring and repetitive.

United Kingdom on Jul 14, 2022

Alex G: I've bought an English copy of Cioran's work, although the original was probably written in French (or perhaps his native Romanian?). So I can't really say how much might have gotten list in translation, but most of the text and syntax are pretty agreeable. Anyways, a short review on Amazon doesn't do justice to this great philosopher and his work, nor do I feel competent enough to provide a pertinent and useful review of his philosophy. Perhaps a more stylistic observation: this book contains maxims i.e., short paragraphs and muses about life and death. In this sense, it resembles La Rochefoucauld.
I've read this book once from beginning to the end, but it's definitively the type of work I'll find myself returning to when meditating on certain ideas. So it can best be read in once go, or different parts at a time.

Germany on Jun 29, 2021

Robert Stefanic: At times, this book is brilliantly written. Cioran is a fantastic writer. There are some golden aphorisms sprinkled throughout this book. I picked this up because it was recommended as a philosophy of pessimism; but it wasn't philosophy book (at least, I wouldn't call it philosophy). But that doesn't take away from what this book is. It's more of a literary piece -- an invitation into the thoughts of someone who dwells in melancholy and pessimism, and for that, it's pretty interesting and impressive. There are some real great aphorisms in here that are a joy to read, where you can't help but put a smirk on your face after reading it. It's also great when in one aphorism, he'll say something that's ingenious, followed by something completely contradictory to it 3 or 4 aphorisms later. He knows what he's doing, and it's great to see these contrasts. An example would be when he talks about how he doesn't trust people who are so sure of their convictions, followed by him talking about his own convictions later on within the same chapter. Fantastic.

Overall though, I struggled to finish this book at a certain point. I wasn't interested after about 100 pages or so, and I was just...

United States on Sep 10, 2015

Mike: First things first - Cioran writes absolutely beautiful prose. I don't think any philosophical writer since Montaigne has really written this well (apart from the novelists who treat philosophical themes like Dostoevsky and Sartre). I really cannot adequately convey the beauty of some of the existential musings of Cioran properly. He's a great stylist.

A cautionary note - Cioran is extremely well-educated in Western Philosophy, Christianity and Buddhism. Because of that, this is not really a book for someone who doesn't have strong grounding in philosophy (or at the least Nietzsche, Schopenhauer and Hegel) and some familiarity with religion. Additionally, the philosophy types should know that this book is not really philosophy in the Western Sense. It's written more like Eastern Philosophy. It's entirely aphorisms.

That said, if you can bear with it, this is one of the best things I've ever read. The clarity of thought and sheer brilliance of the aphorisms are unmatched apart from Lao Tzu and McLuhan.

Cioran is grimly pessimistic and has an extremely mordant sense of humor. He also explores the human condition and the recalcitrant nature of existence and art....

United States on May 03, 2009