Why read The Sense of an Ending?

Book cover of The Sense of an Ending: Studies in the Theory of Fiction

Book description

Frank Kermode is one of our most distinguished and beloved critics of English literature. Here, he contributes a new epilogue to his collection of classic lectures on the relationship of fiction to age-old concepts of apocalyptic chaos and crisis. Prompted by the approach of the millennium, he revisits the book…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Sense of an Ending as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Amin Samman

Author

Kermode is a literary critic and this book is a study of apocalyptic narrative throughout the ages. But as Lowith shows, all Western historical thought is apocalyptic. Kermode takes this point further by looking not just at the Bible, but also Roman philosophy, modern English poetry, and more. It might sound like a bit of a detour, only it doesn’t feel that way when he brings it all to a head in an early diagnosis of the postmodern condition. Because we now know the power of stories, he argues, they can only continue to do their work by ‘defying our…

From Amin's list on The best philosophy books that challenge how you think about history.