Wittgenstein Jr by Lars Iyer

Wittgenstein Jr by Lars Iyer

The writer Hari Kunzru says made me feel better about the Apocalypse than I have in ages is back--with a hilarious coming-of-age love story

The unruly undergraduates at Cambridge have a nickname for their new lecturer: Wittgenstein Jr. He's a melancholic, tormented genius who seems determined to make them grasp the very essence of philosophical thought.

But Peters--a working-class student surprised to find himself among the elite--soon discovers that there's no place for logic in a Cambridge overrun by posh boys and picnicking tourists, as England's greatest university is collapsing under market pressures.

Such a place calls for a derangement of the senses, best achieved by lethal homemade cocktails consumed on Cambridge rooftops, where Peters joins his fellows as they attempt to forget about the void awaiting them after graduation, challenge one another to think so hard they die, and dream about impressing Wittgenstein Jr with one single, noble thought.

And as they scramble to discover what, indeed, they have to gain from the experience, they realize that their teacher is struggling to survive. For Peters, it leads to a surprising turn--and for all of them, a challenge to see how the life of the mind can play out in harsh but hopeful reality.

Combining his trademark wit and sharp brilliance, Wittgenstein Jr is Lars Iyer's most assured and ambitious novel yet--as impressive, inventive and entertaining as it is extraordinarily stirring.

LARS IYER is Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK. He is the author of Blanchot's Communism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004).

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781612193762
ISBN 10	1612193765
Title	Wittgenstein Jr
Author	Lars Iyer
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Melville House Publishing
Year published	2014-09-02
Number of pages	240
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.