Fighting Theory Paperback – June 28, 2010

Long captivated by Avital Ronell's thought, but having not read her works in recent years, I discovered this book with pleasure. For anyone with even a passing acquaintance to Ronell's work, this book is a welcome treasure: a discourse (with psychoanalyst Anne Dufourmantelle) conducted originally in French, aimed at presenting her work to a French audience -- then translated from the French by longtime collaborator Catherine Porter along with cotranslational support from Ronell.The result reads as a brisk series of essays, with thoughtful punctuations (Dufourmantelle's queries) providing a skeleton throughout. Ronell covers almost all major areas of her work, but also is encouraged to train her potent reading skills on herself. She does this without mercy. Anyone interested in the philosopher Avital Ronell will be delighted to also learn how the philosopher's biographical experiences stamped her intellectual trajectory.As a former student of Ronell's (long ago), I could hear her in-person voice throughout the narrative, complete with amusing parentheticals and triple-meanings. But as a non-academic, I was pleased to discover how accessible the text is, even while retaining a high degree of rigor.Worth it.

Wow. Just finished reading this page-turningly brilliant, breath-taking, heart-breaking and yet inspiring book. I hadn't read Ronell since The Telephone Book (which didn't do it for me -- I was young); but after reading this work of creative genius I ordered her two previous books. Here she summarizes and riffs on her own insights into (among many others) Goethe, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Derrida (and her thoughts on Derrida, her teacher and friend, remain the most moving memorial testament I've read). A fitting heir to Derrida, in all her brilliant, post-punk ambivalences. Loved it. The wonderful cover -- with its inverted capoeira fight-dancers forming a heart in the negative space (the one seemingly seeking sustenance from the other) -- gives a surprisingly good indication of what you'll find in its pages.