Overview

In The Glance of the Medusa, Lászó F. Földényi offers a mesmerizing examination of the rich history of European culture through the lens of mythology and philosophy. Embracing the best traditions of essay writing, this volume invites readers on a spiritual and intellectual adventure. The seven essays bear testimony to Földényi’s encyclopedic knowledge and ask whether it is possible to overcome our fear of passing away. In doing so, they illuminate moments of mystical experience viewed in a historical perspective while inviting readers to engage with such moments in the present by immersing themselves into the process of reading and thinking.   Rather than providing firm answers to burning questions, The Glance of the Medusa highlights the limits of definition, conjuring up situations in which Man partakes of unutterable experiences—such as passion, pleasure, fear, poetry, or disgust—suggesting that moments of ecstasy cannot be pinned down or captured, only drawn a little closer.  

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9780857426086

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In The Glance of the Medusa, Foeldenyi develops an anatomy of European mythology in his quest towards understanding human completeness. . . . The book advocates a re-enchantment of the world, a theme already introduced in Foeldenyi's previous non-fiction work, Dostoyevsky Reads Hegel in Siberia and Bursts into Tears (2020), and is a logical development of his authoritative Melancholy (2016) which gave voice to deep ontological anguish. [Foeldenyi] argues that a fragmentation of the soul is a function of our spiritual disorientation as we, moderns, have forgotten our place in - and connection with - a wider cosmos. * Review 31 *

"""In The Glance of the Medusa, Földényi develops an anatomy of European mythology in his quest towards understanding human completeness. . . . The book advocates a re-enchantment of the world, a theme already introduced in Földényi’s previous non-fiction work, Dostoyevsky Reads Hegel in Siberia and Bursts into Tears (2020), and is a logical development of his authoritative Melancholy (2016) which gave voice to deep ontological anguish. [Földényi] argues that a fragmentation of the soul is a function of our spiritual disorientation as we, moderns, have forgotten our place in — and connection with — a wider cosmos."" * Review 31 *"

Author Information

L szl F. F ld nyi is an author, translator, critic, and art theorist. He is professor and chair of the theory of art at University of Theatre, Film, and Television, Budapest. He is the author of some twenty books, and his works have been translated into fifteen languages. He lives in Budapest, Hungary. Jozefina Komporaly is a London-based translator and academic. She is the editor and co-translator of the critical anthologies Mat i Visniec and Andr s Visky's Barrack Dramaturgy.

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