Lars Iyer, head of Philosophy at Newcastle University, discusses his new novel Wittgenstein Jr at Heffers Bookshop, Cambridge. He will be in conversation with Cambridge PhD student and literary critic, David Winters.
Wittgenstein Jr concerns the academic career of a group of Cambridge philosophy students, deeply under the influence of their supervisor, whom they nickname Wittgenstein Jr due to his likeness to the philosopher himself. Wittgenstein Jr’s austere, exacting philosophy provides a tragicomic counterpoint to the chemical excesses of a student life that takes place in Cambridge locations that will having Cambridge inhabitants smiling in recognition. The novel covers questions of philosophy, the purpose of the academy, and the dismantling of the university and Philosophy departments under the coalition government. With the wit and linguistic playfulness of Evelyn Waugh and the experimentation of Beckett, the novel moves towards an unexpectedly hopeful and touching conclusion. Lars Iyer is head of Philosophy at Newcastle University, and is the author of the novels Spurious, Dogma, and Exodus, which was shortlisted for the 2013 Goldsmiths Prize. He is a member of the Folio Prize Academy, an international group of writers and critics, who are immersed in the world of books. He is the author of two academic books on Blanchot: Blanchot's Communism: Art, Philosophy and the Political and Blanchot's Vigilance: Literature, Phenomenology, and the Ethical. David Winters is a literary critic and Cambridge postgraduate student, also interested in continental philosophy and metaphilosophy, the history of concepts, and the sociology of ideas and intellectuals. You can buy tickets for the event here: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lars-iyer-david-winters-and-wittgenstein-jr-tickets-12737505221 If you use the promotional code GUEST, tickets will be free of charge. Heffers Bookshop Thursday, 30 October 2014 from 18:30 to 20:00 (GMT) City Centre, United Kingdom For any further details contact [email protected] Praise for Wittgenstein Jr “As much a satire on the contemporary academy as it is an existential novel of ideas. But is is also a love story…It is also an elegiac book.” —The Telegraph (5 Stars) "Incorporating allusions to Wittgenstein’s own writing alongside nods to sources as various as Béla Tarr and Derek Jarman, Iyer has compiled an idiosyncratic – and surprisingly tender – paean to love and learning." —TLS "The novel makes you feel a little sad, as any true story of first love would, and, as any book by a true philosopher would, gives you a lot of food for thought." — The Independent on Sunday “Wittgenstein Jr wants thought to ‘tear out our throats’ and his fulminations against ‘English lawn’ dons who facilitate the monetisation of Cambridge provide the angriest, funniest monologues… Right now, Iyer’s novel insists, utopian thought remains an urgent necessity.” —New Statesman Zeljka Marosevic Managing Director Melville House UK 07803778023 // mhpbooks.com _____________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from the CamPhilEvents mailing list, or change your membership options, please visit the list information page: http://bit.ly/CamPhilEvents List archive: http://bit.ly/CamPhilEventsArchive Please note that CamPhilEvents doesn't accept email attachments. See the list information page for further details and suggested alternatives.
