Ren Girard (1923-2015) was one of the leading thinkers of our era--a provocative sage who bypassed prevailing orthodoxies to offer a bold, sweeping vision of human nature, human history, and human destiny. His oeuvre, offering a "mimetic theory" of cultural origins and human behavior, inspired such writers as Milan Kundera and J. M. Coetzee, and earned him a place among the forty "immortals" of the Acad mie Fran aise. Too often, however, his work is considered only within various academic specializations. This first-ever biographical study takes a wider view. Cynthia L. Haven traces the evolution of Girard's thought in parallel with his life and times. She recounts his formative years in France and his arrival in a country torn by racial division, and reveals his insights into the collective delusions of our technological world and the changing nature of warfare. Drawing on interviews with Girard and his colleagues, Evolution of Desire: A Life of Ren Girard provides an essential introduction to one of the twentieth century's most controversial and original minds.

Author: Cynthia L. Haven
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Michigan State University Press
Published: 04/01/2018
Series: Studies in Violence, Mimesis, & Culture
Pages: 346
Weight: 1.1lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781611862836


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2018
Choice 05/01/2019

About the Author
CYNTHIA L. HAVEN writes regularly for The Times Literary Supplement, and has also contributed to The Nation, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and many others. She is also the author of several books, including volumes on Nobel poets Czeslaw Milosz and Joseph Brodsky.