Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Book Review: Nietzsche, The Unmanned Autohagiography by D Harlan Wilson

I read Thus Spake Zarathustra in a Malayalam translation when I was twenty-one years old. I loved it like an enigma, an unsolvable puzzle. After that, I happened to read a few scholarly articles on him, but not much. My reason for requesting an advance copy of this book on Netgalley was my expectation of a biography of his and some insights into his philosophy. But that was not to be.


I had to research D. Harlan Wilson and stay miles away from him. But then you are justified in asking why I read it after all when I had the option to ignore it. I believe that when you request and receive an advance copy of The Covenant of Water or Stolen Family and read, review, and revel in it, you are also responsible for owning others like Nietzsche's The Unmanned Autohagiography. That, and my eternal optimism that something good will result from reading 150 pages of this

But then, after reading the entire 150 pages, all that came to mind was a meme in Malayalam: Nietzscheyum vannilla, theeyum vannilla, oru mannankatteem vannilla. But what has to be done has to be done. Let's review the hell out of this book.

I wrote a review when I was a kid, which got published in Eureka, a science magazine for children. From then on, I started approaching any book like a psychologist, peering deeply into the darkness of its existence, pulling out from its cavernous innards its profound secrets, and exhibiting them to the unsuspecting public. Go to the next paragraph and read my review of Nietzsche by D. Harlan Wilson.

Or later. What will I do if there's nothing for the book to bear for me? Or worse, what if I never make any sense of what I read? The trick is simple. Tell your reader that it's not important what is written in the book. Always look out for what isn't written. Then fake your way out. Does it work? Always, like a charm.

This is the sixth paragraph of the review.

D. Harlan Wilson claims that the reason his book has covers that shout Nietzsche, Hitler, or Freud is a marketing technique. When any reader buys any book that is written about them, the website automatically recommends his books.

I am riding a train while writing this review on my mobile phone. I read the book on the same train. Reading books on Indian trains is a great experience. The noise of the engine drowns out all other sounds, and the wobbling of the entire train makes reading in the train a pleasure. But this effect is a great stimulus for sleep as well. You will always find the best public sleepers (people,not coaches) on Indian trains.

This is the ninth paragraph. Read the next paragraph for a science fiction story, and in the paragraph after that, you can read better things.

Mathur Mahajan was reviewing the old files of his resigned colleague when he found this out. The entire earth is a story book created by aliens, and they are right now watching our lives as a sitcom.

I lied about the better things, or I am not interested any more. I am not sure which.

The next paragraph is the current one.

A wronged person would always think about revenge when done right.

My recommendation of the book? Do I look like I care?

1 comment:

  1. Loved this review! Thank you for the heads up! 😆

    ReplyDelete