The Trouble with Being Born Paperback – 1 Feb. 2013

I have to warn you that this book will be impenetrable to the casual curious reader . It is more a book of quotes that an book of discussion and it is a book of riddles . Most of Cioran's musings will therefore be inaccessible to the ordinary reader . Having said that, Cioran is considered among the greats of philosophy but his style differs from other philosophers and it has to be said that his philosophy is more of a critique of life than a handbook on how to navigate it . Cioran frankly believes that life is absurd by dint of the fleeting moments of which it is composed. He believes that action is the same as inaction in the cosmic framework. in other words he believes that all action is pointless . And so , his work does not offer an antidote to life and he merely offers it as a formulation to explain existential angst . You are lost because you are in a system of futility. Cioran believes that the past is composed of disjointed fleeting moments and if we look back we would not recognize our motives or a continuity of belief. Again this exemplifies his notion that our lives are simply discordant . Cioran himself struggles with his own insight being half in an half out of life . In practical terms he is tethered to appearances but he does not wish to be part of the absurdity of life's pretentions. The philosopher Albert Camus , on the other hand, offers the closure that Cioran cannot commit to. Camus accepts the absurdity of life but pitches in with it . Emil Cioran's book is essential reading for those serious about philosophy .

The book that will change your life, that's for sure. If you have ended up here thinking of ordering it, it means you're ready for this beautifully pessimistic collections of little musings and aphorisms. This is a real treasure.

Love Beckett, love Kafka, didn't take to Cioran, but as this book is in aphorism form (I don't know but suspect much of his work is similar?), you can pick it up on short bursts and give it more of a chance.A shame as The Trouble with Being Born is one of the greatest book titles in literature. I really wanted a text that lived up to it but nothing comes close. For me.

Great book

After reading a few of Cioran's short philosophical outburst one wonders, aphoristically, about the line between existential self-flagellation and intergalactic onanism. So thin, that line, so very thin. The book has been returned to the library, whence it came; perhaps I missed the best bits. Oh dear.

After Nietzsche, I thought no one else would be able to claim the title to be my bestie. Cioran proved me wrong. This book is the reason we stay alive and accept existential despair.

Bought this as a gift for my friend in Cape Town (writer). Absolutely loves it🥰

The product was excellent but I had to return it with The Sould of Black Folk as I needed hardbacks but I haven't been refunded. It's been four months.