Melancholic Joy - by Brian Treanor (Paperback)

About the Book

"Drawing on varied examples from poetry, literature and film, including Virginia Woolf, Jack Gilbert and the films of Terrence Malick, Melancholic Joy offers an honest assessment of the human condition. It unflinchingly acknowledges the everyday frustrations and extraordinary horrors that generate despair and argues that the appropriate response to this darkness is to take up joy again, not in an attempt to ignore or dismiss evil, but rather as part of a "melancholic joy" that accepts the mystery of a world that is both beautiful and brutal"--

Book Synopsis

Today, we find ourselves surrounded by numerous reasons to despair, from loneliness, suffering and death at an individual level to societal alienation, oppression, sectarian conflict and war. No honest assessment of life can take place without facing up to these facts and it is not surprising that more and more people are beginning to suspect that the human story will end in tragedy.

However, this focus on despair does not paint a complete and accurate picture of reality, which is also inflected with beauty and goodness. Working with examples from poetry and literature, including Virginia Woolf and Jack Gilbert and the films of Terrence Malick, Melancholic Joy offers an honest assessment of the human condition. It unflinchingly acknowledges the everyday frustrations and extraordinary horrors that generate despair and argues that the appropriate response is to take up joy again, not in an attempt to ignore or dismiss evil, but rather as part of a "melancholic joy" that accepts the mystery of a world both beautiful and brutal.

Review Quotes

"Brian Treanor goes beyond poetic exhortation to explore the grounds for affirming the goodness of being, suggesting ways of living that leave one open to experiences of wonder and joy even while remaining cognizant of the darker aspects of reality ... readers committed to a "life worth living" even in the face of death, pandemics, climate change, and other sources of suffering will also find much of value in this book." - Reading Religion

"Treanor's Melancholic Joy is a marvelous achievement: beautifully written, endlessly rich, and wise." --Michael Hauskeller, Professor of Philosophy, University of Liverpool, UK

"Simply put, this book is fantastic. It offers the reader, not simply a theory about finding joy in a suffering world, but an injunction and a path to discover such joy in their own lives." --Neal DeRoo, Canada Research Chair in Phenomenology and Philosophy of Religion, The King's University, Canada

About the Author

Brian Treanor is Professor of Philosophy and Charles S. Casassa Chair of Social Values at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, USA. Among his previous books are Emplotting Virtue, Aspects of Alterity, as well as Carnal Hermeneutics and Interpreting Nature.