On Consolation: Finding Solace in Dark Times
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- Create Date：2021-12-25 07:50:55
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Michael Ignatieff
- ISBN：0805055215
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Summary
Timely and profound philosophical meditations on how great figures in history， literature， music， and art searched for solace while facing tragedies and crises， from the internationally renowned historian of ideas and Booker Prize finalist Michael Ignatieff
When we lose someone we love， when we suffer loss or defeat， when catastrophe strikes—war， famine， pandemic—we go in search of consolation。 Once the province of priests and philosophers， the language of consolation has largely vanished from our modern vocabulary， and the places where it was offered， houses of religion， are often empty。 Rejecting the solace of ancient religious texts， humanity since the sixteenth century has increasingly placed its faith in science， ideology， and the therapeutic。
How do we console each other and ourselves in an age of unbelief？ In a series of lapidary meditations on writers， artists， musicians， and their works—from the books of Job and Psalms to Albert Camus， Anna Akhmatova， and Primo Levi—esteemed writer and historian Michael Ignatieff shows how men and women in extremity have looked to each other across time to recover hope and resilience。 Recreating the moments when great figures found the courage to confront their fate and the determination to continue unafraid， On Consolation takes those stories into the present， movingly contending that we can revive these traditions of consolation to meet the anguish and uncertainties of our precarious twenty-first century。
When we lose someone we love， when we suffer loss or defeat， when catastrophe strikes—war， famine， pandemic—we go in search of consolation。 Once the province of priests and philosophers， the language of consolation has largely vanished from our modern vocabulary， and the places where it was offered， houses of religion， are often empty。 Rejecting the solace of ancient religious texts， humanity since the sixteenth century has increasingly placed its faith in science， ideology， and the therapeutic。
How do we console each other and ourselves in an age of unbelief？ In a series of lapidary meditations on writers， artists， musicians， and their works—from the books of Job and Psalms to Albert Camus， Anna Akhmatova， and Primo Levi—esteemed writer and historian Michael Ignatieff shows how men and women in extremity have looked to each other across time to recover hope and resilience。 Recreating the moments when great figures found the courage to confront their fate and the determination to continue unafraid， On Consolation takes those stories into the present， movingly contending that we can revive these traditions of consolation to meet the anguish and uncertainties of our precarious twenty-first century。
Reviews
Miguel
，
With a bit of regret to say this， I found this a bit tedious to get through。 It's a heavy topic and the historical pieces are sometimes interesting， but again it felt more like work to move from example to example in each chapter。 With a bit of regret to say this， I found this a bit tedious to get through。 It's a heavy topic and the historical pieces are sometimes interesting， but again it felt more like work to move from example to example in each chapter。 。。。more
Ken
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A pithy collection of short （around 10 pages） religious and mostly philosophical musings centered around the theme of consolation。 Of those I knew: Job， Paul （of Epistles fame）， Cicero， Marcus Aurelius， Boethius， El Greco， Montaigne， Hume， Marx， Lincoln， Mahler， Akhmatova， Primo Levi， Camus， and Haclav Havel。 And those I didn't: Condorcet， Max Weber， Radnóti， and Cicely Saunders。 Max Weber coined the term "Protestant work ethic，" which I know well， being a product of one-time Calvinist New Engla A pithy collection of short （around 10 pages） religious and mostly philosophical musings centered around the theme of consolation。 Of those I knew: Job， Paul （of Epistles fame）， Cicero， Marcus Aurelius， Boethius， El Greco， Montaigne， Hume， Marx， Lincoln， Mahler， Akhmatova， Primo Levi， Camus， and Haclav Havel。 And those I didn't: Condorcet， Max Weber， Radnóti， and Cicely Saunders。 Max Weber coined the term "Protestant work ethic，" which I know well， being a product of one-time Calvinist New England。If brief overviews are your thing， this neat little survey course of a book offers some relevant info and occasional new tidbits about people you know and love （like， in my case， Marcus Aurelius， Michel de Montaigne， and Abe Lincoln）。 Toward the end， as we hit more modern times in this chronologically-ordered collection， Ignatieff gets to insert himself a bit， too， with thoughts on the pandemic and on society's return to some bad habits from the 30s and 40's （the heyday of lies， racism， anti-immigration， purposely forgetting history， etc。）。 And though he doesn't mention Trump， he does mention Trump's master:For example: "The last survivors of the Holocaust and Stalin's terror are dying， and what they endured is passing from memory into the contested domain of history， and from there， in the still more contested terrain of opinion。 More and more people actually think they have a choice about whether to believe these things happened。 The ruler of contemporary Russia， whose father worked for Stalin's killers， has made nostalgia for Stalin the official ideology of his regime。 He has said the destruction of the Soviet empire was the greatest catastrophe of the twentieth century。 Poor （Anna） Akhmatova -- one can only be glad that she died not knowing how faithless her heirs would be。"Reading the Camus chapter also kindled my desire to reread the read-long-ago book， The Plague。 I love it when one book leads to another， like the shin bone leads to the ankle bone。Quick， instructive， and rather light for deep material。 。。。more
Batu
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Approach with caution。 This is not a happy book。 It is so well-written， though， that even the hardest parts can be endured。 Definitely not a Christmas book。 Wait until you're making resolutions to read this。 In the vein of "There's nothing new under the sun，" and "Everything old is new again，" Professor Ignatieff gently but firmly leads us to look closely at how humankind has borne the reality of mortality。 From indigenous peoples to famous Greek scholars， renowned Roman warriors， through the ho Approach with caution。 This is not a happy book。 It is so well-written， though， that even the hardest parts can be endured。 Definitely not a Christmas book。 Wait until you're making resolutions to read this。 In the vein of "There's nothing new under the sun，" and "Everything old is new again，" Professor Ignatieff gently but firmly leads us to look closely at how humankind has borne the reality of mortality。 From indigenous peoples to famous Greek scholars， renowned Roman warriors， through the horrors of Mongol hordes， plagues， the Holocaust， and just an ordinary life， we see the same theme running through all time。 Mortality and how we hope to deal with our own seems to be a question that one must wrestle with and come to terms with by oneself。 For those who find comfort in a religious or spiritual doctrine， may it serve us as we pass through the final door of life。 。。。more
Mark
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https://www。nytimes。com/2021/11/07/bo。。。 https://www。nytimes。com/2021/11/07/bo。。。 。。。more
Virginia
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Inspiring book that gets to the core our common humanity。 I found it thought provoking and comforting at the same time。 Glad I read it。 It also makes a nice gift。
Lauren Davis
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Thank you to #GoodreadsGiveaway for a copy of this wonderful book。 Michael Ignatieff has written a profound， and profoundly intelligent， book examining suffering and what sort of consolation we may still find from the text of western thinkers through the centuries。 Critics might balk at the fact that the texts Ignatieff examines are written almost exclusively by white men （except for Anna Akhmatova and Cicely Saunders， the latter appearing in the final chapter）， and is determinedly Eurocentric。 Thank you to #GoodreadsGiveaway for a copy of this wonderful book。 Michael Ignatieff has written a profound， and profoundly intelligent， book examining suffering and what sort of consolation we may still find from the text of western thinkers through the centuries。 Critics might balk at the fact that the texts Ignatieff examines are written almost exclusively by white men （except for Anna Akhmatova and Cicely Saunders， the latter appearing in the final chapter）， and is determinedly Eurocentric。 I suggest they shouldn't。 Ignatieff is right: there is much wisdom and consolation to be found in these texts。 Should other books be written about other texts？ Absolutely， but this is Ignatieff's particular bouquet。 There's nothing wrong with that and the book should be weighed only against its own intentions。 There is also nothing fluffy about the consolation Ignatieff explores。 This is tough stuff。 We begin with Job， after all， and his litany of horrors。 Cicero。 Montaigne。 Primo Levi。 Abraham Lincoln。 Marx。 Mahler。 Camus。 Havel。 Marcus Aurelius。 Dante。 Greco。 These are maestros of suffering。 Ignatieff encourages us not to treat our suffering as illness: "。。。when suffering becomes understood as an illness with a cure， something is lost。 The religious traditions of consolation were able to situate individual suffering within a wider frame and to offer a grieving person an account of where an individual life fit into that divine or cosmic plan。" We are not alone。 We are， in our suffering， part of the human condition。 While this might be a Stoic's perspective， Ignatieff is right， there is consolation there， in that we are not alone and there is no suffering that someone before us has not endured and understood。 This is true even in this "post-religious" world where the philosophies of faith may leave many wanting。 He says， "To be consoled is to make peace with the order of the world without renouncing our hopes for justice。" That line， and others like it， offered this reader consolation。 During the time we spend in meditation with these great thinkers （and our generous and thoughtful guide， Ignatieff） who have also suffered greatly， we are not offered happiness necessarily —which seems flimsy and false in the face of true agony — but rather something far more enduring。 Consolation is grief and suffering understood and shared; it is a weight that is not removed， but which another helps us carry。Not only is Ignatieff a very good thinker indeed， he is also a very good writer and these excellent essays offer pleasure and solace in equal measure。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Adam
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Consolation is found through a number of methodologies; through attention or connection to religious or philosophical conceptualisations， through action， and even via forgiveness and connection to loved ones （or even perfect strangers）。 This is the book I wanted to read right now。 Ignatieff's attention to vignettes of those who either found or aspired to finding consolation is a necessary topic for many at present。 While I didn't connect with every individual's quest for solace， the ones that st Consolation is found through a number of methodologies; through attention or connection to religious or philosophical conceptualisations， through action， and even via forgiveness and connection to loved ones （or even perfect strangers）。 This is the book I wanted to read right now。 Ignatieff's attention to vignettes of those who either found or aspired to finding consolation is a necessary topic for many at present。 While I didn't connect with every individual's quest for solace， the ones that struck me struck deep。 An elegant work that brings historical examples of long-suffering to the forefront， treating them with the same care and concern readers would be loathe to imitate in their own lives。4 stars。 Engaging， endearing and enthralling; the text calmly informs and guides the reader down a path toward deeper understanding of how we might find our own sustained and soothing trust in our own capacity to console ourselves and others。 。。。more
Russell
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It is a good book， but it didn't get me where I would like to have gotten。 It is a good book， but it didn't get me where I would like to have gotten。 。。。more
Jane
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Short biographies of people from antiquity to modern day plus reflections on the Psalms， Book of Job， and Paul's epistles and how all were consoled through their writings， portraiture or music。 At salient points in each entry， quotations expressed their thoughts。 Even today we may be heartened by their words。 This is a work meant to be dipped into repeatedly。Highly recommended。 I thank LibraryThing for the ARC I was sent。 Short biographies of people from antiquity to modern day plus reflections on the Psalms， Book of Job， and Paul's epistles and how all were consoled through their writings， portraiture or music。 At salient points in each entry， quotations expressed their thoughts。 Even today we may be heartened by their words。 This is a work meant to be dipped into repeatedly。Highly recommended。 I thank LibraryThing for the ARC I was sent。 。。。more
JW
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A deep， thought-provoking work that reads like a series of lectures。
Alan Eyre
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Well-written， good information on how different people at different times found consolation for terrible， unexplainable loss。
Ray 노잠
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Consolation is by nature a philosophically elusive subject。 This is a difficult but splendid book that covers a range of philosophy， sociology， history and poetry。
Jennifer
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DNF
Julia
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When I first heard of this book， I was surprised， because I hadn't realized that the author was， well， an author。 As a Canadian， I'd aways thought of him as a politition， not a writer。 But he is a wonderful writer， which was interesting to discover。 I found this book unique。 There's no lack of books on grief， but I've never come across one dedicated to consolation。 I mean， yes， books on grief always touch on the subject， but I've never found a book entierly devoted to it， a book that looks at ev When I first heard of this book， I was surprised， because I hadn't realized that the author was， well， an author。 As a Canadian， I'd aways thought of him as a politition， not a writer。 But he is a wonderful writer， which was interesting to discover。 I found this book unique。 There's no lack of books on grief， but I've never come across one dedicated to consolation。 I mean， yes， books on grief always touch on the subject， but I've never found a book entierly devoted to it， a book that looks at everything from biblical to the phiosophical。 It's well-written， enganging， and， honestly - consoling。 。。。more
Richard
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A timely novel for the COVID era， On Consolation provides a well-researched， almost biblical account of the myriad methods of consolation used throughout human history from the era before Christ to the modern day。 I found this incredibly interesting， I hadn't ever really considered how consolation could exist in so many forms。 This book aims to explore heavy subjects such as loss， grief， depression， hopelessness， disease and violence， but manages to outline how consolation could exist in these s A timely novel for the COVID era， On Consolation provides a well-researched， almost biblical account of the myriad methods of consolation used throughout human history from the era before Christ to the modern day。 I found this incredibly interesting， I hadn't ever really considered how consolation could exist in so many forms。 This book aims to explore heavy subjects such as loss， grief， depression， hopelessness， disease and violence， but manages to outline how consolation could exist in these situations。 I enjoyed the stories of historical figures discovering their own personal silver linings， and with the book ending with the authors' account of his own consolation through difficult periods in his life， it's a well-rounded approach that I found both informative and even helpful to my own life。 There is no right way to be consoled， so long as it works for you。I believe many people can take lessons from this book to apply to their own lives， and I believe having the ability to relate with humanity through thousands of years of difficulty is fundamental to any individual for remaining hopeful for the future。 Humanity craves both connection and consolation， and this book reveals the humanity of the past in a way that casts assurance over the difficulties of the present and the future。 This is a very insightful and interesting read， I would recommend it to anybody who feels the need for consolation in their own lives。Thanks to Michael Ignatieff and Random House Canada for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Candy
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