Are We Still Allowed to Live a Little?
Publisher: Atlas Contact
Essay
For readers of Optimism Without Hope by Tommy Wieringa and Your Own Well-Being First by Roxane van Iperen
We live in a time when universal human rights are not only less respected, but even less professed. In this essay, Arnon Grunberg searches for the roots of humanism and arrives at Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Although he understands its appeal, he also observes that this teaching provoked resistance from the outset—and perhaps asked too much of people. The Trump revolution—which is not confined to America—can also be seen as a response to the ethical imperative to love all peoples of the world: ‘We can no longer tolerate universalism, we want first.’ This state of mind must be understood and perhaps even accepted before we can formulate a new answer to the question: how much equality can human beings tolerate? If everyone wants to be first, what place is there left for the last?
Praise:
‘Arnon Grunberg is the greatest contemporary Dutch writer.’ – Literair Nederland
‘The wit and sardonic intelligence that shine through Arnon Grunberg’s prose make it a continual pleasure to read’ – J. M. Coetzee
‘The dark touch of classical tragedy, which is where this remarkable comedy of manners leads.’ – The New York Times on Tirza
