Which Zizek-book to read?

February 1, 2006 3:25 PM

Which recent book by Slavoj Zizek should I read? I've read "Welcome to the Desert of the Real" and "Did Somebody Say Totalitarianism?" and, although I don't agree with his politics, I really like his facetted style and sparkling wit. So what should be next on my reading list?
posted by Hjorth to Society & Culture (10 answers total)

I can't answer your question exactly, but if you haven't seen the new documentary film on Zizek, it's very, very funny, in a thought provoking sort of way. I saw it a couple of days ago.
posted by Rumple at 3:52 PM on February 1, 2006 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The only Zizek I've read is Looking Awry, and I really enjoyed it--I've been told it's him at his best re: high philosophy melded with popular culture. I've been told The Sublime Object of Ideology is a more typical "philosophy" book, and probably his most famous.
posted by bardic at 4:09 PM on February 1, 2006 [1 favorite]

(meh. sorry these two probably aren't recent enough.)
posted by bardic at 4:09 PM on February 1, 2006

I can't really think of others who work in a similar style. Are you looking for the style or the critical orientation? There are any number of Lacanians who are that much better and then any number of Marxists. But he does have that "bathroom reader" quality mixed with high theory that is pretty hard to copy.
posted by anglophiliated at 4:41 PM on February 1, 2006

Sorry, I just completely misread your post. Its late. Er um - Sublime Object is pretty central and The Ticklish Subject wasn't the worst thing in the world. I can't stand him actually.
posted by anglophiliated at 4:44 PM on February 1, 2006

One of my exes is a big Zizek fan -- I'll email him to ask, but since he's out of the country right now there may be a delay before he gets back to me. So check the thread again in a couple of weeks if I don't post a response right away.
posted by scody at 5:18 PM on February 1, 2006

I understood your question as asking for more Zizek, but if you like the playful style applied to critical/psychoanalytical theory you might also like Deleuze & Guattari, especially 1000 Plateaus. I'll often just open that up to a random spot and start reading and always get a fun intellectual kick out of it.
posted by TonyRobots at 5:22 PM on February 1, 2006

The Sublime Object of Ideology if you're interested in his post-Lacanian stuff, and you want the basic grounding in his work; Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Lacan...But Were Afraid to Ask Hitchcock if you want the film criticism. I think he's better in smaller doses, though, and his reviews in the LRB are a good place to find that.

(I do have real problems with his prose style -- is it not the case that writing like this in English sets one's teeth on edge?)
posted by holgate at 5:41 PM on February 1, 2006

Oh, recent? LRB reviews. The books are older, though better in my opinion than his more recent stuff.
posted by holgate at 5:43 PM on February 1, 2006

Sublime Object is not recent, but it is essential to understand Zizek. I would recommend that regardless of its age.
posted by OmieWise at 5:42 AM on February 2, 2006