Ruin of Kasch

The Ruin of Kasch is a classic work on violence and revolution, translated by Roberto Calasso and hailed as a rare book that persuades us to see our civilization in a new light. It follows the French statesman Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand through a gallery of scenes set before and after the French Revolution, with appearances by Goethe and Marie Antoinette, Napoleon and Marx, Walter Benjamin and Chateaubriand. The centre stands the story of the ruin of Kasch, a legendary kingdom based on the ritual killing of the king and emblematic of the ruin of ancient and modern regimes.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 432 pages
\n Publication date: 25 January 2018
\n Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
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The Ruin of Kasch is a captivating new translation of a classic work on violence and revolution, offering a fresh perspective through mythology and art. Written by Italo Calvino in 1983, the book explores two subjects: the first is Talleyrand, a French statesman who played a significant role in the ancien régime and its aftermath, and the second is everything else. Calvino's guide is Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, known for his knowledge of the old regime and its secrets, as well as his ability to adapt the concept of legitimacy to the modern age.

Roberto Calasso, the author, follows Talleyrand through a vast gallery of scenes set before and after the French Revolution. The book makes occasional forays backward and forward in time, from Vedic India to the porticoes of the Palais-Royal and to the killing fields of Pol Pot. Along the way, it features appearances by renowned figures such as Goethe, Marie Antoinette, Napoleon, Marx, Walter Benjamin, and Chateaubriand.

At the center of the narrative is the story of the ruin of Kasch, a legendary kingdom based on the ritual killing of the king and symbolic of the ruin of ancient and modern regimes. The book is startling, puzzling, and profound, filled with intelligence and literary seduction. The New York Times praised it as "a work charged with intelligence and literary seduction," while the Independent called it "unique, idiosyncratic, and vaultingly ambitious... essential reading." John Banville described it as a "great fat jewel-box of a book, gleaming with obscure treasures."

The Ruin of Kasch is a masterpiece that challenges readers to see their civilization in a new light. It offers a rich and complex exploration of power, politics, and the human condition, and is a must-read for anyone interested in history, literature, and philosophy.

\n Weight: 314g\n
Dimension: 197 x 173 x 26 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780141397016\n \n