A fine review of an excellent book exploring Kierkegaard deeply, both his negative tendencies and his continuing (if not increasing) importance as the Modern Socrates of philosophy and theology.
JOAKIM GARFF'S justly acclaimed biography of Kierkegaard, published in English in the year marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Hans Christian Andersen, invites us into the literary world of Denmark's golden age. It also calls us to ponder Kierkegaard in the context of his ambitious, anxiety-ridden life and through the eyes of his contemporaries. ...
The text is masterfully translated by Connecticut College historian Bruce H. Kirmmse, whose collection of eyewitness recollections of Kierkegaard, Encounters with Kierkegaard, appeared in 1996. Though Garff demands much of his readers, his lively, conversational prose draws us into Kierkegaard's mind and cultural setting.
This is the story of a remarkable Christian who suffered intensely in his inwardness. Like Socrates, Kierkegaard was determined to render our life choices, including those about religious faith, more difficult. Garff's interrogation of this unusual life reminds us not just of Kierkegaard's mental anguish, but also that his dazzling brilliance as a writer burdened both his own existence and that of his contemporaries.
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