On the Heights of Despair

Born of a terrible insomnia--"a dizzying lucidity which would turn even
paradise into hell"--this book presents the youthful Cioran, a self-
described "Nietzsche still complete with his Zarathustra, his poses, his
mystical clown's tricks, a whole circus of the heights."

On the Heights of Despair shows Cioran's first grappling with
themes he would return to in his mature works: despair and decay,
absurdity and alienation, futility and the irrationality of existence.
It also presents Cioran as a connoisseur of apocalypse, a theoretician
of despair, for whom writing and philosophy both share the "lyrical
virtues" that alone lead to a metaphysical revelation.

"No modern writer twists the knife with Cioran's dexterity. . . . His writing . . . is informed with the bitterness of genuine compassion."--Bill Marx, Boston Phoenix

"The dark, existential despair of Romanian philosopher Cioran's short
meditations is paradoxically bracing and life-affirming. . . . Puts him in the company of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This is self-pity as epigram, the sort of dyspeptic pronouncement that
gets most people kicked out of bed but that has kept Mr. Cioran going
for the rest of his life."--Judith Shulevitz, New York Times Book
Review

Emil M. Cioran (1911-1995) is the author of numerous works, including
The Fall into Time, A Short History of Decay, and Tears and
Saints..