Benjamin Kunkel Books

“A free-wheeling vehicle . . . an unforgettable ride!”—The New York Times Cat’s Cradle is Kurt Vonnegut’s satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet’s ultimate fate, it features a midget as the protagonist, a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer, and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny. A book that left an indelible mark on an entire generation of readers, Cat’s Cradle is one of the twentieth century’s most important works—and Vonnegut at his very best. “[Vonnegut is] an unimitative and inimitable social satirist.”—Harper’s Magazine “Our finest black-humorist . . . We laugh in self-defense.”—Atlantic Monthly

After the financial crash and the great recession, the media rediscovered Karl Marx, socialist theory, and the very idea that capitalism can be questioned. But in spite of the publicity, the main paths of contemporary critical thought have gone unexplored outside of the academy. Benjamin Kunkel’s Utopia or Bust leads readers – whether politically committed or simply curious – through the most important critical theory today. Written with the wit and verve of Kunkel’s best-selling novel, Indecision, this introduction to contemporary Leftist thinkers engages with the revolutionary philosophy of Slavoj Žižek, the economic analyses of David Graeber and David Harvey, and the cultural diagnoses of Fredric Jameson. Discussing the ongoing crisis of capitalism in light of ideas of full employment, debt forgiveness, and “fictitious capital,” Utopia or Bust is a tour through the world of Marxist thought and an examination of the basis of Western society today.

In the grip of a midlife crisis at twenty-eight, Dwight B. Wilmerding is also afflicted with a chronic inability to make up his mind. Encouraged to try an experimental drug meant to banish indecision. Dwight jumps at the chance (not without some meditation on the hazards of jumping) and swallows the first fateful pill. And when all at once he is 'pfired' from his tech job at Pfizer and invinted to rendezvous in exotic Ecuador with the girl of his long-ago prep-school dreams, he finds himself on the brink of a new life. The trouble is that Dwight can't decide if the pills are working. Now, deep in the jungles of the Amazon, his would-be romantic escape becomes a hilarious journey into unbidden responsibility and unwelcome knowledge - and an unexpected raison d'ętre.

Mit dem Roman Unentschlossen machte sich Benjamin Kunkel auch in Deutschland einen Namen. Parallel zu seinem erzählerischen Werk verfasst Kunkel Essays für Magazine wie n+1 , The Jacobin und The London Review of Books . Dieser Band versammelt seine wichtigsten Aufsätze über Autoren wie Fredric Jameson, David Graeber und Slavoj Žižek. Daraus ergibt sich nicht nur ein Panorama linken Denkens: Indem Kunkel das Gelesene mit eigenen Erfahrungen verknüpft, reflektiert er zugleich darüber, was es heißt, in neoliberalen Zeiten erwachsen geworden zu sein. Seine Jugend, so Kunkel, habe er großenteils während des Endes der Geschichte verbracht – das nun selbst an sein Ende zu kommen scheint.