In praise of failure : four lessons in humility by Costică Brădățan, 2023.
I just finished this quirky little book (273 p) and am left with more than a few things to think about – birth, death, humility, human frailty, hubris, genocide, madness, disease, senility, poverty and wealth to name a few.
He uses the lives of Simone Wiel, Seneca, Mahatma Gandhi, Emile Cioran, Yukio Mashima and Osamu Dazai to tell how failure rendered their lives as hapless and meaningful, and how failure transcends egotism and ignorance. Considering the failures of Stalin and Hitler, the damage done in the Indian independence and partitioning, the scale of failure from the very large to the embodiment of failing in the lives of those listed above. Brădățan is a very good writer, he uses his prose clearly and weaves a narrative which is very engaging.
Borrowed from the Sonoma county library.