The Cambridge Companion to Walter Benjamin (Cambridge Companions to Literature)
David S. Ferris | 2004-03-29 00:00:00 | Cambridge University Press | 268 | European
Offering a comprehensive introduction to the thought of Walter Benjamin, the highly influential twentieth-century critic and theorist, this Companion examines different significant aspects of Benjamin's work. Topics of contributions include Benjamin's relationship to the avant-garde movements of his time; his theories on language, mimesis and modernity; and his relevance to modern cultural studies. Additional material includes autobiographical writings, a guide to further reading and a chronology.
Reviews
If you've found your way here, chances are you already know a bit about Walter Benjamin, so I won't spend much time talking about his work in this review. Suffice it to say, however, that Benjamin's writings, even more than those of other cultural theorists (heck, more than those of most other writers) become more rewarding the more widely you read through them. As he might say, each particular work is like an individual piece of a mosaic - put them together and the orchestrated whole is (much, much) greater than the proverbial sum of the parts.
In light of this, a general overview of Benjamin's work for the invested beginner is an essential aide, and in English-language criticism this book is one of the best commonly available sources you'll find (the forthcoming translation of Uwe Steiner's book, "Walter Benjamin: An Introduction to His Work and Thought," promises to be a valuable counterpoint to this collection). The essays are all by well-known critics of Benjamin's writings - as far as I can tell, only Susan Buck-Morss is missing, but at least she already wrote her own book - so you don't need to worry about being steered wrong here. Personally, I found the essays on language and mimesis (Hanssen), cultural history (Caygill), Romanticism (Comay), and Benjamin's relationships with Brecht and the Frankfurt School (Nägele), as well as the introduction, particularly illuminating. Only the essay on Benjamin and psychoanalysis seemed lacking (if you have to use psychoanalysis to explain why Benjamin didn't use much psychoanalysis, maybe it's time to throw in the towel) - though in all fairness, I'm not much a fan of psychoanalytic theory myself, so take this complaint with a grain of salt.
My only criticism of this volume - and the only reason I withheld a star - is that it really seems to have been rushed through the press, or at least not carefully edited. I spotted a few typos here and there, which ordinarily wouldn't be an issue. However, some of these typos involve references to collections of Benjamin's essays, and if a reference points you to volume 1 of the Selected Writings, but should have pointed you towards volume 2, that could be a problem, especially in Benjamin's case. Besides, it just seems rather careless. If you're reading this, however, I'm guessing you have Benjamin's Selected Writings (published by Harvard's Belknap Press, vols. 1-4) either available or close at hand, so just keep your tables of contents at the ready for easy reference and it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Somewhat more annoyingly, the index is only partially helpful in locating discussions of individual works. For example, I was particularly interested in The Origin of German Tragic Drama while reading through this collection, but while the index doesn't cite any mention of it past page 67, Caygill's essay on Benjamin and cultural history (pp. 73-96), as I found out, has much to say on this particular work.
On the bright side, as I've mentioned already, the real benefit to this volume is the general overview that it gives of Benjamin's writings, so the best idea is to read it cover to cover, which means you'll get to find all the important bits yourself. As long as you're ready for these editorial mishaps, this book should serve you very well.
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