Survivre a Noel

by Stephane Floccari

Book cover: Survivre a Noel

Extent: 190 pages

Publisher: Encre Marine

Subjects: Philosophy

Series: Encre Marine

Language: French

Paperback (Published)

(October 2018)

ISBN: 9782350881539

Price: $25.00

Out of stock

Comment etre a la fete au milieu des siens et de la nuit ?


When the countdown to the Advent begins again, we would rather be spared the excruciating pain of an inner crisis that is bound to turn into a family ordeal. Yet it is difficult to pretend that we can steer clear of a holiday which reminds us that we are nothing without other people and the strength that we derive from our relatives. Drawing from all conceptual sources (philosophy, history, psychoanalysis, anthropology, literature, movies, series on television), this book deciphers the moods and torments that chronically resurface in the last grey hours of the year. Its aim is not to defend Christmas, or to put it on trial, any more than it is to make fun of its folklore or declare it obsolete. It advocates neither its cultural sanctification, nor its banishment from our customs. What it seeks to do is invite readers to ponder this strange holiday that leaves no one indifferent or unhurt-one which, in nearly every latitude, absorbs individuals and brings generations together like none other-for better or worse, often with joy, but not always with good humor, against a backdrop of “for auld lang syne,” but never without conflict or tension. And there’s a good reason for that: Christmas is the disquieting measure of all our connections with the living and the dead.

Prologue Le jour ou la nuit nous gagne Si Noel m'etait conte Retour au pays des siens L'aube des enfants rois Le Pere Noel est mort, vive le Pere Noel ! Comment j'ai appris a ne plus m'en faire et a aimer Noel Noel a la carte

  • By (author) Stephane Floccari

"Verve, culture tous azimuts (philosophie, sciences humaines, litterature...), ecriture efficace (ah, si tous les philosophes savaient aussi bien dire !) ; c'est souvent drole, mordant et... cela questionne. Comme l'analyse Stephane Floccari, dans son diptyque Nietzsche et le nouvel an et Survivre a Noel, cette periode de l'annee, qui met en presence les calendriers chretiens et civils, nous concerne tous, et nous cerne toujours.Retournant aux sources d'une tradition paienne transformee par le christianisme, le philosophe s'interroge sur la tension entre joie et melancolie associee a cette fete familiale. [...] Peut-on sortir indemne de la periode des fetes ? Stephane Floccari propose aujourd'hui un kit de survie intellectuelle pour affronter Noel. Elegant, Survivre a Noel est un essai moins affole que son titre ne le laisse suggerer.Un livre personnel, nourri de nombreuses heures de recherches a la fois sur la symbolique de Noel et ce que nous renvoie cette fete sur notre rapport aux autres.Ce livre est un objet qui convoque a la fois l'histoire, l'anthropologie, les croyances, notre propre biographie personnelle, donc la philosophie. [..] L'auteur reussit la l'un de ses plus beaux textes."