Review by Booklist Review
Albert Camus called her the only great spirit of our time. Andre Gide said she was the most truly spiritual writer of this century. Both were referring to the French philosopher and mystic, Simone Weil, who died in 1943 at the untimely age of 34, following a brief bout with tuberculosis. With an indispensable biographical introduction by the book's editor, Laurie Gagne, this slender volume in the Plough Spiritual Guides series contains 11 excerpts from Weil's work, which sprang to posthumous prominence in the 1940s and 1950s. Though born a Jew, Weil came to embrace Christianity and the conviction that Jesus is God. In that context, she writes brilliantly about such topics as idolatry, affliction, and love of God, of one's neighbor, and of beauty. The relatively brief excerpts are intense and often abstruse, requiring the reader's careful attention, the same attention, perhaps, that Weil says that prayer consists of. Gagne's introductions to each excerpt are helpful in facilitating understanding that might otherwise remain fugitive. The result is an exciting encounter with an extraordinary mind.--Michael Cart Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this intellectually and spiritually demanding sampler, philosopher and Christian mystic Weil (1909-1943) addresses love, beauty, suffering, and idolatry. Weil studied and taught philosophy in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, where she was also politically active, writing for union movements and the anarchists during the Spanish Civil War. Gagne's introduction explains the context of the pieces, but she largely refrains from analyzing Weil's often inscrutable prose: "She leaves us with no simple answers, but her encounter with God's love can leave us filled with wonder and hope." Though Weil's writing can be hard to parse and harder to fathom, palatable sound bites dot her work: "The intelligence only grows and bears fruit in joy"; "Christ does not call his benefactors loving or charitable. He calls them just." Weil combines aphorisms and perceptive observations to lead readers into "the void," "the dark night," where suffering, writes Weil, "puts a little seed in us" and inspires questions about the afterlife. This beguiling book is a fine introduction to Weil's work. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Library Journal Review
Twentieth-century French writer Weil (1909-43) is sometimes called a philosopher; although her words often take an anti-intellectual bent ("We do not obtain the most precious gifts by going in search of them but by waiting for them. We cannot discover them by our own powers"). Weil is also considered a political activist ("The search for equilibrium is bad because it is imaginary.. Even if in fact we kill or torture our enemy it is, in a sense, imaginary"). Born to an agnostic Jewish family in Paris and drawn to personal asceticism from an early age, the author is perhaps best remembered for her Christian mysticism. Weil died from tuberculosis at age 34. Editor Gagne has culled selections from Weil's work for this slim volume, intending to position her neither as a "paragon of spiritual understanding.nor to pass judgment on her distinctive spiritual journey." Rather, for Gagne, Weil points the way toward Christ without reference to institutional or dogma-bound religions. VERDICT For the uninitiated, a pleasing introduction to Weil.-Sandra Collins, Byzantine Catholic -Seminary Lib., Pittsburgh © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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