One-way street

Author: Walter Benjamin (Germany)
Translator: Li Shixun
Germany/Germany
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: After hearing the news of Benjamin's death, his close friend Brecht said, "This is a real loss to German literature that Hitler has caused." At that time, Benjamin was not very famous, and few people felt the grief that Brecht did. Today, Benjamin is widely read in the intellectual world. His works cover many fields such as literary criticism, linguistics, philosophy, history, and more. — Benjamin was a unique thinker. One Way is a book that is difficult to classify into a single category. The dozens of articles collected are mostly short and concise, with an eerie style, and flashes of wisdom in their whimsicality. This fragmentary writing style can be traced back to Nietzsche, Schlegel, La Rochefoucauld, and even authors from ancient Greece and Rome. It is a highly refined philosophical text, a crystallization of the author's reflections on many real-world issues in philosophy, literature, politics, and society of his time. "One Way" is a metaphor. Why is it called "One Way"? Adorno, in the preface to his edited Collected Works of Walter Benjamin, answered this question: "His philosophical interests were not at all aimed at ahistorical existence, but precisely at historically determined, irreversible things. Therefore, the title is called 'One Way.'" The book contains aphorisms, notes, and miscellaneous thoughts in various forms. Its language is obscure, its meaning profound, often leaving readers pondering repeatedly without grasping the essence. Of course, the author sometimes writes humorously, making you laugh out loud; sometimes it is clear at a glance, sparking your interest even more; and sometimes it evokes memories of your childhood, leaving you deeply moved. Although the book is not very long, it requires a high degree of patience and all your intellect to uncover its depth. The skillful use of parenthetical remarks and subordinate clauses fully develops the dense German grammar, often leaving you lost in the forest without knowing where you are. However, once you struggle your way out, it will give you a special sense of joy. Meanwhile, the quotations, foreign words, and various allusions appear like "robbers by the roadside, fully armed, who suddenly appear and snatch away the beliefs of leisurely people," posing numerous challenges to both the readers and the translator.