The End of the World as a Work of Art: A Western Story

Essayist Argullol (humanities, U. Pompeu Fabra) expresses his personal form of existentialism while defying genres in this rumination on why certain influential figures (such as St. John of Patmos, Wagner and Hitler) are attracted to the simulation of Armageddon as a means of social, cultural or political influence, while still regarding the Armageddons they create as works of art. Argullol also covers the idea of "stigma," the human attraction to the void, and the character of Faust as symbol for the human condition. Some will say these are poems rather than essays, and fiction rather than non-fiction, a situation which Argullol seems to have encouraged and cultivated in this petit recit. Which Argullol argues is not at all Apocalyptic in and of itself. Distributed by Associated University Presses. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR