Atmosphere, Mood, Stimmung

"In the first part of the book, entitled 'Moments', in a truly comparative tour de force, Gumbrecht moves insightfully and suggestively from Lazarillo de Tormes to Shakespeare's sonnets, from Diderot's Le Neveu de Rameau to Caspar David Friedrich's paintings, from Thomas Mann's Venice to Machado de Assis's Memorial de Aries, making these works apt condensations of particular 'forms of "life"' in different historical periods."—Pierpaolo Antonello, Modern Language Review

"Writing in prose that is remarkably lucid for a philosophical text, the author illustrates his point with examples that range widely, from medieval verse to the picaresque narrative; from the art of Caspar David Friedrich to the music of Janis Joplin. Although the book will be most useful for specialists, less experienced readers would also benefit from engagement with Gumbrecht's heuristic for reading literature. Highly recommended."—J. F. Moffett, CHOICE

"Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht is one of the 'Meisterdenker' (Master Thinkers) of our time and a teacher in the best sense of the word. The perspective on literature that he presents here—the study of the emotional reactions, moods, and atmospheres that reading can trigger—entails a serious methodological challenge. How can one avoid delivering subjective impressions without any objective relevance? His answer is as simple as it is bold, thought-provoking, and charming: You can't."—Eckart Goebel, New York University

"This book, like most of Gumbrecht's previous work, will be a trendsetting example of literary criticism. It opens the way to a re-evaluation of what has been but a faint 'longing.' Monumental endeavors such as this keep alive the hard questions of which our profession has mostly lost track."—Barbara Vinken, University of Munich

"A delightful read. There is a fine and subtle affinity between the form of the chapters, which might almost be called 'mood pieces,' and their delicate and somewhat elusive subject. Experts and general readers alike will derive both pleasure and profit from this book."—Eric Downing, University of North Carolina