The Hall of Uselessness

Collected Essays

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Asian, Far Eastern, Essays & Letters, Essays, Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science
Cover of the book The Hall of Uselessness by Simon Leys, New York Review Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Simon Leys ISBN: 9781590176382
Publisher: New York Review Books Publication: July 30, 2013
Imprint: NYRB Classics Language: English
Author: Simon Leys
ISBN: 9781590176382
Publisher: New York Review Books
Publication: July 30, 2013
Imprint: NYRB Classics
Language: English

An NYRB Classics Original

Simon Leys is a Renaissance man for the era of globalization. A distinguished scholar of classical Chinese art and literature and one of the first Westerners to recognize the appalling toll of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, Leys also writes with unfailing intelligence, seriousness, and bite about European art, literature, history, and politics and is an unflinching observer of the way we live now.

The Hall of Uselessness is the most extensive collection of Leys’s essays to be published to date. In it, he addresses subjects ranging from the Chinese attitude to the past to the mysteries of Belgium and Belgitude; offers portraits of André Gide and Zhou Enlai; takes on Roland Barthes and Christopher Hitchens; broods on the Cambodian genocide; reflects on the spell of the sea; and writes with keen appreciation about writers as different as Victor Hugo, Evelyn Waugh, and Georges Simenon. Throughout, The Hall of Uselessness is marked with the deep knowledge, skeptical intelligence, and passionate conviction that have made Simon Leys one of the most powerful essayists of our time.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

An NYRB Classics Original

Simon Leys is a Renaissance man for the era of globalization. A distinguished scholar of classical Chinese art and literature and one of the first Westerners to recognize the appalling toll of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, Leys also writes with unfailing intelligence, seriousness, and bite about European art, literature, history, and politics and is an unflinching observer of the way we live now.

The Hall of Uselessness is the most extensive collection of Leys’s essays to be published to date. In it, he addresses subjects ranging from the Chinese attitude to the past to the mysteries of Belgium and Belgitude; offers portraits of André Gide and Zhou Enlai; takes on Roland Barthes and Christopher Hitchens; broods on the Cambodian genocide; reflects on the spell of the sea; and writes with keen appreciation about writers as different as Victor Hugo, Evelyn Waugh, and Georges Simenon. Throughout, The Hall of Uselessness is marked with the deep knowledge, skeptical intelligence, and passionate conviction that have made Simon Leys one of the most powerful essayists of our time.

More books from New York Review Books

Cover of the book Havoc by Simon Leys
Cover of the book Notes on the Cinematograph by Simon Leys
Cover of the book Patrick Leigh Fermor: A Life in Letters by Simon Leys
Cover of the book Grand Hotel by Simon Leys
Cover of the book The Burning of the World by Simon Leys
Cover of the book Living by Simon Leys
Cover of the book A Game of Hide and Seek by Simon Leys
Cover of the book The Abandoned by Simon Leys
Cover of the book Melville: A Novel by Simon Leys
Cover of the book Love in a Fallen City by Simon Leys
Cover of the book Abel and Cain by Simon Leys
Cover of the book Max Havelaar by Simon Leys
Cover of the book Store of the Worlds by Simon Leys
Cover of the book The Fox in the Attic by Simon Leys
Cover of the book Really the Blues by Simon Leys
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy