Mythologies
1953
- social life and customs
- semantics
- judgment (logic)
- french essays
- popular culture
- mythology
- sémantique
- mœurs et coutumes
- jugement (logique)
- open_syllabus_project
The story
"This new edition of MYTHOLOGIES is the first complete, authoritative English version of the French classic, Roland Barthes's most emblematic work"--
What it’s like
Clear, quick-stepping French prose that reads like a sequence of sharp, witty glances at everyday life: wrestling matches, soap powder, steak and chips, the Citroën DS, toys, the face of Greta Garbo. Each short essay opens on an ordinary object or spectacle and turns it over in the hand until its hidden assumptions show, so the mood is alert and amused rather than sombre, a cool intelligence with a dry smile. The voice is precise and conversational, full of small surprises and sudden ironic turns, with no dense theory on the page to wade through. It suits a slow weekend afternoon, a café table with a notebook, or a few essays at bedtime, read one at a time. Intensity is low: no violence or sexual content, and the rare darker note (war, colonial images) is discussed calmly and at a distance. Best for readers who enjoy looking at familiar things until they become strange, and for anyone curious about how modern life produces its own quiet myths.
More books like Mythologies
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved Mythologiesand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
