I just read Benjamin Labatut’s When We Cease to Understand the World on the recommendation of my friend EJ and… WOW, this book is awesome.
I knew pretty much nothing about this book going into it (which I recommend) and on the first read I was just swept away and felt like I was trying to get my bearings the whole time. I don’t remember the last time I had this experience with a book – maybe Cormac McCarthy or Thomas Pynchon?
In a sentence, it’s about the madness of seeking to understand and confronting the limits of reason. cf. the film essay Civilization Noir that Rob and I made.
I don’t think I’m even going to put any quotes here, because this book is short, and beautiful, and definitely worth your time.