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A review by ismildlypoetic
Confessions of the Flesh: The History of Sexuality, Volume 4 by Michel Foucault
challenging
informative
slow-paced
2.0
2 stars = didn’t love it
This book took me from January to August, which is definitely the longest I’ve ever taken to finish a book, in part due to my February to August break. I put it down more times due to my closeness to sleep than my satisfaction with my reading session.
This volume was specified to how thinkers of Early Christianity contrasted with the Greek thinkers of the era just before. In some parts, where Foucault was directly mentioning scripture, it was interesting, but the fast majority of it was people I’d never heard of talking about subjects tangentially related to the actual Bible.
I wish Foucault had gotten the chance to finish and publish it himself, one, because it might have been more concise with additional editing, and two, because I would have loved volumes about the medieval or Victorian periods, and I might have enjoyed this volume more if it was just a necessary stepping stone instead of the conclusion.
Overall, if you’re a fan of early Christian thinkers, of course give this book a shot. But if you want a history of sexuality, I’d stick to volumes 1-3, or even just the first two.
This book took me from January to August, which is definitely the longest I’ve ever taken to finish a book, in part due to my February to August break. I put it down more times due to my closeness to sleep than my satisfaction with my reading session.
This volume was specified to how thinkers of Early Christianity contrasted with the Greek thinkers of the era just before. In some parts, where Foucault was directly mentioning scripture, it was interesting, but the fast majority of it was people I’d never heard of talking about subjects tangentially related to the actual Bible.
I wish Foucault had gotten the chance to finish and publish it himself, one, because it might have been more concise with additional editing, and two, because I would have loved volumes about the medieval or Victorian periods, and I might have enjoyed this volume more if it was just a necessary stepping stone instead of the conclusion.
Overall, if you’re a fan of early Christian thinkers, of course give this book a shot. But if you want a history of sexuality, I’d stick to volumes 1-3, or even just the first two.