The Triumph of the Slippers

“The world goes to hell in a handcart. We take refuge indoors: utopia is privatized. Pascal Bruckner watches, in his slippers, issuing these missals. If he is right, we are in trouble. How do we recover the public from civic involution, and the crippling sense of fear? These are some of the questions opened in this book. Be provoked! Be irritated! Be stimulated! Step outside!” Peter Beilharz, Sichuan University “We're in an age of sterility, Pascal Bruckner says, when fear and lassitude send the young to their rooms and attach them to screens. The lockdowns merely hastened a process of withdrawal that has proceeded for a long time. Bruckner details this condition with a surgical eye, explaining the deeper currents of present malaise. Every page has wisdom worth memorizing – 'All of today’s technologies encourage incarceration under the guise of openness,' 'Totalitarian powers have always wanted to govern the dreams of their citizens' ... It is a dark vision, but the first step toward the light is a clearsighted understanding of where one sits.” Mark Bauerlein, Emory University “Born of the pandemic, Pascal Bruckner’s The Triumph of the Slippers is a wonderfully thoughtful and subtle meditation on the psychological, social, and cultural impact of the Covid pandemic, and a provocative diagnosis of a ‘spiritual long Covid’ with which many – if not most – of us still live today. Eloquently written like all of Bruckner’s work, The Triumph of the Slippers is the work of a French moraliste at the top of his form, combining the erudition and irony of the perceptive philosopher with the sensitivity and craft of the  gifted novelist. Highly recommended.” Richard Golsan, Texas A&M University “[a] jolly romp through the socio-philosophical consequences of the recent rise in sales of onesies, slankets and badger-themed slippers” Stuart Jeffries, The Spectator “a series of short, concentrated bursts of artillery fire” Stuart Walton, Times Literary Supplement “Energetic, cultured, and confident … the book has lost little relevance in a post-pandemic world.” National Review “Pascal Bruckner sees a world in retreat from sociability in favour of snug seclusion… With a mixture of playfulness and grandiosity, he describes a society where most tasks can be completed without leaving the house.” The Economist “the most engrossing, profound and original meditation on lockdown yet written” The Australian “packed with…provocative observations” Church Times “Bruckner provides an eloquent summary of what ails the West” WORLD magazine