The Puppet and the Dwarf : The Perverse Core of Christianity (Short Circuits)

Rating:
Summary: Wannabe prophet (or, "Lacan said so, so it must be true")
Review: Throughout this book Zizek delights in stumbling-upon various theological conundrums, as if he, the "great historical materialist," were the first person to ever consider them (and this despite his arbitrarily-chosen citations from among a few "religious writers"--from Chesterton to Jonas to Colin Wilson--which he uses to complement his philosophical standards--Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, etc.). Whether Zizek realizes it or not, all his "perverse" discoveries are all-too-well-accounted-for, presuming one addresses them within a genuinely metaphysical framework. For an author so bent on chastising everyone for not really believing what they say, it's very strange (symptomatic, dare one say?!) to witness Zizek himself constantly struggling over theological quandaries he manifestly doesn't have the resources (mental/intuitive/spiritual) to resolve. (The Song of Songs as *not* symbolic? Eternal-time as lesser than immanent-time? Claiming to rebuff Agamben's analysis of Paul by remarking on the book's back-cover summary?) It's a no-brainer to point out various hypocrisies and absurdities of religious doctrine and institutions (Zizek's "really existing Christianity") in relation to contemporary hyper-modern life, but much harder (and thoroughly unnecessary & detrimental) to intellectually rationalize-away those fleeting but genuine revelations and heart-felt lived experiences of grace and faith and love that still can occur, even today. Zizek explicitly denies, on p. 120 and elsewhere, any distinction between "inner," versus "external" and institutional, divine experience. But whatever Zizek might happen to think, thankfully, the esoteric/exoteric relation within any genuine Revelatory tradition is multidirectional, and is simply not reducible to the "form" vs. "essence" dichotomy (p. 171) he would like to entrap it within.

No doubt many readers will leave this fast-paced book thinking they've actually learned something about the meaning of religion in relation to the world. And maybe they will learn *something*, just from the trauma of reading the thing, because Zizek does occasionally, as if by accident--lost among his rapid-fire array of duds--stumble upon 1 or 2 valid rhetorical points. (Even as he misjudges their level of import: for example, in several passages between p. 80-91, Zizek seems unaware that he is actually confirming, rather than refuting, Christian doctrine and metaphysics--although he claims these confirmations are made "not in the usual mystical sense," of course!; additionally, the Appendix "Ideology Today" makes some agreeable points, but in truth has nothing to do with Christianity per se.) The problem throughout the book is that Zizek consistently mistakes religion in its relation to the world for the Truth that religions hide as much as they invite access to. (Yes, Truth with a capital "T"! Zizek might approve of the "perverse" and contrarian capitalization-gesture, in contrast to most contemporary discourse, but not of the metaphysics behind it, I'm afraid!) If one is *truly* interested in the "perverse" theological implications of Christian doctrine, read something like Smoley's _Inner Christianity_, or someone like R. Guenon's essays on Christian metaphysics. If one is *truly* interested in Christianity's potential relations to radical/revolutionary leftist politics, read something like J. Ellul's _Anarchy and Christianity_ or V. Eller's _Christian Anarchy_. But don't make the mistake of taking Zizek the provocateur for a prophet.

Rating:
Summary: One of Zizek's least compelling works
Review: Zizek is a remarkable Lacanian cultural theorist, and his work deserves to be taken seriously; unfortunately, it is beginning to appear as if Zizek doesn't even take his own project seriously. How else can one explain the poor organization and endless series of digressions that constitute this book?

Most of Zizek's earlier books (The Sublime Object of Ideology, Looking Awry, etc.) give strong accounts how how Lacanian psychoanalysis can be used to analyze contemporary culture; in these works Zizek is never at a loss to show how pop culture can illustrate difficult concepts. The end result was usually a witty, incisive demystification of conservative capitalist ideology.

Unfortunately, "The Puppet and the Dwarf" falls far short of Zizek's past accomplishments. The anecdotes are still there, but they are piled up in a heap with no coherent thread of argument. There are interesting ideas in here about critical negativity in Christianity, but it is far too difficult to discern how Zizek's scattered insights hang together. In the end the reader winds up feeling more like s/he is the object of an intellectual confidence game than anything else.

Readers who don't already know Zizek's work are advised to start with earlier texts. Readers who do know Zizek's work should wait for something worthwhile.