Alain de Botton Criticism
Alain de Botton is a Swiss-born British novelist, essayist, and critic, renowned for blending literary criticism, philosophy, and self-help in his works to make complex ideas accessible to a broad audience. Born on December 20, 1969, in Zurich, Switzerland, de Botton studied philosophy at Cambridge University and has worked as a television reviewer and journalist. His debut novel, Essays in Love, was published in 1993 and received acclaim for its witty and insightful examination of a modern love affair, as noted by The Proper Study of Mankind Is Books. His narrative style often includes cultural allusions and a philosophical framework, as seen in works like The Romantic Movement and Kiss & Tell.
De Botton's nonfiction is equally celebrated. His book How Proust Can Change Your Life combines literary criticism and self-help, drawing on Proust's work to address modern life's challenges, an approach that prompted both praise and criticism for its accessibility and perceived simplicity. This method extends to The Consolations of Philosophy, where he applies the ideas of philosophers such as Socrates and Nietzsche to everyday problems, a concept that sparked debate among critics. Despite some criticisms, such as those mentioned in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, de Botton's work has been recognized as engaging and erudite.
De Botton's The Art of Travel further showcases his distinctive narrative style, intertwining personal experiences with reflections on the nature and benefits of travel, praised by critics for its thoughtful insights. Despite mixed reviews, including from Dr. Feelgood, his ability to meld humor, cultural references, and philosophical insights has established him as an influential figure in contemporary British literature.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Essays
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The Proper Study of Mankind Is Books
(summary)
In the following positive review, Annan finds Essays in Love to be “witty, funny, [and] sophisticated,” and asserts the book is full of insightful observations. On a BA flight from Paris to London the narrator picks up Chloe who happens to be sitting in the next seat. He takes her out to dinner, they go to bed together, fall in love and begin a serious affair. After a while Chloe loses interest. On the BA flight back from a weekend in Paris, she confesses that she has slept with the narrator's American friend Will. The narrator is devastated. Chloe follows Will to California. The narrator botches a suicide attempt (vitamin C instead of sleeping pills) and falls into a long depression from which he emerges three pages from the end while sitting next to Rachel at a dinner party. The following week and in the last paragraph, Rachel accepts his invitation to dine.
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Habits of the Heart
(summary)
In the following review, Prose finds parallels between de Botton's On Love and Stendhal's On Love, and judges de Botton's work as sharp, funny, and well written.
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Marshmallowing
(summary)
In the following review, Furbank discusses the genre and unifying thematic concerns of On Love, a first novel by a young writer living in London who has had the bright idea of tracing the course of an “ordinary” love affair—initial conflagration, ecstasies, domesticities, break-up, suicide attempt, beginning of new cycle, with new lover—breaking it up into numbered paragraphs (as in Wittgenstein's Tractatus) and enclosing it in a dense network of cultural allusions.
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Review of On Love
(summary)
In the following review, Januzzi contends that On Love is an inconsistent novel.
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The Mechanics of Love in the Nineties
(summary)
In the following mixed review of The Romantic Movement, Hiney asserts that de Botton “eschews any story line or character-drawing in favour of presenting the author as a sociological raconteur.”
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Summer Reading: A Time for Fiction and Fantasy
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Rubin lauds The Romantic Movement as witty, intelligent, and insightful.
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Portrait of a Lady and Little Else
(summary)
In the following review, Glazebrook explores the genre of Kiss and Tell, maintaining that “all deviations from the conventional forms in fiction are attempts to side-step some of the difficulties of novel-writing,” claiming de Botton both gains and loses certain elements by using a biographical method in this book.
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In Search of a Better Self
(summary)
In the following mixed review, Waugh derides How Proust Can Change Your Life, contending the work contains a contrived and patronizing tone, although she concludes the book paints a vivid picture of Marcel Proust.
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Marcel the Moralist
(summary)
In the following review, Robb discusses How Proust Can Change Your Life and the purported intent of such chapters as “How to Be a Good Friend” and “How to Suffer Successfully.”
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Tea and Empathy
(summary)
In the following review, Rakower deems How Proust Can Change Your Life a “brilliant tour de force.”
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The Power of Positive Proust
(summary)
In the following review, Allen argues that although How Proust Can Change Your Life might initially strike readers as a superficial, one-joke story, it is a serious, complex work that offers useful insights.
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How Proust Can Change Your Life
(summary)
In the following mixed assessment, Schenk explores stylistic aspects of How Proust Can Change Your Life.
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Comforting, but Meaningless
(summary)
In the following negative review, Skidelsky contends that The Consolations of Philosophy fails because “the conception of philosophy that it promotes is a decadent one, and can only mislead readers as to the true nature of the discipline.”
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A Guided Tour Round Wisdom
(summary)
In the following review, Ferris examines the major philosophical figures discussed in The Consolations of Philosophy. This stroll through the lives and works of half a dozen philosophers is engagingly done, and as a bonus the publisher promises that the book will help us with ‘some of our most familiar woes’.
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Alain and Me
(summary)
In the following review, Delingpole provides a laudatory assessment of de Botton's television series, Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness.
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Dr. Feelgood
(summary)
In the following review, Brownrigg asserts that de Botton's anti-philosophical approach in The Consolations of Philosophy does not do justice to his subject matter.
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Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
(summary)
In the following negative review of The Consolations of Philosophy, McCabe argues that de Botton's attempt to make philosophy practical and more accessible fails.
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Review of The Consolations of Philosophy
(summary)
In the following review, Miller maintains that The Consolations of Philosophy provides an invaluable insight into philosophical thought and deems the book enjoyable and worthwhile. Alain de Botton believes we should use philosophy in daily living, that ideas from philosophy can provide consolation for a variety of typical human complaints such as inadequacy and unpopularity. In The Consolations of Philosophy, de Botton backs up his argument with the writings of six well-known philosophers: Sophocles, Epicurus, Seneca, Montaigne, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche. To my surprise, I found that this book exploded several of my misconceptions regarding the philosophers in question.
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Review of The Consolations of Philosophy
(summary)
In the following review, the critic offers a mixed assessment of The Consolations of Philosophy. De Botton, enfant terrible of the upper crust literary set in Britain, has produced a mildly entertaining discourse on the usefulness of Western philosophy. His gentle and unassuming analyses are a mixed lot. For example, Socratic questioning may well help us to rationally test cultural assumptions and norms, but De Botton's one-dimensional portrayal of Socrates provides none of the emotional depth necessary to construct a satisfying 'consolation of unpopularity.' His discussion of poverty, which centers on a lovely analysis of Epicurus' life, is much more successful. The other sections—Montaigne as the source of consolation for inadequacy, Schopenhauer as consolation for broken heart, etc.—are rarely successful, although each is written with considerable wit and charm. Helping readers to understand the deep connections between philosophical abstractions and issues of deep concern in their own lives is an important task. Unfortunately, De Botton's work is not nearly as edifying as he takes it to be. One hopes that this volume—as well as the popular companion British television series—will lead De Botton's many admirers to consult their libraries for the genuine article.
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How to Be Postmodern: The Fiction of Julian Barnes and Alain de Botton
(summary)
In the following essay, Gitzen compares the works of de Botton, particularly How Proust Can Change Your Life, with the fiction of Julian Barnes.
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Don't Be Ashamed to Go on a Bus Tour
(summary)
In the following review, Morris views The Art of Travel as “an elegant and entertaining evocation of all the sensations of travel,” and as a manual for maximizing the travel experience.
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Financial Alarm under the Palms
(summary)
In the following review, Kobak places The Art of Travel within de Botton's literary oeuvre and praises his unconventional approach to his subject matter.
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Review of The Art of Travel
(summary)
In the following review, Plate compliments de Botton's “light, humorous prose” in The Art of Travel, but feels that the author's comparisons between art and travel are often “contradictory.”
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The Proper Study of Mankind Is Books
(summary)
- Further Reading