René Girard

René Girard is a member of the French Academy, Emeritus Professor at Stanford University; his books have been translated and acclaimed worldwide. He received the Modern Language Association’s Award...

James G. Williams

James G. Williams is the author of The Bible, Violence, and the Sacred and editor of The Girard Reader.

Resurrection from the Underground
Feodor Dostoevsky

René Girard

James G. Williams

In a fascinating analysis of critical themes in Feodor Dostoevsky's work, René Girard explores the implications of the Russian author's "underground," a site of isolation, alienation, and resentment. Brilliantly translated, this book is a testament to Girard's remarkable engagement with Dostoevsky’s work, through which he discusses numerous aspects of the human condition, including desire, which Girard argues is "triangular" or "mimetic" — copied from models or mediators whose objects of desire become our own. Girard's interdisciplinary approach allows him to shed new light on religion, spirituality, and redemption in Dostoevsky's writing, culminating in a revelatory discussion of the author's spiritual understanding and personal integration. Resurrection is an essential and thought-provoking companion to Dostoevsky’s Notes from the Underground.

Violence, Mimesis, and Culture Series

Edited and translated by James G. Williams Notes, References, index, maps, charts & graphs, B&W photographs 8.5 x 11 world rights 120 pp., 6.00" x 9.00", January 2012 Paper, $24.95, 1-61186-037-7 978-1-61186-037-5