Book, Soul and forms, A: essays[LS]

Language: Brazilian Portuguese. The writings that make up The Soul and Forms not only assured the young Lukács – along with authors such as Karl Kraus and Rudolf Kassner, Walter Benjamin and Ernst Bloch, Siegfried Kracauer and Theodor Adorno – a prominent place in a time of unique flowering of the form essays in Central Europe, but also represent one of the most original and provocative theoretical contributions of the beginning of the 20th century. An expression of a personal crisis and, at the same time, of a commitment to decipher a turning point in the history of modern culture, The Soul and Forms exerted an influence on the Thomas Mann of Death in Venice, the Benjamin of Origin of the German tragic drama and Bloch from The Spirit of Utopia. Stylistically brilliant, Lukács's essays also draw attention to the issues raised around the theory of literary genres, as evidenced by reflections on tragedy, the novel and the form of the essay itself. Opposing both the narrowness of positivism's perspectives and the triviality of impressionist criticism, the young Lukács here develops a subtle and radical theoretical perspective. No one has managed to understand and embody the essence of the essay as deeply as the author of The Soul and the Forms at the same time.Miguel VeddaUniversidad de Buenos Aires