Name: Henri Bergson
Year Won: 1927
Read: The Meaning of War
Original Language: French
Reason: "in recognition of his rich and vitalizing ideas and the brilliant skill with which they have been presented"
About: This is a fairly short essay on war...mostly why it was a great thing that France was involved in WWI. Supposedly (according to things I've read online), it discusses war in a new philosophical light. But I didn't really see that. (Maybe because all of this is old hat by now?) Mostly it seemed remarkably gung ho about a war that was really awful for everyone involved.
What I liked: I honestly didn't like this. At all. The only thing I can see is that maybe it was very novel during its time.
What I Disliked: It seemed very rah rah rah about war, which is...odd. I didn't pick up much of a meaning other than "well, I guess when you're attacked, you have to fight back" which...duh? It seemed more like something you'd see on a recruiter's table than something written by a great writer/philosopher.
Should it have won a Nobel: Bergson wrote a lot else so...maybe? But based on this one selection, no.
Next up: Sigrid Undset's "Kristin Lavransdottir"
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