Ludovico Silva (1937–1988)

Marx's Literary Style by Ludovico Silva, translated by Paco Brito Núñez, is the first English translation of this important work and a must read for those with an interest in Marx and/or Marxist thought.

I remember back in the early 90s a visiting professor told me about this book and we spent many hours discussing Marx with an eye toward what this book did to his thinking. I struggled through a reading of the original but my language skills were shabby at best. This English translation is a welcome opportunity for me to revisit those discussions and Marx more broadly.

Alberto Toscano's foreword is an excellent introduction to the text and to Silva, helping to place both in context. Between the foreword, a reader's previous understanding of Marx, and this volume by Silva a whole new way of understanding and appreciating Marx opens up. Thinking of Marx as just a philosopher, or just a scientist, or just a literary figure is to miss out on how he wrote. He was one person who happened to be those three things. We have to make the effort to understand him where these three modes meet, not through just one of them.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who has read Marx and wants to understand him better. Especially great for those who understand the bigger pictures but find some of Marx's writing to be too, well, whatever it is that might be off-putting to you. I also think those who might have an appreciation of Marx but whose main interest is in the area of writing, language, and linguistics might find some useful ideas here that will apply well beyond Marx.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (lisätietoja)