Born of a terrible insomnia—"a dizzying lucidity which would turn even
paradise into hell"—this book presents the youthful Cioran, a self-
described "Nietzsche still complete with his Zarathustra, his poses, his
mystical clown's tricks, a whole circus of the heights."


On the Heights of Despair shows Cioran's first grappling with
themes he would return to in his mature works: despair and decay,
absurdity and alienation, futility and the irrationality of existence.
It also presents Cioran as a connoisseur of apocalypse, a theoretician
of despair, for whom writing and philosophy both share the "lyrical
virtues" that alone lead to a metaphysical revelation.


"No modern writer twists the knife with Cioran's dexterity. . . . His writing . . . is informed with the bitterness of genuine compassion."—Bill Marx, Boston Phoenix


"The dark, existential despair of Romanian philosopher Cioran's short
meditations is paradoxically bracing and life-affirming. . . . Puts him in the company of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard."—Publishers Weekly, starred review


"This is self-pity as epigram, the sort of dyspeptic pronouncement that
gets most people kicked out of bed but that has kept Mr. Cioran going
for the rest of his life."—Judith Shulevitz, New York Times Book
Review


Emil M. Cioran (1911-1995) is the author of numerous works, including
The Fall into Time, A Short History of Decay, and Tears and
Saints..