Critical games
On play and seriousness in academia, literature and life
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'It is unusual - perhaps even shocking - to write in praise of a book in which you are one of the characters. But this book is itself so unusual that I feel authorised to commit this transgression. In its exploration of literary works, writers' poses, and what one can say about them, Critical games marries deep seriousness with a playfulness whose vivacity sometimes borders on perversity - and I know what I am talking about. Constantly personal and unpredictable, this book explodes all academic frames and expectations. One reads it with growing curiosity, occasionally with a touch of irritatio...
'It is unusual - perhaps even shocking - to write in praise of a book in which you are one of the characters. But this book is itself so unusual that I feel authorised to commit this transgression. In its exploration of literary works, writers' poses, and what one can say about them, Critical games marries deep seriousness with a playfulness whose vivacity sometimes borders on perversity - and I know what I am talking about. Constantly personal and unpredictable, this book explodes all academic frames and expectations. One reads it with growing curiosity, occasionally with a touch of irritation, but always with the greatest pleasure.' >Critical Games is about the games we play (knowingly or not), the ways we play them (for fun, but also to win, and to gain approval from others), and what happens when they get out of hand. With readings of a range of cultural texts, from the Ancient Greeks to contemporary auto-fiction, it pinpoints what is critical in games and game-playing. Games and play are often seen as unserious, even childish. But many of our occupations and interactions are structured like games, with rules and rituals that make sense only once we agree to play them, or that seem incomprehensible if we do not realise we are already playing. This book develops and interrogates theories of play and gaming, from Huizinga to Bourdieu, with a particular focus on the games played by literary critics and literary authors. Drawing on (often self-critical) autobiography, as well as readings in texts across a range of languages, Tim Beasley-Murray plays with academic conventions to highlight what is at stake in them, turning to the Game of Literature, from Kafka to Carrère, to seek models and warnings of the outcomes of taking games too seriously, or not taking them seriously enough.
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