What do you think?
Rate this book
Nietzsche il nichilista
Alla scuola pubblica di Wokingham è l’ora della Vecchia Talpa, la professoressa di economia con i suoi immancabili grafici sui titoli di stato, l’andamento delle Borse, la bolla immobiliare. Che cosa significano? chiede, sorridendo torva.
Art, Paula, Merv, Chandra, apocalittici studenti dell’ultimo anno, avanzano le loro catastrofiche iperinflazione, stagflazione, dispotismo finanziario, distruzione delle risorse, e poi fascismo, guerre commerciali, guerre vere… La Vecchia Talpa continua a sorridere torva. E cosa si può fare?
Il nuovo arrivato alza la mano. Viene dal Trafalgar College. Roba seria, edifici eleganti, giardini eleganti, elegantemente recintati per tenere fuori i proletari. Roba distante un continente intero da Wokingham e dalla sua scuola di periferia. Sembra uno che ha carisma, il nuovo, anzi uno a cui non interessa avere carisma e che, proprio per questo, ha carisma. Niente, dice, che vada tutto in malora, è l’economia il problema, l’economia svaluta tutto ciò che ha importanza.
Così si annuncia al piccolo gruppo degli apocalittici protagonisti di queste pagine il più apocalittico di tutti Nietzsche il nichilista, il ragazzo il cui bisogno primario è non essere morto e non portarsi in spalla il cadavere di un mondo che, secondo lui, è in irreparabile rovina.
È un incontro fatale per Art, Paula, Merv e Chandra. Loro non sono come gli sfigati insaziabili e inerti che stanno sempre a controllare il telefono, sempre a ingozzarsi, a consumare; loro vogliono sollevare le pietre, mettere in discussione tutto, senza lasciare intatto niente. Hanno una band e vorrebbero fare qualcosa di nuovo, suonare la fine delle cose, la musica delle ceneri, la musica dopo la musica. Per questo vorrebbero diventare filosofi, filosofi di periferia, filosofi di Wokingham e della valle del Tamigi! Che Nietzsche sia il loro uomo, venuto ad aprire il cuore della tempesta nichilista?
Con disincantata ironia, Nietzsche il nichilista narra della gioventù ribelle in un’epoca in cui lo spirito della ribellione ha a che fare con un mondo in cui «nulla è più vero del nulla».
«Un inno per i giovani ribelli, un libro esilarante e toccante sull’amicizia». NPR
«Maliziosamente divertente».San Francisco Chronicle
«Sto ancora sorridendo, e sono passati giorni». Los Angeles Times
«Mi ha fatto sentire meglio di fronte all’Apocalisse, cosa che non mi capitava da secoli». Hari Kunzru
«Iyer padroneggia il registro della satira e dell’elegia. Narra con struggente ironia della vita intellettuale e della sua erosione». New York Times
«Lirico e spesso commovente».Times Literary Supplement
Art, Paula, Merv, Chandra, apocalittici studenti dell’ultimo anno, avanzano le loro catastrofiche iperinflazione, stagflazione, dispotismo finanziario, distruzione delle risorse, e poi fascismo, guerre commerciali, guerre vere… La Vecchia Talpa continua a sorridere torva. E cosa si può fare?
Il nuovo arrivato alza la mano. Viene dal Trafalgar College. Roba seria, edifici eleganti, giardini eleganti, elegantemente recintati per tenere fuori i proletari. Roba distante un continente intero da Wokingham e dalla sua scuola di periferia. Sembra uno che ha carisma, il nuovo, anzi uno a cui non interessa avere carisma e che, proprio per questo, ha carisma. Niente, dice, che vada tutto in malora, è l’economia il problema, l’economia svaluta tutto ciò che ha importanza.
Così si annuncia al piccolo gruppo degli apocalittici protagonisti di queste pagine il più apocalittico di tutti Nietzsche il nichilista, il ragazzo il cui bisogno primario è non essere morto e non portarsi in spalla il cadavere di un mondo che, secondo lui, è in irreparabile rovina.
È un incontro fatale per Art, Paula, Merv e Chandra. Loro non sono come gli sfigati insaziabili e inerti che stanno sempre a controllare il telefono, sempre a ingozzarsi, a consumare; loro vogliono sollevare le pietre, mettere in discussione tutto, senza lasciare intatto niente. Hanno una band e vorrebbero fare qualcosa di nuovo, suonare la fine delle cose, la musica delle ceneri, la musica dopo la musica. Per questo vorrebbero diventare filosofi, filosofi di periferia, filosofi di Wokingham e della valle del Tamigi! Che Nietzsche sia il loro uomo, venuto ad aprire il cuore della tempesta nichilista?
Con disincantata ironia, Nietzsche il nichilista narra della gioventù ribelle in un’epoca in cui lo spirito della ribellione ha a che fare con un mondo in cui «nulla è più vero del nulla».
«Un inno per i giovani ribelli, un libro esilarante e toccante sull’amicizia». NPR
«Maliziosamente divertente».San Francisco Chronicle
«Sto ancora sorridendo, e sono passati giorni». Los Angeles Times
«Mi ha fatto sentire meglio di fronte all’Apocalisse, cosa che non mi capitava da secoli». Hari Kunzru
«Iyer padroneggia il registro della satira e dell’elegia. Narra con struggente ironia della vita intellettuale e della sua erosione». New York Times
«Lirico e spesso commovente».Times Literary Supplement
Kindle Edition
First published December 3, 2019
36 people are currently reading
652 people want to read
About the author
Lars Iyer
11 books99 followersLars Iyer is the author of the novel Wittgenstein Jr (2014). He has also written a trilogy of novels – Spurious, Dogma and Exodus. Iyer has also written two scholarly books on the work of Maurice Blanchot. He teaches philosophy at Newcastle University in the UK.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
July 31, 2023
In una scuola della provincia inglese arriva un ragazzo nuovo in una classe all’ultimo anno; durante una lezione d’economia fa un’uscita nichilista e dice di chiamarsi Nietzsche; subito diviene amico d’un quartetto dei suoi nuovi compagni di classe: il narratore, Chandra, un ragazzo di origine pachistana; Paula, che è lesbica; Merv, che è gay; e Art, che sarebbe eterosessuale (come Chandra) ma non riesce a combinare niente con le ragazze: anzi, se ne ha l’occasione scappa. E qui la casistica ricorda dappresso, ahimè, le categorie delle barzellette: ci sono un tedesco, un italiano e un inglese… Le quattrocento e passa pagine del romanzo consistono nel resoconto delle cose che fanno i quattro inseparabili, a volte con “Nietzsche”, a volte senza, e sono sempre cose prive di sugo e d’interesse, condite di chiacchiere abbondantissime, asfissianti; “Nietzsche”, per giunta, tiene un blog (che gli altri quattro leggono ghiottamente) fatto, per lo più, di citazione da Nietzsche (quello vero): ne deriva la sensazione, ad ogni modo, che ognuno, a voce come per iscritto, dica la sua senza badare granché a ciò che dicono gli altri. C’è poi la scuola, descritta con sarcasmo a tratti feroce: intellettualmente, in effetti, i professori non sembrano molto più maturi dei loro scolari, e sembrano aver abdicato all'idea di offrire agli allievi un'istruzione degna di questo nome; gli scolari, dal canto loro, vanno avanti per pagine e pagine a intessere proclami reboanti sul nichilismo e sui destini del mondo, credendo di avere scoperto l’America mentre hanno semplicemente scoperto l’acqua calda: esattamente come accade agli adolescenti di ogni generazione, che in effetti spesso e volentieri sono convinti di essere originalissimi laddove non fanno che inanellare frasi fatte. Curioso che ciò sia ritenuto meritevole di costituire la base per un’opera di narrativa: ma ciascuno scrittore, dopotutto, è libero di scegliersi gli argomenti che vuole. Ora, il romanzo di Iyer, che sembra piacere da matti a molti lettori anglosassoni, avrebbe pur sempre tutti gli elementi per poter essere un accattivante pezzo di amara satira sulla decadenza intellettuale e civile dell’Inghilterra odierna, sulla votaggine del capitalismo predatore, sul senso d’inutilità e disperazione che attanaglia le generazioni più giovani e meno fortunate; ma sarebbe tale se fosse un racconto di quaranta pagine anziché un romanzo di quattrocento e passa: ché, a peggiorare le cose, interviene pure la prosa del Nostro, con frasettine martellanti di mezza riga al massimo, senza il minimo cenno d’ipotassi, tutte brevi, tutte smilze, tutte misere, tutte implacabili; qualche sequenza particolarmente felice rammenta da lungi Céline o Thomas Berhard, ma le altre, cioè quasi tutte, annoiano e basta. In ogni caso, dai tempi di Evelyn Waugh o di Nancy Mitford si dev’essere guastato qualcosa nell’ironia britannica. Quanto a codesti adolescenti d’Albione, mi sentirei di consigliar loro altre letture per la loro salute mentale e spirituale: anziché Nietzsche, che non sembra giovar loro più di tanto, dovrebbero prendere in mano Marivaux, come i loro coetanei della banlieue parigina in L’esquive di Abdellatif Kechiche; oppure Orazio, come alla loro età faceva il sottoscritto. Ne avrebbero molto di guadagnato: in leggerezza e buon gusto.
August 18, 2019
Such a fun book. The author always writes his novels with hyper wordplay and characters obsessed with philosophy. This time out, he’s set the book in the English suburbs and follows a small group of students in their last weeks of school before university. I could have spent another five hundred pages with these funny, hyper articulate characters and their embrace, and sometimes misunderstanding, of the world’s bleaker philosophical writings.
March 31, 2020
Lars Iyer is one of my favourite authors and this is yet another funny, entertaining and above all intelligent novel. Who'd have thought that nihilism in the M4 corridor could be so much fun?
March 24, 2022
Reading this book was reliving so many teenage existential crises on the unwieldy emotional spectrum from Kurt Cobain to ABBA... in a good way. It was funny, smart, relatable, yet awkward, inducing eye-rolls and cringes. I did not want it to end, and I will read this again.
March 22, 2020
"But won’t the suburbs defeat philosophy? Don’t the suburbs mean the impossibility of philosophy? Won’t the suburbs mean the destruction of all philosophical inquiry, including Nietzsche’s? Won’t we have to reconcile ourselves to suburban lives? To depression and suicide attempts in the suburbs?"
The violently nihilist version of Perks of Being A Wallflower. Strange, lyrical and fast paced. Exceedingly funny. Consider this charming excerpt on parents:
"They won’t leave us alone. They round us up for photoshoots. They ask us to smile in their photoshoots. We’re being controlled and commandeered. We’re being stage-managed into their Events. Into the Great Fakery. They’re taking photos of us at birthday parties. On family days out. They’re writing paragraphs about us in Christmas cards, to be sent to their friends. We’re Teenagers, straight from central casting."
OR
"Do you hear these young people, Cecil? Sylvere says. These young people are nihilists.
Cecil cups a hand to his ear.
NIHILISTS!, Sylvere shouts, over the party noise.
Oh—I thought you said they were Antichrists, Cecil says. How disappointing."
But its poignant. And speaks to the anguish of our generation, about the loss of hope, religion and meaning, and the way its manifesting in the youngest and most vulnerable.
"We’re spoiled, we agree. We’re from a spoiled generation.
We’ve been overstimulated. Overprogrammed. Everything has been done for us. We’ve been grade-inflated. Infotained. Our teachers have been like magicians at children’s birthday parties.
We’re the most useless generation that has ever lived. The most pampered. The most unchallenged. And the most unhappy, which is the funny thing"
The violently nihilist version of Perks of Being A Wallflower. Strange, lyrical and fast paced. Exceedingly funny. Consider this charming excerpt on parents:
"They won’t leave us alone. They round us up for photoshoots. They ask us to smile in their photoshoots. We’re being controlled and commandeered. We’re being stage-managed into their Events. Into the Great Fakery. They’re taking photos of us at birthday parties. On family days out. They’re writing paragraphs about us in Christmas cards, to be sent to their friends. We’re Teenagers, straight from central casting."
OR
"Do you hear these young people, Cecil? Sylvere says. These young people are nihilists.
Cecil cups a hand to his ear.
NIHILISTS!, Sylvere shouts, over the party noise.
Oh—I thought you said they were Antichrists, Cecil says. How disappointing."
But its poignant. And speaks to the anguish of our generation, about the loss of hope, religion and meaning, and the way its manifesting in the youngest and most vulnerable.
"We’re spoiled, we agree. We’re from a spoiled generation.
We’ve been overstimulated. Overprogrammed. Everything has been done for us. We’ve been grade-inflated. Infotained. Our teachers have been like magicians at children’s birthday parties.
We’re the most useless generation that has ever lived. The most pampered. The most unchallenged. And the most unhappy, which is the funny thing"
March 11, 2020
Hilarious, touching, wonderfully wordy. A group of sixth-formers search for meaning in the suburb of Wokingham, philosophize about the meaning/meaninglessness of life in the suburbs. Sort of series of riffs on various themes.
January 25, 2020
Nietzsche and the Burbs is a book that should be savored, but you can't help but devour it like a tasty dish of pad thai. You keep reading even when you are way past full because the words and ideas are so delicious. The story revolves around a group of self-described misfits who are dear friends, love each other immensely, and enjoy riding their bikes around town.
This group of friends is finding their way through life and the last weeks of school, balancing on the edge of transition, vacillating between ennui and action. The characters spend a good deal of time complaining that there is nothing to do in the suburbs. They form a band that both embraces and counteracts nihilism.
You can't help but laugh at their jaded view of life. When Paula asks if they would want to read other people's minds, Chanda replies that he doesn't even want to read his own thoughts. Though there is plenty of despair, one of the themes that runs through the book is that life has whatever meaning you attribute to it. After an extended philosophical rants about the meaning of life and deriving a purpose through death, love-interest Noelle remarks:
"Questioning means detaching yourself from everything. It's like asking questions about swimming when you're on the side of the pool, watching everyone in the water. All the answers you want are just there, if you'd just let yourself swim."
The group thinks they have found a leader and purpose in the form of the new kid, whom they have given the moniker Nietzsche (many of the satellite characters have delightful nicknames like Bombproof, Dingus, or Old Mole). The group looks to the suburban Nietzsche for answers. They also try to derive significance of life from drugs, alcohol, music, and what any group of teenagers naturally gravitates towards: Dostoyevsky's 'The Idiot'. What they find in the end is better than what they could have imagined.
This group of friends is finding their way through life and the last weeks of school, balancing on the edge of transition, vacillating between ennui and action. The characters spend a good deal of time complaining that there is nothing to do in the suburbs. They form a band that both embraces and counteracts nihilism.
You can't help but laugh at their jaded view of life. When Paula asks if they would want to read other people's minds, Chanda replies that he doesn't even want to read his own thoughts. Though there is plenty of despair, one of the themes that runs through the book is that life has whatever meaning you attribute to it. After an extended philosophical rants about the meaning of life and deriving a purpose through death, love-interest Noelle remarks:
"Questioning means detaching yourself from everything. It's like asking questions about swimming when you're on the side of the pool, watching everyone in the water. All the answers you want are just there, if you'd just let yourself swim."
The group thinks they have found a leader and purpose in the form of the new kid, whom they have given the moniker Nietzsche (many of the satellite characters have delightful nicknames like Bombproof, Dingus, or Old Mole). The group looks to the suburban Nietzsche for answers. They also try to derive significance of life from drugs, alcohol, music, and what any group of teenagers naturally gravitates towards: Dostoyevsky's 'The Idiot'. What they find in the end is better than what they could have imagined.
April 6, 2020
get these kids some THERAPY
January 18, 2020
As I read this book, I found myself alternately cringing, laughing, nodding knowingly, and re-reading, especially the passages having to do with the characters' efforts to understand nihilism. As a "senior" (derided for their smugness and self-congratulatory attitudes at one point in the book), I feel I gained valuable insight into the minds of young people today who are facing what appears to be a bleak future. It reminded me that the world looked pretty bleak when I was at that age, myself, and that hope lies in the journey of figuring out oneself and coming to terms with life's realities. I thought the prose was sometimes too repetitive, but it reminded me of the rambling, circular conversations that people get to indulge in when they're young, especially with the right friends. I hope that people my age will discover this book and allow themselves to be transported back to a time in their lives when everything seemed daunting, uncertain, and yet, possible.
March 12, 2020
Incomparable riotous delight. Bernhard, Beckett, Blanchot, Bataille, Woolf, Golding, Wilde, Jung, Joyce, heck, all of ‘em, are twirling and cavorting under their headstones at the way Iyer pulls off this homageous reincarnation of N’s vision. Iyer’s career trajectory proofed, perfected, epitomized, proactively personalized. A genital-tickling wonder. A triumph of sensibility, wisdom and compassion. Venus in slashed jeans.
January 22, 2020
I absolutely ADORED this book. From the first sentence to the last, it was brilliant. I’ve never read anything quite like it. And that’s all I want to say apart from the fact that I’ve now got a copy of ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra’ by the side of my bed ...
Man muss noch Chaos in sich haben, um einen tanzenden Stern gebären zu können. (You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.)
Man muss noch Chaos in sich haben, um einen tanzenden Stern gebären zu können. (You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.)
January 5, 2020
This was an incredibly fun read. It captured the feeling of being in the last year of 6th form in the UK well (even though it is set today, it seems as though not too much has changed since I was at that point in time). The author is clearly as scholar of philosophy, as can seen by his non-fiction works, and this shines through in the discussions the friends have. The characters are fully formed and thoroughly engaging, and I felt like could listen to their rambling conversations on the meaning of life for a lot longer. The plot is simple but draws you in, and Iyer does a great job invoking a sense of place as well.
Also, by the end of the book I did wish it came with CD of the music Nietzsche and the Burbs played.
Also, by the end of the book I did wish it came with CD of the music Nietzsche and the Burbs played.
September 20, 2021
A whirlwind of voice, nihilism and wit. There’s an argument to be made that this isn’t much of a stretch from Iyer’s last book, Wittgenstein Jr—a group of school kids obsessed with a literary reincarnation of a famous philosopher—but it was still so much fun, I didn’t really mind. It was just such a joy to carry around with me and jump in and out of. A best mate in my bag.
I think Hari Kunzru’s review summed it up best: ‘It’s made me feel better about the Apocalypse than I have in ages.’
I think Hari Kunzru’s review summed it up best: ‘It’s made me feel better about the Apocalypse than I have in ages.’
December 31, 2021
I don’t know what this says about my teenage years, but I have never read a book which so accurately reflected the sort of conversation and thoughts I was having myself with friends and fellow band-mates during our sixth form years. And I have literally read a book by one of those real life friends about those real life days 😂
April 30, 2024
book 21
August 27, 2021
I found the absence of quotation marks in the dialogues kind of style was very disturbing. Highlighted a lot of sentences from this book because I thought they were pretty, though.
May 17, 2024
i can see y nihilist fans and enthusiasts would enjoy this but that is not me. the characters were so underdeveloped imo and they all had the same opinions and thoughts and spoke the same way, they all blended in my mind to make one collective boring group of kids. nietzsche was barely the focus of the story and i kinda wish his real name was revealed but that’s just my preference. his sole purpose was to add some kind of “twist” and newness to the group but he was barely verbal and didn’t do anything of consequence. i’m probably pinpointing all the components of nihilistic story telling/ philosophies and how they’re represented in a story but it could’ve been much better even with those dislikes of mine. and also these kids barely studied for this final exam they had so they could graduate so what was the point of making it something for the readers to look forward to?? not even the kids themselves cared about it bc after they talked about forming some kind of tribal group or whatever. 2 stars bc it was an interesting concept and i didn’t absolutely hate it. but if i’m reminded about the story in the future i’m gonna give it a 1 star
May 6, 2020
I just finished the book Nietzsche and the ‘Burbs by Lars Iyer. Overall I enjoyed it, however, sometimes the main characters were far too edgy for me. They often lament life rather than embrace it, rejecting the concept of amor fati that the real Nietzsche held so close to heart. The book is about a suburbian band of British misfits who try and make music to escape their boring lives as well as adventuring to entertain themselves. Most of the plot points, relationships, parties, whatever, are pretty normal for the YA genre, however I find they are handled with far more poetic prose. If you enjoy long flowing sentences and sardonic humor as I do, then you probably will like this book. If you aren't a fan of some what emo main characters, I would avoid. Overall, it's a well written and very original look at the coming of age genre, with some lovely turns and twists. -Sophia G. '21
April 28, 2020
The premise of the book was quite interesting - a bunch of adolescents trying to weave through life and seeking a philosophical basis to it...a greater meaning. The new kid, nicknamed Nietzsche is the centrepiece of their exploration here as he, in their eyes, embodied nihilism and its teachings. Them trying to explore these notions even with their band was amusing. I felt like their observations and conversations throughout the book had a lot of overlap, which made it slow at various points. But definitely a refreshing read. Take a journey down these adolescents’ minds and experience the cynicism that is perhaps indispensable to life today!
October 8, 2024
I think this book is not for me... I struggled with the dialogues that went nowhere and inertia and lethargy of the suburbs and how realities blended together (although I do love the suburbs)... The characters are definitely smart and the word mastery (sometimes bordering on prose poetry for me, such is the style) the author has is great, but after a while I couldn't distinguish them from each other. It constantly felt like nothing was happening... and after a while I found myself not caring... is this nihilism...
I bought it because it was on the UK bestseller for the week... and then procrastinated finishing it for 4 years :'D
I bought it because it was on the UK bestseller for the week... and then procrastinated finishing it for 4 years :'D
March 12, 2020
Incomparable riotous delight. Bernhard, Beckett, Blanchot, Bataille, Woolf, Golding, Wilde, Jung, Joyce, heck, all of ‘em, are twirling and cavorting under their headstones at the way Iyer pulls off this homageous reincarnation of N’s vision. Iyer’s career trajectory proofed, perfected, epitomized, proactively personalized. A genital-tickling wonder. A triumph of sensibility, wisdom and compassion. Venus in sliced jeans.
May 30, 2022
Delightfully edgy (for the most part) and sadly probably an accurate description of the impact of the death of God and the advent of nihilism via the lens of the kids these days. It wasn’t really prescriptive but I enjoyed that it ended with a slightly positive outlook.
Library book. Maleta said she’d found a book that’s “me”: Nietzsche and metal.
Library book. Maleta said she’d found a book that’s “me”: Nietzsche and metal.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2020
After a shaky start, I ended up really liking this book! (and by start I mean setting aside and reading another book by the same author). His sentance style is staccato at times. It 's a great book for teenage angst.
February 3, 2023
Could not hold my attention. Repetitive, with an oddly distant narrative voice. The philosophy was the best part, but not much of it. The nihilism of the adolescent characters was simply boring. Did not finish. Good title, though.
January 24, 2020
Wow, unique. Got a little long-winded, but such modern teenage insight.
February 27, 2020
This book was funny but felt long to me. I did enjoy the friend group's discussions and dynamics but it wasn't a quick read for me. Overall, I enjoyed it.
March 17, 2020
I’m not a huge fan of choppy angst-filled narrative, but I appreciate the story told.
May 4, 2020
This was not my kind of book. I didn't like the choppy writing style and lack of character development. I also found the narrative to be depressing and repetitive.
May 28, 2020
This book is pretentious and repetitive and probably not for everyone, but it did make me laugh out loud consistently during a pandemic and for that I am eternally grateful.
June 27, 2020
Odd and strange...so abstract.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews