SOLUTION 247-261 LOVE

by Ingo Niermann (editor)

In its ninth volume, the Solution series departs from its previous geopolitical focus on regions and countries. The issue becomes the infinite prospect of connection as well as transformation: this book explores the biopolitical and psychosexual topic of love. With contributions ranging from manifesto to (science) fiction, Solution 247-261: Love realizes that the past, present, and future of love is a demanding mix of charity, sex, trust, lust, economics, genetics, and cybernetics. This volume explores varying ideas of the body, the self, as a spirited micro-region with borders that cannot hold.

With contributions by Etel Adnan, Douglas Coupland, Eva Illouz, Martti Kalliala, Ben Marcus, Chus Martínez, Momus, Eva Munz, Ingo Niermann, David Pearce, Beatriz Preciado, Emily Segal, Alexander Tarakhovsky, Ignacio Vidal-Folch

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Elizabeth]

Been a while since I read this collection in it's entirety but just picked it up again to revisit Ben Marcus's First Love. This story blew my mind the first time I read it, and went on to investigate more of Marcus' work over the years, including The Age of Wire and String (which I believe is in a similar "anthropological" vein to this short story but lacks soul and was very tedious IMHO), only to be disappointed and a little cheated.
Still, I just re-read First Love and it's as gut-punching as the first time around.

From what I remember of the other writings, there is a great mixture of styles and voices that collate into a largely dystopian narrative of modern love. Recommended.