The Enigma of Anger: Essays on a Sometimes Deadly Sin

by Garret Keizer

Rage, resentment, envy, jealousy, and hatred― these emotions seem to dominate our times. They rule our highways, our workplaces, our homes, and our hearts. In this provocative book of essays, writer Garret Keizer considers anger in all its baffling forms. Poignantly aware of his own temper, and of his ties to a religion that glorifies meekness, the author looks at anger as a paradox in our struggle to remain human in the midst of an infuriating world. Interweaving personal anecdotes, mythological stories, sacred texts, and Keizer's insightful observations, The Enigma of Anger will prove a welcome companion for anyone who has ever wrestled with wrath-or wished to make better use of it.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Religion, Essays, Theology

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Garret Keizer is the author of eight books, the most recent of which are Getting Schooled and Privacy. A contributing editor of Harper's Magazine and a Guggenheim Fellow, he has written for Lapham's Quarterly, the Los Angeles Times, Mother Jones, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Village Voice, and Virginia Quarterly Review, among other publications.

You can learn more about Keizer's work and also contact him at his website:

http://www.garretkeizer.com

The website of his current publisher is here:

http://us.macmillan.com/author/garret...

Reviews

[Lisa Beaulieu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this author. I picked the book up because I have a terrible time with anger myself, but what I found was so much more than a guide or how to book. Each chapter is it's own intelligent and deep essay unto itself. His prose is beautiful, his intelligence profound - he's our generations CS Lewis. Well, I better wait until I read more of his books before I make such a rash statement! And I do indeed intend to read the rest of his books.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading one guy examining his struggles with anger while referencing personal experience and great literature was, unsurprisingly, appealing to me. Each chapter is relatively short, so an easy bite-sized read for when I had time, despite the language being dense and, frankly, sometimes more erudite than was necessary (though it worked for me!). Every conceivable root of anger is examined. This book won't appeal to all readers--it's written with Christian audiences in mind, though from my reading Keizer falls on the progressive end, theologically. There's certainly still insights here for non-Christians (at one point he's comparing Saul and Agamemnon as literary figures), and conservative Christians, but each individual will need to decide if this book is helpful for them over other secular/devotional choices. If you are not a frequent reader of philosophy/theology/classic literature, you're less likely to connect with it. For me, it worked, and I appreciated Keizer's nuanced look at anger and its purpose as an emotion, rather as something that is All. Bad. All. The. Time.

[Millie Rose Carpenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book captured my attention, and I’d recommend it to everyone. Anger is an emotion, especially in church circles, that is often swept under the rug, or that we like to blame on the actions of others when we find it in ourself. But maybe it is in us for a reason. I’ll be rereading this book many times I think.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Garret Keizer, an Episcopalian minister from Vermont, has written a fantastic analysis on Anger. I enjoyed most his perceptions that humanize anger from both a philosophical and a secular perspective. Upon finishing this book, I accept my anger and feel that I better understand it.

[Nick Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great group of essays by a fantastic writer that it’s great to discover. As a pastor and person learning to experience and express anger well, it’s good to meet with a pastor and writer very familiar with his own anger. (This deserves a longer review.)

[Bill DeGenaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Anger in the face of injury is a mechanism for survival, no less than the clotting of our blood. Forgiveness is the scar, and it comes later. Anger comes first, and like all created things, it is good."

Living without both: "[R]epeatedly entering a situation in which the flesh and blood people around us are less real to us and we to them than the phantoms occupying our attention."

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theology is not my favorite thing to read, but I will gladly immerse myself in the thoughts of Keizer, a Vermont teacher and writer, whatever his subject matter. Keizer wrestles with anger himself, trying to balance righteous rage with what's traditionally one of the seven deadly sins. Although this is a serious work, the writing is easy to appreciate.

[Bob]

A poetic, philosophical take on understanding and (in some cases) redeeming anger, a book filled with unique insight and wisdom.