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The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property
 
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The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property (Paperback)

by Lewis Hyde (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage Books; 1st Vintage Books ed edition (9 Aug 1988)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0394715195
  • ISBN-13: 978-0394715193
  • Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 13.7 x 2.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 425,696 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

"The best book I know of for talented but unacknowledged creators. . . . A masterpiece." --Margaret Atwood
"No one who is invested in any kind of art . . . can read "The Gift" and remain unchanged." --David Foster Wallace

"Few books are such life-changers as "The Gift": epiphany, in sculpted prose." --Jonathan Lethem
"A manifesto of sorts for anyone who makes art [and] cares for it." --Zadie Smith
"This long-awaited new edition of Lewis Hyde's groundbreaking and influential study of creativity is a cause for across-the-board celebration." --Geoff Dyer



Synopsis

Examines the concept of gifts in anthropological terms and uses this approach to analyze the situation of creative artists and their gifts to society.

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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
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Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An unusually memorable book., 25 Jan 1999
By A Customer
I read this more than five years ago. It is scholarly but well written. When I finished it, I wondered how practical it would be. In the last five years, I have thought about it several times. I cannot say that about 90% of the books I have read.

I believe it is a good example of "history of ideas" literature. It is a deconstruction of the notion of economics and commerce. By focusing on the narrow subject of gift giving, it opens the window to a critical understanding of common ideas like "interest," "usury," and "economic community." After all, what makes up a global economy? How do people bind themselves to "beliefs" that enable cooperation.

The book is not prescriptive. Instead, it is provocative to the extent that it challenges assumptions. I recommend it to the reader who is looking for an intellectual escape into the historically possible.

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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Very educating and thought provoking, 5 Oct 2004
This review is from: The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property (Paperback)
Lewis Hyde extends the application of the anthropological notion of the gift into to the area of creative arts, with particular (but not exclusive) reference to poetry. Hyde argues that the legacy of gift giving can be found in the organisation of the artistic field. For him the gift represents 'erotic property', which means that it points to the attributes of emotional attachment and cultural unity, and its exchange and transfer do not follow the strict logic of rational thinking. A great deal of examples from anthropological literuture and everyday practice are brought in to support the analysis.

This text will be of great use to anyone interested in the issues of creativity and arts, and the history of ideas. The anthropology of the gift is well explained in the starting sections of the book, making it accessible to those with no prior athropological knowledge. The positive sides of gift-giving are discussed, however I found Hyde's approach a bit too romantic, although extremely engaging. So, try to stay critical when reading this book.
The cover says that the book will be useful for artists who are worried about 'selling their souls' to the culture industry. I don't know about that, but this is definitely a great text for students of cultural analysis and social theory and anyone interested in the questions of creativity and arts.

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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, 3 Sep 1998
By A Customer
This is a wonderful book discussing the cycle of gift in myth, fables, the modern world and poetry and art.

It is surprising and refreshing. Well worth the read.

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