Slavoj Zizek: Live Theory

This is an amazing book. I wholeheartedly recommend it. I truly want to commend Rex Butler… i was very impressed with his writing style… it seems clear to me that Butler is an amazing theorist.Butler has an amazing ability to stay focused on extremely complex topics. The book’s main focus is the “master signifier”, “object a”, the “act”. The master signifier and its relationships with “object a” and the “act” is extraordinarily complex!!!!!! Nevertheless, Butler handles it extremely intelligently.This book provides a very measured exploration and assessment of Zizekian theory. It possibly explains what it is to be Zizekian….it possibly summarizes Zizek’s entire theoretical oeuvre (at least up until 2004)… but it does not do so pre-maturely… it leads up to it painstakingly.Bottom line: this book is groundbreaking in its theoretical explorations. It carves out diamonds of theory.Butler offers extraordinary insights into Zizekian theory. Butler is a master of Zizekian theory.*caution: the reader needs to be familiar with Lacanian terminology (i.e. The Real, the Symbolic, the Imaginary, the phallus (and its non literal meaning), object a, etc.). Familiarity with Marxism would help also, but is probably not as important as Lacanian terminology. I cannot really describe this as an introductory text to Zizek. Rather it dives extraordinarily deep (all the way to the bottom!) to very select aspects of Zizekian theory….arguably the most important aspects of Zizekian theory. This is not beach reading!!!(lol, I agree with Paula Murphy’s and (in part) Roderick Nicholls’ reviews…. Butler achieved something phenomenal with this book)I feel a lot smarter and more enlightened because of the knowledge provided in this book. Again, Rex Butler, I am truly impressed with your writing style and ability to grapple with such complex topics. Butler was lucid throughout the book. This book was definitely a challenge, but it was worth it!!!! This is an amazing book. Thank you Rex Butler, thank you Slavoj Zizek.