Mourning Diary

This is a book, not an item so reviewing it here feels wrong. But, If you lost someone you loved and realized that words don't do the job of consoling you, this book will do the (sad) job, to a degree. Yes, you have to be familiar with post-modernism terminology & ideas but not to the degree that you'll be lost as a reader.This book is a must-read. I highly recommend it to mourners but not just. The book itself is a collection of notes that Roland Barthes wrote after the death of his mother but it will appeal to anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one, mother, or other.

Roland Barthes was French, so his view of death is slightly different from that of Americans, who view of death a sort of tremendous hindrance, an "infection" caught by the survivor, which must be cured or rid of - a sort of psychological dis-ease.Self-help books abound on death, particularly the death of spouses and children. There are almost no books on the death of parents, but the fact is that the death of parents (particularly if one had a close, loving relationship with the parents) is a dramatic and life-changing event. Nothing will ever be the same after the death of parents.In his diary, Barthes is open about his feelings. Often his entries are one-liners, but always are clearly expressed. It explains the feelings of a survivor moving through mourning, which is something I was grateful for, after having read so many books intended to serve as self-help models on how to overcome the feelings that come with mourning. Whether religiously-based or secular, most books for mourners can't help but bash mourners on the head just a little bit about how they "must" see the person is in "a better place," and how they should start taking steps to "move on" and away from the person that passed. They dwell on this, while softening the blow by saying that one shouldn't hurry. Prodding the mourner to stop it already, as if the mourner could stop the mourning behavior, or as if mourning were some sort of self-imposed toxic behavior, is what most books about death focus on. It can make a mourner feel a bit crazy to have this subtle get-over-it encouragement. Mourning is neither self-imposed, nor is it toxic to feel what is natural to be felt upon losing a very loved person that was an integral part of one's life.This is not a book for anyone who believes living in denial about his/her emotions and feelings is preferable, and who opts to push those feelings deeply inside him or herself to a place where these emotions can reside forever, never understood or acknowledged.This book was a relief to find.

These are the brief daily jottings of a French professor/author/philosopher about his grief over the death of his much beloved mother. As you can guess, being French and a philosopher makes the writings seem abstract to the average American, but they are nonetheless touching. From the writings he appears to be totally incompacited by his grief but apparently he was able to be quite productive in his professional life (based on the biographical comments outside of his writings) .Each page contains just a few sentences so it is a comparatively quick read. The picture of his mother holding him as a boy is quite poignant. His view of her is that she was absolutely perfect but perhaps we all have a tendency to do that in grief. Those who have grieved will relate.

Unlike a few of the recent Barthes publications his estate is digging up, this one is a gem. I'd give it five stars but I tend to save that for complete masterpieces. It could be five though. He hits on subtle feelings that elude most writers, especially on a topic such as this one, that could so easily turn corny. If you like Barthes or poetic writing and detest self-help books this one should be a great fit.

Since this is a diary, that by the way was not meant to be published, I knew going in that it would be a slightly different read than usual, but let me just say that it was a bit strange. Roland Barthes, a literary theorist, philosopher, and linguist, wrote this immediately after the trauma of his mother’s death. There were some wonderful quotes, which I’m listing below, but other than that, this was quite boring. I may have appreciated it somewhat if I was familiar with Barthes’s work.Some quotes that I liked: “The measurement of mourning: eighteen months for mourning a father, a mother.”“Paradoxically (since people say: Work, amuse yourself, see friends) it’s when we’re busy, distracted, sought out, exteriorized, that we suffer most. Inwardness, calm, solitude makes us less miserable.”“It is said that Time soothes mourning – No, Time makes nothing happen; it merely makes the emotivity of mourning pass.”

I really liked this book. More than a critical or philosophical text, this is a window to enter into Barthes' head since the moment his mother died. However, I think that this text might shed light on other Barthes's books as Camera Lucida. It is a very personal book, intimate, but with a really good reflection about life and death

Roland Barthes' Mourning Diary is the most accurate, poignant written account of how grief is experienced. Barthes does not revert to cliche or overwrought metaphor--he does not attempt to apologize for the way he experiences mourning after his mother dies. Instead, these short fragments explore the process of living that one undergoes in the presence of absence that death most acutely is. This book is a treasured companion for any thinking mind who recognizes that "grief" is often most overwhelming when there is no feeling or emotivity involved.

Some of his writing was hard for me to understand, but that is on me and not him, as it was more a result of my lack of understanding than his lack of expression. Many of his insights struck like a bolt of lightning and helped me to gain understanding as to how I was feeling after the death of Mom, with whom I was very close.

I always knew that Barthes was an interesting person, had great ideas and could write poetically; the downside is that sometimes he goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on. Not in this book he doesn't. This is a diary of Barthes' mourning for his mother, and in its clarity, brevity and poignancy it reminds me of books like 'The Little Prince'. Definitely worth a read.

A lesser known Barthes book but well worth a read. I have used it extensively for my photographic work references. Many of his writings I could personally relate to as I had recently lost my mother.

Roland Barthes is honest and raw about his experiences in grieving the loss of his beloved Mother. His experiences are definitely transferable to other grief experiences, and the lay out of this book being a page by page diary entry is easy to digest when in early stages of grief can make it difficult to concentrate for extended periods of time. I highly recommend this book.