Krell, David Farrell. The cudgel and the caress: reflections on cruelty and tenderness. SUNY Press, 2019. 340p index ISBN 9781438472973, $95.00

  Reviewed for Choice Magazine by Ronald F. White, Ph.D.

This scholarly book documents the author’s “reflections” on the themes of “cruelty and tenderness.” His reflections have been shaped by years of scholarly research in Continental (German and French) philosophy, literature, poetry, and psychoanalysis. Part One (Ch. 1-6) explores “Tenderness”; Part Two (Ch. 7-10) covers “Cruelty.” This “reflection” includes references to: Sophocles, Aristotle, Kant, Holderlin, Schelling, Hegel, Heidegger, Freud, Schlegel, Nietzsche, and Derrida. Because this book documents the evolution of the author’s scholarly interpretation of so many authors, it generates enormous complexity. It’s Introduction (7 pages) does little to decode this complexity. The narrative is also rife with italicized terms in both German and French languages. The intended audience for this book is extraordinarily narrow; scholarly specialists dedicated to the history of Continental philosophy, literature, poetry, and psychoanalysis. Critics will observe that there is no attempt to broaden the book’s scholarly appeal by integrating the recent findings of the social science(s) and/or biology.  This scholarly book is too narrowly focused and technical for popular audiences, undergraduate students, or graduate students. If you already know what a “cudgel” was used for, and how it relates to cruelty, you might appreciate this reflection.