"I am a Jew who was born and who grew up in a Catholic country; I never
had a religious education; my Jewish identity is in large measure the
result of persecution." This brief autobiographical statement is a key
to understanding Carlo Ginzburg's interest in the topic of his latest
book: distance. In nine linked essays, he addresses the question: "What
is the exact distance that permits us to see things as they are?" To
understand our world, suggests Ginzburg, it is necessary to find a
balance between being so close to the object that our vision is warped
by familiarity or so far from it that the distance becomes distorting.
Opening with a reflection on the sense of feeling astray, of
familiarization and defamiliarization, the author goes on to consider
the concepts of perspective, representation, imagery, and myth. Arising
from the theme of proximity is the recurring issue of the opposition
between Jews and Christians--a topic Ginzburg explores with an
impressive array of examples, from Latin translations of Greek and
Hebrew scriptures to Pope John Paul II's recent apology to the Jews for
antisemitism. Moving with equal acuity from Aristotle to Marcus Aurelius
to Montaigne to Voltaire, touching on philosophy, history, philology,
and ethics, and including examples from present-day popular culture, the
book offers a new perspective on the universally relevant theme of
distance.