==Source==Žižek, S. (1997) The Plague of Fantasies, London and New York: Verso.{{BBSZ}}
=Review by ====Book Description=====[http[Image://wwwThe.lacanPlague.com/zizekchro2Of.htm Tony MyersFantasies.jpg|200px|thumb|Book Cover]]=This is an extended explanation of the psychoanalytical concept offantasy. The 'plague' of the title refers '[[Zizek]] returns to the deluge untangle a heady mix of pseudo-concreteimages which Žižek places in an antagonistic relationship to the evergreater abstractions which determine our lives. As part of this discus-sion, Žižek advances one of his most considered analyses of cyberspacewhich, he avows, threatens to abolish the dimension of Symbolic virtu-ality. Given that [[fantasy plays such a key role in Žižek]] and [[ideology]]''s anatomy ofthe human condition, the first chapter here - which is a seven-pointclarification of the concept - is a particularly valuable addition to theŽižekian corpus, making this one of the books most suited to a first-time Žižek reader. As an added enticement, this work also containsŽižek's famous Hegelian analysis of German, French and English toiletdesigns.
{{Footer Books “The Giant of [[Ljubljana]] provides the best [[intellectual]] high since Anti-[[Oedipus]].” — ''[[Voice]] [[Literary]] [[Supplement]]'' With his idiosyncratic blend of [[ideas]] from [[Lacan]] and [[Hegel]], the Slovenian [[philosopher]] [[Slavoj Žižek}}Zizek]] has emerged as one of the most original thinkers of our [[time]]. Never [[missing]] an opportunity to recount a revealing anecdote or [[joke]] his [[writing]] is as entertaining as it is informative. In his latest book, Zizek approaches [[Categoryanother]] enormous [[subject]] with characteristic brio. The current epoch is, he claims, plagued by phantasms. There is an intensifying [[antagonism]] between the ever greater abstraction of our lives … whether in the [[form]] of [[digitalization]] or [[market]] relations and the deluge of pseudo-[[concrete]] [[images]] which surround us. Traditional critical [[thought]] traces the connections between abstract notions and concrete [[social]] [[reality]]:Slavoj Žižekbut today, Zizek suggests, the correct procedure is the [[inverse]] … to [[work]]from pseudo-concrete imagery towards the abstract. Ranging in his examples from national differences in toilet [[design]] to cybersex, and from intellectuals' responses to the Bosnian war to [[Robert Schumann]]'s [[music]], Zizek explores the relations between fantasy and ideology, the way in which fantasy animates [[enjoy]]-ment while protecting against its excesses, the [[associations]] of the [[notion]] of [[fetishism]] with fantasized [[seduction]], and the ways in which digitalization and [[Categorycyberspace]] [[affect]] the status of [[subjectivity]]. To the already initiated, The Plague of [[Fantasies]] will be a welcome reminder of why they enjoy Zizek's writing so much. For new readers, it will be the beginning of a long and meaningful [[relationship]]. =====Product Details====={| style="width:100%; border:1px solid #aaa;text-align:left; line-height:2.0em; padding-left:Works by 10px;"|width="100%"| [[Slavoj Žižek|Zizek, Slavoj]]. '''''[[The Plague of Fantasies|The Plague of Fantasies (Wo Es War)]]'''''. [[London]]; New York: Verso. October 1997, Hardcover, 248 pages, [[Language]]: [[English]], ISBN: 1859848575. <small>Buy it at [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1859848575/nosubject-20/ Amazon.com], [Categoryhttp:Works//www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/1859848575/nosub07-20/ Amazon.ca], [http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/1859848575/nosub-21/ Amazon.de], [http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1859848575/nosubjencyofl-21/ Amazon.co.uk]or [http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/ASIN/1859848575/nosub04-21/ Amazon.fr]</small> or Verso. November 1997, Paperback, 248 pages, Language: English, ISBN: 1859841937. <small>Buy it at [Categoryhttp:Books//www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1859841937/nosubject-20/ Amazon.com], [http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/1859841937/nosub07-20/ Amazon.ca], [http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/1859841937/nosub-21/ Amazon.de], [Categoryhttp:Psychoanalysis//www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1859841937/nosubjencyofl-21/ Amazon.co.uk]or [http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/ASIN/1859841937/nosub04-21/ Amazon.fr].</small>|} {{CBBSZ}}
