Books › Conquest of the useless
Conquest of the useless
306 pages
A feverish, introspective plunge into the inner landscapes of a mind consumed by the delirium of the jungle.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping into a fever dream where the boundaries between the mind and the jungle dissolve. It is not a straightforward account of filmmaking, nor is it a traditional diary; instead, it offers a meandering, deeply introspective journey through the author's inner landscapes. The prose is steeped in the delirium of the Peruvian jungle, creating an atmosphere that is at once surreal, intense, and profoundly untethered. The tone oscillates between philosophical uncertainty and raw, psychological obsession, capturing the emotional toll of a monumental artistic undertaking. It will captivate readers who are drawn to unconventional, atmospheric reflections on creation, nature, and the extreme edges of human endurance, offering a visceral rather than literal experience.
- Mood
- delirious
- surreal
- jungle-drenched
- intense
- Tone
- introspective
- feverish
- uncertain
- philosophical
- Pace
- meandering
- Themes
- artistic obsession · inner landscapes · the psychological toll of creation · nature's delirium
- The writing
- Poetic and untethered, reading less like a literal journal and more like a map of a delirious mind.
- The arc
- A descent into the feverish depths of the mind, mirroring the overwhelming delirium of the jungle.
- Who it's for
- Readers fascinated by the psychological extremes of artistic creation and the surreal atmosphere of the Peruvian jungle.
Content notes
- psychological distress
About the book
"Originally published in Germany as [sic] Der Eroberung des Nutzlosen by Carl Hanser Verlag in 2004"--T.p. verso.
"These texts are not reports on the actual filming [of Fitzcarraldo]--of which little is said. Nor are they journals, except in a very general sense. They might be described instead as inner landscapes, bortn of the delirium of the jungle. But even that may not be entirely accurate--I am not sure."--preface by Werner Herzog, Jan. 2004.
Description from Open Library.
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