This work is a brilliant polyphonic fiction on thought, eros, and the limits of philosophy, and its significance–both literary and philosophical–is undeniable. It is not just interesting but indeed captivating! – John Sallis
The novel itself is not a narrative novel. It is instead a succession of voices from the past. On the one hand, the novel reflects Hegel's philosophy, which is entirely a philosophy of reflection and declares that all human civilization has now reached the stage of self-reflection. Yet in literature it is only in the last half of our century that novels have become self-reflective monologues. Thus while the mood and language of the book belong to Hegel's time, the genre belongs to our time. – Alphonso Lingis