Wooden Eyes:Nine Reflections on Distance

An illuminating and thought-provoking study of the various meanings of distance

“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 array of examples, from Latin translations to Greek and Hebrew scriptures to Pope John Paul II’s recent apology to the Jews for anti-Semitism. Moving with equal acuity from Aristotle to Voltaire, touching on philosophy, history, philology and ethics, and including examples from present-day popular culture, Wooden Eyes offers a new perspective on the universally relevant theme of distance.