On Balance

About this book

Balancing acts writes Adam Phillips are entertaining because they are risky but there are situations in which it is more dangerous to keep your balance than to lose it. In these exhilarating and casually brilliant essays the philosopher and psychoanalyst examines literature fairy tales works of art and case studies to reveal the paradoxes inherent in our appetites and fears. How do we know when enough is enough? Are there times when too much is just right? Why is Cinderellas biggest problem not the prince but other women? What can Richard IIIs furious sense of his own helplessness tell us of our own desires? On Balance shows Phillipss bravura gift for linking disparate ideas and the dreamers that dreamed them into something beautiful revelatory and essential.