Kierkegaard’s "Fragments" and "Postscripts"

In a book devoted to two of Kierkegaard's most complex and philosophically challenging works, [Evans] offers an interpretation that provides an excellent general introduction to Kierkegaard for the nonspecialist without in any way compromising the challenging nature of the Climacus writings… A Kierkegaard book 'for the rest of us' that is both responsible and insightful in its treatment of Philosophical Fragments and Concluding Unscientific Postscript.

~Stephen N. Dunning, The Journal of Religion

This book attempts to unlock the Climacus section of Kierkegaard's pseudonymous literature by way of a sustained analysis of the key concepts discussed in the works: existence and the ethical, truth and subjectivity, indirect communication, guilt and suffering, irony and humor, reason and paradox, and faith and history. The perspective is sympathetic, yet critical, and Kierkegaard’s issues are considered in relation to contemporary philosophical themes and arguments.

~Philosopher’s Index

The reason this book is such a delight to read is the consummate skill with which the explication of these themes is carried out. On the one hand, even for those like this reviewer, who have been reading and writing about Kierkegaard for years, Evans has fresh insight and illuminating interpretations of the themes he discusses and their relations to each other, not occasionally but with remarkable regularity. On the other hand, he writes with a lucidity and simplicity which make this volume an ideal companion for those turning to the Fragments and Postscript for the first time.

~Merold Westphal, Faith and Philosophy

A student would find this work a valuable introduction to major emphases that Climacus shares with Kierkegaard….But the work’s greatest value may be its clear and authoritative exposition of the Postscript on the nature of religion in relation to Christianity….Recommended for academic libraries at all levels.

~Choice

This book is an invaluable companion for anyone who wishes to delve deeply into these highly technical, philosophical works of Kierkegaard.

~Thomas C. Anderson, The Modern Schoolman

Evans' book is one of the members of a very small class of books that could be called 'the best in English,' a class, perhaps, with only four or five members.

~Robert L. Perkins, Kierkegaard Newsletter