The Intimate Resistance

The Intimate Resistance is a keen, deeply beautiful reflection on the human condition in which Esquirol draws on philosophers such as Heidegger, Sartre, Camus, and Nietzsche as he develops his theory of how intimacy and a celebration of the everyday can warm, protect and guide. Interspersed with moments of beautiful, almost poetic prose that Esquirol uses to draw attention to the beauty surrounding us, this inspirational essay can, at its most intense moments, take your breath away. Already a modern classic in its original Catalan, The Intimate Resistance will change the way you look at daily life, and provide insights to be pondered for years to come.

‘Josep Maria Esquirol’s study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence, is underpinned by sound academic argument entwined with the concepts of many the world’s most important and influential philosophers and thinkers – including Arendt, Patočka, Melville, Bachelard, Sartre, Husserl, Heidegger, Levinas, Pascal, Voltaire, Camus, Deleuze, Shakespeare, Nietzsche, Freud and others – as he develops his own theories, all the while wearing his learning lightly. Intimate Resistance is a lyrical, lucid, poetic read of imaginative explorations and etymological musings conjuring visual vistas.’ —Georgia de Chamberet, Bookblast

‘Began it yesterday...written with warmth and the desire to be accessible, yet rigorous. Almost a self-help guide steeped in erudition, and set out with lucid force. Wonderful!’ —Paul Spalding-Mulcock, The Yorkshire Times

‘The author's skill lies in defining the context of such resistance. And in doing so not through an abstract approach, but by portraying, with the ingredients of philosophy, but without dogmatism, the time that we have had to live in this opulent and privileged part of the planet.’ —Sergi Pàmies, author of The Art of Wearing a Raincoat

‘Against our compulsive immediateness and hyperconnectivity, against permanent public exposition and dispersion, Esquirol proposes the pausing, talking clearing, proximity, difference, reflection, the reinvention of the gaze, the return to thought.’ —Josep Massot, La Vanguardia

‘It’s one of those books that will never go out of fashion and I dare say that his reflections will serve as a reference for future generations.’ —Lluís Foix, El Punt Avui

‘A captivating essay that focusses on stimulating, intentional reflection. And, very importantly, it is magnificently written. Don’t miss it.’ —Guillem Pufarré, El Temps

‘A philosophical essay, as deep as it is entertaining, that promotes fundamental values.’ —Josep Maria Ripoll, Serra d’Or