Once in a while, a book comes along that haunts the mind and soul–not in a ghostly sense, but as a persistent reminder that something important and universal has been said, something that makes us feel less alone.
Silence in the Age of Noise by Erling Kagge is the kind of book. In the short span of 143 pages, Kagge shares his personal kinship with silence.
“The quieter I became, the more I heard,” the author says.
ABOUT SILENCE
What is silence?
Where can it be found?
Why is it now more important than ever?
In this astonishing and transformative meditation, Erling Kagge, famed Norwegian explorer and the first person to reach the South Pole alone, explores the silence around us, the silence within us, and the silence we must create. By recounting his own experiences and discussing the observations of poets, artists, and explorers, Kagge shows us why silence is essential to our sanity and happiness—and how it can open doors to wonder and gratitude.
“We exist, but few of us actually live…”
“Even if we were to live for a thousand years, our lives would feel short if we threw away the time we actually had at our disposal,” Kagge reminds us. “We exist, but few of us actually live, argued Seneca two thousand years ago. ‘Life is very short and anxious for those who forget the past, neglect the present, and fear the future. When they come to the end of it, the poor wretches realize too late that for all this time they have been preoccupied in doing nothing.'”
Kagge quotes a number of artists, musicians, and writers challenging us to listen to the silence. His own observations are equally stunning. “If you listen, there is something being said to you, and that is what you write down,” he says. “What comes to you externally has already been told. That which is vital, which is unique, is already within you.”
Silence is not empty.
The author agrees with Jon Fosse that you must “pull yourself back to a peace within yourself.”
In reading this amazing book, one comes to understand that silence is not empty, that when we are exposed to silence, our minds and thoughts expand outwards.
Put your cell phone down. Don’t talk to anyone for a day or two, pick up the book, Silence, and see what you discover about yourself.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Explorer, lawyer, art collector, publisher, and author, ERLING KAGGE is the first person to have completed the Three Poles Challenge on foot—the North Pole, the South Pole, and the summit of Mount Everest. He has written six previous books on exploration, philosophy, and art collecting, and runs Kagge Forlag, a publishing company based in Oslo, where he lives.
PRAISE
“As much an object as book, something to be handled and savored…. I too remember crunching over ice at the South Pole—though I had not walked there like the author—and thinking about the ethereal quality of silence that the owned world cannot give (no country owns the Antarctic). Erling Kagge captures that wonder on the page.” —Wall Street Journal
“A series of lyrical vignettes. . . . Kagge is clearly qualified to write about the soul-reviving benefits of quiet.” —O, The Oprah Magazine
“Kagge . . . writes in a chatty, accessible style and with a healthy dose of humor. . . . Silence . . . offers thoughtful meditations.” —The Minneapolis Star Tribune
“An extraordinarily calming book . . . just the tonic when things get hectic.” —The Irish Times
“A simply extraordinary book anyone with a smart-phone or a social media account would do well to read—and heed.” —Trail Magazine
“A joyful celebration of what feels like a precious resource that is . . . in too short supply.” —On Air, NPR
“The book both contemplates the various forms of silence around and within us, and offers solutions for finding such silence amidst endless interruptions and opportunities for distraction….With a sense of awe, Kagge wanders rather than narrates, moving intuitively between philosophy, science, and personal experience….It’s always good to be reminded of ancient truths. And with Silence, Kagge provides a much-needed reminder.” —Los Angeles Review of Books
“An eloquent and persuasive argument for the significance of silence, in all of its forms, from an author who has explored the limits of the human experience.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Searing and soaring….For Kagge, silence is more than the absence of sound: it is the incubator for thought, the conscious eradication of external distraction, and the ability to live in one’s own mind as fully as one lives in the physical world. Infused with powerfully evocative art and photographs that enhance his salient concepts, Kagge’s treatise on this endangered commodity provides an intriguing meditation for mindful readers.” —Booklist
