SOURCE: Review of The Consolations of Philosophy, by Alain de Botton. Antioch Review 59, no. 3 (summer 2001): 641.

In the following review, the critic offers a mixed assessment of The Consolations of Philosophy.

De Botton, enfant terrible of the upper crust literary set in Britain, has produced a mildly entertaining discourse on the usefulness of Western philosophy [The Consolations of Philosophy]. His gentle and unassuming analyses are a mixed lot. For example, Socratic questioning may well help us to rationally test cultural assumptions and norms, but De Botton's one-dimensional portrayal of Socrates provides none of the emotional depth necessary to construct a satisfying “consolation of unpopularity.” His discussion of poverty, which centers on a lovely analysis of Epicurus' life, is much more successful. The other sections—Montaigne as the source of consolation for inadequacy, Schopenhauer as consolation for broken heart, etc.—are rarely successful, although each is written with considerable wit...