Breaking the spell on the iconic work of Reza Negarestani “Cyclonopedia”

Abstract

This article is dedicated to rational interpretation of the novel “Cyclonopedia” by the Iranian philosopher and writer Reza Negarestani, which particularly draws attention of the young audience. The author believes that it is impossible to grasp such works without interpretation and reconstruction of their themes and contents. Implementing the claimed approach, the author discusses the crucial topic of openness in the novel and peculiarities of the poetics of “Cyclonopedia”. There are two different understandings of openness described by R. Negarestani: one that is attributed to common forms of sociality, proclaiming freedom and open relationships in one or another way; and “epidemic openness”, which overtakes a person, even against his will, and destroys him. The author analyzes the concept of openness, suggesting that on the one hand, the external can be interpreted as listening to the trends of the “futureculture”, while on the other ‒ as criticism and objectification of concepts that claim to know and predict the future, but in fact cannot go beyond the traditional representations of modernism. Explaining why Negarestani compares openness to food, the author offers to consider the Tibetan archaic ritual “Chod” (severance), going through which the monks offer themselves to be devoured by demons. Based on this, the author formulates an assumption that in the course of creating “Cyclonopedia”, Negarestani was affected by the ancient and mystical concepts, and may even have read Davin-Neel’s research on the Tibetan ritual. The author also suggests that certain other themes of “Cyclonopedia” also need to be reconstructed. The article analyzes the reality of the novel: in addition to discussing the theory-fiction genre, the author believes that the reality of “Cyclonopedia” is attributed to phenomenological, which represents the peculiarities the consciousness of R. Negarestani, rather than the external events.