"Cyclonopedia" by Reza Negarestani: a dark reality or an unencrypted message

Abstract

The article is devoted to the rational interpretation of the novel "Cyclonopedia" by the Iranian philosopher and writer Reza Negarestani. The author believes that it is impossible to understand such works if one does not interpret and reconstruct the themes and contents of these works. Realizing the stated approach, he discusses the theme of openness and peculiarities of the poetics of Cyclonopedia, which is important in the novel Negarestan. There are two different understandings of openness, which Negarestani discusses: openness, which refers to the usual forms of sociality (liberal and economic concepts, politics, etc.), where freedom and open relationships are proclaimed in one way or another, and "epidemic openness", which refers to openness To the “outside” that overtakes a person, even against his will, and eats him (hence the title of the chapter — “a good dinner”). Explaining why Negarestania compares openness with food, the author proposes to consider the Tibetan archaic ritual "Chod", in which monks (including modern ones) offer themselves to be devoured by demons. The idea is expressed that other topics of "Cyclonopedia" need reconstruction for understanding, but not all. The article ends with an analysis of the reality of Negarestani's work: in addition to discussing the theory-fiction genre, the author suggests that the reality of Cyclonopedia is phenomenological, representing not external events, but the features of Negarestani's consciousness.