Really wonderful piece of work. Nowadays Nietzsche's reputation precedes him, but this biography does a great job of explaining the ideas and introducing the man and his struggle for renown and with chronic illness. I'm amazed how little I knew about the closeness of Nietzsche and Wagner in his early life, and understanding his philosophy more makes me want to revisit Thomas Mann. I think Death in Venice will make a lot more sense to me now that I can appreciate the Appolonian/Dionysian dichotomy. I can only imagine how The Magic Mountain might seem in this new light.

Prideaux is very concerned with separating the myths from the man. She spends a lot of effort extricating N's memory and philosophy from his sister Elizabeth's curatorship at the tragic end of his life, and the legacy of Nazism to which she selfishly and inaccurately fed his work. Prideaux makes a very clear case that Nietzsche despised anti-Semitism and saw himself as more of a stateless cosmopolitan than as a German. She does not shy away from his misogyny, and explores how the frustration in his personal relationships fueled this.

It was good to become better acquainted with the ideas of the Will to Power and Death of God. I like the interpretation of the Will to Power as really an atavistic life force. But what really gripped me was the exploration of eternal recurrence and Amor fati. I'd always interpreted eternal recurrence as a sort of cosmic-horrific doom, and not as a test. I'm not sure what to make of the idea that what makes an Ubermensch is the ability to assimilate and accept all of their experience. To look upon everything and be able to say I'm ok with this because it is the direct result of my desire and will. I find myself pushing back against the idea, but it feels so joyous — and today, improbable? I need to sit more with it and think through. Excited to read Deleuze's book on him now.