Reading Gargantua and Pantagruel | Alexandria
Read Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais. Channeling carnivalesque chaos into radical wisdom, Rabelais's bawdy giants deliver a revolutionary message: true knowledge springs from laughter, not solemnity. Their crude jokes mask a serious philosophy - that joy and bodily pleasure aren't obstacles to enlightenment, but pathways to it. In our era of endless productivity, their message of liberation through play feels more vital than ever.