1
of
1
Strangers to Ourselves
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 452 ratings, 27 reviews)
Brief Description
This book is concerned with the notion of the stranger—the foreigner, outsider, or alien in a country and society not their own—as well as the notion of strangeness within the self, a person's deep sense of being, as distinct from outside appearance and their conscious idea...
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$4599
Unit price
/
Unavailable
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER
Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 3-4 weeks
Found a better price? Request a price match
Strangers to Ourselves
$4599
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Latest News
The Book Briefing 21/10/2026
Welcome back to another edition of 'The Book Briefing', your weekly round-up of all the...
Story to Screen - 21/10/26
It's been another huge week in the world of book-to-screen adaptations! From record-breaking trailers and...
Things We Learned from an Evening with Alice Oseman
Liam and Lizzy went along to an evening with Alice Oseman of Heartstopper! Here are...
The Book Hero Team's Wins and Misses in Film and TV Adaptations
We all love arguing in a mostly good-natured way about which adaptations of our favourite...
Vanya Insull (aka VJ Cooks) visits Book Hero
We were lucky to have a visit from popular foodie, home cook and baker Vanya...
See moreThis book is concerned with the notion of the stranger—the foreigner, outsider, or alien in a country and society not their own—as well as the notion of strangeness within the self, a person’s deep sense of being, as distinct from outside appearance and their conscious idea of self.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
This book is concerned with the notion of the stranger—the foreigner, outsider, or alien in a country and society not their own—as well as the notion of strangeness within the self, a person's deep sense of being, as distinct from outside appearance and their conscious idea of self.
Strangers to Ourselves begins with the personal and moves outward by examining world literature and philosophy. Julia Kristeva discusses the foreigner in Greek tragedy, in the Bible, and in the literature of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Enlightenment, and the twentieth century. By considering the legal status of foreigners throughout history, Kristeva offers a different perspective on our own civilisation.
Series: European Perspectives: A Series in Social Thought and Cultural Criticism
View all-
Hebrew
For nearly two thousand years, Hebrew belonged to the realm of the sacred. A written liturgical language used primarily by rabbis and scholars, it was not spoken in everyday contexts. A revival process in the late nineteenth century brought Hebrew back into daily use, adapting sacred texts as the foundations for a new vernacular. A "mother tongue" emerged. Keren Mock...Paperback$5699Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Dostoyevsky, or The Flood of Language
Growing up in Bulgaria, Julia Kristeva was warned by her father not to read Dostoyevsky. “Of course, and as usual,” she recalls, “I disobeyed paternal orders and plunged into Dosto. Dazzled, overwhelmed, engulfed.” Kristeva would go on to become one of the most important figures in European intellectual life—and she would return over and over again to Dostoyevsky, still haunted...Paperback$3399Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Proust and the Sense of Time
Julia Kristeva presents a thoroughly original and compelling reading of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past, first delivered at the 1992 T.S. Eliot Memorial Lectures at Canterbury. Kristeva's first essay, "Proust and Time Embodied," takes a broadly psychoanalytical, linguistically sensitive approach to Proust's exploration of time and the operation of memory. Next, in "In Search of Madeline," she delves into Proust's...Paperback$6400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
Alterity and Transcendence
Internationally renowned as one of the great French philosophers of the twentieth century, the late Emmanuel Levinas remains a pivotal figure across the humanistic disciplines for his insistence—against the grain of Western philosophical tradition—on the primacy of ethics in philosophical investigation. This first English translation of a series of twelve essays known as Alterity and Transcendence offers a unique glimpse...Paperback$11000Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
Chronos
As omnipresent as it is ungraspable, time has always inspired and eluded attempts to comprehend it. For the early Christians and the twenty-first-century world alike, how have past and future been woven into the present? In Chronos, a leading French historian ranges from Western antiquity to the Anthropocene, pinpointing the crucial turning points in our relationship to time. François Hartog...Paperback$6699Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Subaltern Social Groups
Antonio Gramsci is widely celebrated as the most original political thinker in Western Marxism. Among the most central aspects of his enduring intellectual legacy is the concept of subalternity. Developed in the work of scholars such as Gayatri Spivak and Ranajit Guha, subalternity has been extraordinarily influential across fields of inquiry stretching from cultural studies, literary theory, and postcolonial criticism...Paperback$12500Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
A German Officer in Occupied Paris
A German Officer in Occupied Paris by Ernst Jünger offers a compelling glimpse into the life of one of twentieth-century Germany's most important—and most controversial—writers. Decorated for bravery in World War I and known for his acclaimed western front memoir, Storm of Steel, Jünger was a prolific author who depicted war's horrors while simultaneously extolling its glories. As a Wehrmacht...Paperback$6099Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Negotiations, 1972-1990
Part autobiography, part interview, and part essay, this text traces the intellectual journey of a man often acclaimed as one of the most important philosophers in France. A guide to Deleuze by Deleuze, it explains the life and work of this figure in contemporary philosophy, tying together the strands of his long and prolific career. This guide sets forth the...Paperback$6800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
Tears of History
For many Jews, for more than a century, the United States has seemed to be a safe haven. There has been antisemitic prejudice, but nothing on the scale of the discrimination, persecution, pogroms, and genocide witnessed in Europe. White American ethnic violence has assailed many targets, but Jews have rarely been among them. Observing what he took to be an...Paperback$5699Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
The Belle Époque
The years before the First World War have long been romanticised as a zenith of French culture—the Belle Époque. The era is seen as the height of a lost way of life that remains emblematic of what it means to be French. In a vast range of texts and images, it appears as a carefree time full of joie de...Paperback$5699Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
The Resistance in Western Europe, 1940–1945
In just three months in 1940, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France fell to the Nazis. The German occupation of Western Europe had begun—but a brave few rose up in defiance. National resistance has long been celebrated in remembrances of World War II, depicted as making significant contributions to the defeat of Nazi Germany. However, the so-called army...Paperback$7599Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
What Is Philosophy?
Called by many France's foremost philosopher, Gilles Deleuze is one of the leading thinkers in the Western World. His acclaimed works and celebrated collaborations with Félix Guattari have established him as a seminal figure in the fields of literary criticism and philosophy. The long-awaited publication of What Is Philosophy? in English marks the culmination of Deleuze's career. Deleuze and Guattari...Paperback$5099Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780231214612
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 20 February 2024
Country: United States
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Width: 140.0mm
Height: 216.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 232
About the Author
Julia Kristeva is professor emerita of linguistics at the Université de Paris VII. A renowned psychoanalyst, philosopher, and linguist, she has written dozens of books spanning semiotics, political theory, literary criticism, gender and sex, and cultural critique, as well as several novels and autobiographical works, published in English translation by Columbia University Press. Kristeva was the inaugural recipient of the Holberg International Memorial Prize in 2004 “for innovative explorations of questions on the intersection of language, culture, and literature.”
Also by Julia Kristeva
View all-
Teresa, My Love
Mixing fiction, history, psychoanalysis, and personal fantasy, Teresa, My Love turns a past world into a modern marvel, following Sylvia Leclercq, a French psychoanalyst, academic, and incurable insomniac, as she falls for the sixteenth-century Saint Teresa of Avila and becomes consumed with charting her life. Traveling to Spain, Leclercq, Julia Kristeva's probing alter ego, visits the sites and embodiments of...Paperback$5299Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Dostoyevsky, or The Flood of Language
Growing up in Bulgaria, Julia Kristeva was warned by her father not to read Dostoyevsky. “Of course, and as usual,” she recalls, “I disobeyed paternal orders and plunged into Dosto. Dazzled, overwhelmed, engulfed.” Kristeva would go on to become one of the most important figures in European intellectual life—and she would return over and over again to Dostoyevsky, still haunted...Paperback$3399Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Proust and the Sense of Time
Julia Kristeva presents a thoroughly original and compelling reading of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past, first delivered at the 1992 T.S. Eliot Memorial Lectures at Canterbury. Kristeva's first essay, "Proust and Time Embodied," takes a broadly psychoanalytical, linguistically sensitive approach to Proust's exploration of time and the operation of memory. Next, in "In Search of Madeline," she delves into Proust's...Paperback$6400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
Murder in Byzantium
In this absorbing, suspenseful novel, Julia Kristeva combines social satire, medieval history, philosophy, psychoanalytic theory, and autobiography within a gruesome murder mystery. Murder in Byzantium deftly moves from eleventh-century Europe, wracked by the turbulence of the First Crusade, to the sun-dappled, cultural wasteland of present-day Santa Varvara, threatened by religious cults, gangs, and a serial killer on the loose. This...Paperback$4199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
The Samurai
Julia Kristeva's dazzling fictional debut is an intellectual adventure, full of vitality, sensuousness, and sustained lyricism. Reminiscent of The Mandarins, Simone de Beauvoir's 1954 masterpiece, The Samurai brilliantly reconstructs a pivotal era of postwar French history—Paris in the late 1960s—and at the same time records the political disillusionment and ferment of a generation. In a brisk narrative spanning three continents,...Paperback$4199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Desire in Language
Desire in Language traces the path of an investigation, extending over a period of ten years, into the semiotics of literature and the arts. But the essays of Julia Kristeva in this volume, though they often deal with literature and art, do not amount to either "literary criticism" or "art criticism." Their concern, writes Kristeva, "remains intratheoretical: they are based...Paperback$4599Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Language: The Unknown
In this wide-ranging introduction, Julia Kristeva presents the evolution and emergence of linguistics. For Kristeva, the object of linguistic investigation is not "What is language?" but rather "How can language be thought?" In a series of carefully documented analyses, she examines the links between philosophical speculation and linguistic practice. She traces postmodern linguistic theory back to its roots, using sources...Paperback$4599Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
The Enchanted Clock
In the Palace of Versailles, there is a fabulous golden clock, made for Louis XV by the king's engineer, Claude-Siméon Passemant. The astronomical clock shows the phases of the moon and the movements of the planets, and it will tell time—hours, minutes, seconds, and even sixtieths of seconds—until the year 9999. Passemant's clock brings the nature of time into sharp...Paperback$4199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Nations Without Nationalism
Underlying Julia Kristeva's Nations Without Nationalism is the idea that otherness-whether it be ethnic, religious, social, or political-needs to be understood and accepted in order to guarantee social harmony. This book is an impassioned plea for tolerance and for commonality, aimed at a world brimming over with racism and xenophobia. Responding to the rise of neo-Nazi groups in Germany and...Paperback$2899Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Possessions
This sequel to Julia Kristeva's celebrated allegory The Old Man and the Wolves returns to the corrupt seaside resort of a mythical town, where the boundaries between East and West, civilization and barbarism, and good and evil are erased. Part mystery, part meditation, this engrossing tale features the return of Parisian amateur detective and newspaper reporter Stephanie Delacour (Kristeva's alter...Paperback$3799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Powers of Horror
Julia Kristeva offers an extensive and profound consideration of the nature of abjection. Drawing on Freud and Lacan, she analyses the nature of attitudes toward repulsive subjects and examines the function of these topics in the writings of Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Marcel Proust, James Joyce, and other authors. In Powers of Horror, Kristeva delves into the psychological and cultural dimensions of...Paperback$4599Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Revolution in Poetic Language
In Revolution in Poetic Language, Julia Kristeva explicates her foundational distinction between the semiotic and the symbolic and explores their interrelationships. Linking the psychosomatic to the literary and the literary to a larger political horizon, she questions the premises of linguistic, psychoanalytic, philosophical, and literary theories.Paperback$9200Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks
More from Arts & Culture
View all-
Dylan's PickBold Types
A tribute to 32 truly independent bookshops throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, from north of Auckland down to Dunedin, and coast to coast. Jane Ussher's photographs show every bookstore in its unique nature - including behind the counter, smoko rooms, the mess which tells the hardworking story behind the joy of matching books with customers. Jemma Moreira's careful editing has crafted...Hardback$5999Elsewhere:$7000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseI’ll Believe in Anything
From Jacob Tierney, the creator of Heated Rivalry, in partnership with Brendan Brady and Accent Aigu, comes I’ll Believe in Anything, an official and complete collection of annotated scripts for the biggest cultural sensation of the year, with all new exclusive behind-the-scenes content.Based on Rachel Reid’s blockbuster Game Changers book series, Heated Rivalry premiered on Crave and HBO in late 2025 and immediately took the world by storm. I’ll...Hardback$5499Elsewhere:$6000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Home Again
Join rock-legend, former Shihad frontman and lead singer of The Adults, Jon Toogood in this unflinching and no-holds-barred memoir Home Again.This is more than a rock story. Toogood looks back on a 37-year career that helped define New Zealand rock music, and the personal cost that came with it. From a music-obsessed childhood in Wellington to the deafening roar of international stages, this...Paperback$2700Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
20% offThe Odyssey
Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travellers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative....Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$3599Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
21% offThe Iliad
When Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017—revealing the ancient poem in a contemporary idiom that was "fresh, unpretentious and lean" (Madeline Miller, Washington Post)—critics lauded it as "a revelation" (Susan Chira, New York Times) and "a cultural landmark" (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an...Paperback$2600Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
20% offDisney Moana: The Official Cookbook
Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far you’ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...Hardback$3600Elsewhere:$5299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseA Life in Lyrics
Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest showmen of the twentieth century. With his unparalleled voice and searing on-stage energy, he was a great pretender, a killer queen and a champion of the world. But behind the glamour lived a musician and lyricist talented beyond measure, and the creative force behind one of the most culturally significant and musically diverse...Hardback$5000Elsewhere:$6500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseBirdlands
A rare, intimate journey into the wild islands where Aotearoa's birds live beyond the reach of most human lives. In the most remote outposts of Aotearoa, our islands are populated not with people, but with birds. From the storm-lashed Subantarctic Islands in the deep south to the scattered volcanic islands of Tikapa Moana/Hauraki Gulf in the north, Birdlands offers a...Hardback$4199Elsewhere:$5000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
21% offThis Angry Pen of Mine
This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...Hardback$5800Elsewhere:$8999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Mah Jong Player's Companion
Since the arrival on the market of Patricia Thompson and Betty Maloney's two previous books, The Game of Mah Jong Illustrated and Improve Your Mah Jong, a wide range of hands from many parts of the world has been sent to them. In this player's companion, the authors have put together a cross-filled reference guide where over 120 hands, illustrated...Paperback$1999Elsewhere:$2299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseSplit Enz
'My favourite band. Ever! And certainly the best dressed.' Sam Neill Split Enz were never designed to fit. Emerging from art school mischief in early-1970s New Zealand, they turned pop into surreal theatre: costume, character and melody colliding in a rock band that refused to behave like one. At the centre of that vision was Noel Crombie—percussionist, performer and the...Hardback$5199Elsewhere:$6500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Artist's Way
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron is a transformative guidebook that has captivated millions, including luminaries such as Elizabeth Gilbert and Tim Ferriss. With its profound ability to inspire and elevate, this book invites readers to embark on an enriching creative journey, fostering a deeper connection to one's artistic process and sense of purpose. The heart of Cameron's groundbreaking programme...Paperback$3700Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
Arts & Culture lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listArts & Culture
Poetry of Aotearoa
Check out some of the amazing local talent we are spoilt with right here in Aotearoa.View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listArts & Culture
Poetry for Beginners - Where to Start
10 Books I'd recommend to someone new to reading poetry - a mix of old and new, all magical introductions to the...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listArts & Culture
Lizzy's Favourite Books of Poetry
If I could only have 10 poetry collections to survive on for the rest of my life, these are them. Or maybe...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listArts & Culture
Books to read for Women in Translation month!
August is Women in Translation month, but at any time of year it's worth checking out these incredible novels written by women...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listArts & Culture
Inside the World of Film
Step behind the scenes of the world of filmmaking! Discover iconic directors and movie history of some of the world's memorable films.View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listArts & Culture
Books to Celebrate NZ Music Month
New Zealand Music Month happens every May, it's a reminder that we have so many talented musicians, singer, songwriters here in Aotearoa....View the list
