Counterpath: Travelling with Jacques Derrida

This is a collaborative work by Catharine Malabou and Jacques Derrida that answers to the gamble inherent in the idea of "travelling with" the philosopher of deconstruction. Malabou's text of quotations and commentary aims to demonstrate how Derrida's work while appearing to be anything but a travelogue, is nevertheless replete with references to geographical and topographical locations; and that it functions as a kind of counter-Odyssey through meaning, theorizing and thematizing notions of arrival, drifting, derivation and catastrophe. The work is punctuated by a series of postcards received by Derrida from destinations such as Istanbul and Porto, Laguna Beach and Athens, which are inspired by his reading of her evolving discussion. Derrida invites the reader to reflect on much of what haunts his texts as well as his daily life, questions of distance and death, the relation to the other and exile.