On Thus Spoke Zarathustra

This is Nietzsche’s most frequently discussed book and, judging by Goodreads, his most widely read, which I think is a bit of a shame. I understand the draw of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, but it hardly makes a good introduction to his philosophy; it’s more an elaboration of thoughts he’d begun developing elsewhere, namely in The Gay Science, which I found far more compelling. All the classic Nietzschean concepts are here — the Übermensch, the death of God, eternal recurrence, the critique of European (really Abrahamic) morality. The frame story was the most interesting part to me, and I was especially drawn to Part 4, which apparently wasn’t in the original publication: the gathering of a motley crew of “Higher Men” who fail to overcome themselves and end up worshipping an ass is genuinely enlightening, and hilarious to picture — not even Zarathustra, whom I think Nietzsche would identify as the origin of the good/evil dualism, manages to overcome himself and become the Übermensch. Put together, though, I’m not sure it works. That isn’t a critique of Nietzsche’s ideas, which I do believe are important and powerful; it’s a problem with the presentation. His earlier aphorisms and his later treatises are better. I’m not quite sure why this is the popular one, but it’s worth reading for anyone looking to dive deep into his thought.