>influential and important?
yes, probably

but the more important question should be
>insightful?
and the answer is yes.

read it.

I read the first chapter for a class and it was pretty riveting.

>>7613569
Where do you go to school?

>>7613563
the concept of mimesis is one of the most important aspects of western literary tradition

yhh read it boi

Never heard of it, looks interesting

Why would you read that hack and not Rene Girard?

>>7613670
cause girard barely does any work with literary criticism and is more concerned with anthropology and psycholocy. merits of his work aside he's not as /lit/ as auerbach, who is full /lit/

Auerbach wrote Mimesis on the sly while in prison, without access to the books he was writing about.

>>7613563
>reading memesis

>>7613563
>memesis

That should about sum it up, Opee.

I read the first chapter as well, and it was damned good, even exemplary, literary criticism. That part about the Abraham and Isaac story stuck with me for years.