When I first saw the postscript, I thought this was a highly theoretical and argumentative work. To my surprise, the main body was unexpectedly easy to read. In fact, it records the past events of seventeen friends in a style close to prose, interspersed with Agamben’s own notes and correspondence with them, revealing his views on friendship through the process of recollection. Before reading the book, I watched a documentary on Maurice Blanchot. Agamben, as a friend, also appeared in it, slowly reading Blanchot’s works and offering his own observations and evaluations. He believed that Blanchot pondered and narrated the possibility, origin, and solitude of the writing experience through his narratives. What I found very interesting was that Blanchot, as the subject of discussion, was the only one absent, yet the friends' conversations made him constantly present. In this book, Agamben’s friends are also absent, but through his storytelling, he brings them all into presence. Literature and film, to some extent, achieve an intertextuality. I used to think this had to do with language and writing, because words can grant everlasting life to those who escape. But as I see it today, it must also be related to friendship, because friendship can narrate those moments that are both thorough and unfinished, keeping the soul from being forgotten and giving memory a witness. As a representative of longevity, Agamben, when recalling his friends, inevitably tells not only of their first meetings and interactions but also includes death and separation. For instance, when talking about Giorgio Caproni—a meeting that was almost like that between an idol and a fan, followed by years of sharing each other’s creations and dreams—he witnessed his death firsthand and sincerely remarked that it was hard to see into the mind of this wonderful person. To him, Caproni was and still is the epitome of all that is beautiful in Italy. And when he spoke of José Bergamín, he said it was Bergamín who made him discover Spain. Through friendship, he got to know new cities and countries, and also reacquainted himself with concepts like magic, people, and tragedy. In Bergamín’s final years, his view of death completely influenced Agamben, who, like Bergamín, welcomed death with hope and eagerness. Geniuses always know each other as kindred spirits. When we talk about friendship, what are we talking about? Agamben does it like this: You must speak of your encounters, discuss their works, talk about their thoughts, what they held fast to, their birthplaces, the letters exchanged, the retrospection of history, and the connections of philosophy. Through his narration, the absent ones return. May the many works mentioned in the book that have yet to be translated into Chinese see their Chinese editions soon.