The Bloodiest, Most Stomach-Turning Book You’ve Ever Read
“All of European literature springs from a fight,” says a Classics professor in Philip Roth’s The Human Stain. He’s talking about Homer’s The Iliad, and what a nasty little story it is. A few lines from Book 4, during the first major battle scene between the Trojans and the Achians, offers a sanguine taste: Then fate fell upon … Continue reading
Reading Emerson, writer, with Emerson, dog
There is a concept in statistics called the alignment of random points, where a series of lines and points will randomly intersect, sometimes with multiple ones meeting in the same place. Mathematicians cite this phenomenon when arguing that random chance can produce startling coincidences that would otherwise be attributed to divine providence or magic. Looking … Continue reading
Last Thoughts on Gargantua
After a leisurely summer break, we wrap up Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel and move on to a new book! Following reads like Naked Lunch and all things Updike, Irving, and Roth, the sexual brazenness, visceral violence, and moral ambiguity of Gargantua delivers more snores than shocks. Yes, taken in context, this nearly 500 year old episodic work … Continue reading
Laughter and the Agelasts in Rabelais
What a post title that is! Writing about Rabelais and Gargantua and Pantagruel reminds me of the foolish errand of the men who try to scientifically parse what makes something funny. That is like determining the materials used to paint the Mona Lisa by seeing how fast it burns. Rabelais is, or at least was, … Continue reading
A New Book: Gargantua and Pantagruel
Little Women is completed and so we move on to a new book on the Master List. A quick glance at the Books Left to Read list, and I see there are very few left in the top tier. Nine, to be exact, ranging from St. Augustine in the 4th Century to William Gaddis in the … Continue reading
Letters Republic 