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Post by cato on Dec 24, 2023 9:34:21 GMT
A brief mention of some books I enjoyed this year. I am going to post in batches based on notes in my diary.
Irish themed factual .
Seamus Heaney by Roy Foster . A short bio. Useful introduction. Nothing on the scale of his massive work on WBY.
Mary Kenny The Way we were. The grand dame of Irish journalism opines on the experience of the new Irish state and faith and cultural matters. It could have done with some ruthless editing.
John Betjeman and Ireland by Dominic Mosely. Affectionate account of the British poets links with Ireland and his stint as cultural attache in Dublin during the WW II Emergency.
The Tuam Babies by Brian Nugent. A revisionist challenge to the orthodox narrative around the Tuam baby story. Makes some good points but it needs and deserves a more structured, coherent structure. Nugent includes useful archival work from Galway local authorities who funded the orphanage.
Paisley as I knew him William Brown. A former follower of Ian Paisley lays into the cuddly image of Dr Chuckles who belatedly saw the light and entered power sharing. The Destruction of Free Presbyterianism is an interesting story that has largely gone unnoticed in the Republic.
Finally Is Ireland Neutral ? Conor Gallagher. I really enjoyed this rigorous thought provoking book which challenges this sacred cow but also examines other models of neutrality and how small nations look after their national security.
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Post by cato on Dec 24, 2023 12:58:04 GMT
Some fiction.
I finished the C S Lewis space trilogy this year and heartily recommend it. I read them out of order finishing with Perelandia. Someone has referred to the work as Narnia for adults. I would be very interested in other posters impressions of this work.
The best seller The Lost History by Donna Tart impressed too. Part Greek tragedy part university Brideshead revisited fantasy, part murder mystery where we are invited to support the repulsive and simultaneously attractive anti heroes who are led astray by an amoral classical literature professor.
Anthony Isolen's translation of the Inferno is a good read. Dante's treatment of the prophet Mohammed isn't well known. Have a read....
The Children of Men by PD James was a novel I returned to in 2023. It's prophetic in its treatment of euthanasia and a declining west. There's a distinct Nativity vibe to it to with a Christian minister playing a key role in a new birth longed for by many.
Kate O Brien's The Ante Room is my final fiction recommendation. O Brien was a writer who unreservedly fell into oblivion for a few decades but has been revived as a feminist icon . That shouldn't put you off as she was also an intelligent observant recorder of the up and coming Irish Catholic middle classes. She was also a keen student of spiritual processes and the work of conscience and the search for God. The sacraments are at the core of this book. The last rites, the mass and confession. Its never simple religious piety but neither is it sneering agnosticism. Her serious treatment of confession is in complete contrast to say pseudo thinker "Blind boy" who has also produced a tome of musings for Christmas 2023. I briefly glanced at his entirely predictable, cheap shallow remarks on confession. I put him back on the shelf. There is no comparison between the two books.
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Post by Maolsheachlann on Dec 24, 2023 16:31:26 GMT
Some fiction. I finished the C S Lewis space trilogy this year and heartily recommend it. I read them out of order finishing with Perelandia. Someone has referred to the work as Narnia for adults. I would be very interested in other posters impressions of this work. The best seller The Lost History by Donna Tart impressed too. Part Greek tragedy part university Brideshead revisited fantasy, part murder mystery where we are invited to support the repulsive and simultaneously attractive anti heroes who are led astray by an amoral classical literature professor. Anthony Isolen's translation of the Inferno is a good read. Dante's treatment of the prophet Mohammed isn't well known. Have a read.... The Children of Men by PD James was a novel I returned to in 2023. It's prophetic in its treatment of euthanasia and a declining west. There's a distinct Nativity vibe to it to with a Christian minister playing a key role in a new birth longed for by many. Kate O Brien's The Ante Room is my final fiction recommendation. O Brien was a writer who unreservedly fell into oblivion for a few decades but has been revived as a feminist icon . That shouldn't put you off as she was also an intelligent observant recorder of the up and coming Irish Catholic middle classes. She was also a keen student of spiritual processes and the work of conscience and the search for God. The sacraments are at the core of this book. The last rites, the mass and confession. Its never simple religious piety but neither is it sneering agnosticism. Her serious treatment of confession is in complete contrast to say pseudo thinker "Blind boy" who has also produced a tome of musings for Christmas 2023. I briefly glanced at his entirely predictable, cheap shallow remarks on confession. I put him back on the shelf. There is no comparison between the two books. The only one of those books I've read is the Space Trilogy. I've read both Out of the Silent Planet twice, and also That Hideous Strength twice. I've only read Perelandra once, and found this the weakest. The first is my favourite. It's a really gripping space adventure, pure science fiction, despite the theological depths. We should remember that Lewis was one of the first literary critics to take science fiction seriously. The voyage back to Earth is brilliantly described, and it has one of my favourite last lines ever. It's said that Ransom, the protagonist, is based on Tolkien. As I say, I found Perelandra the least interesting, but I always remember one image in particular: Satan ripping a small bird to bits for no reason, an image of the pettiness of evil, and I imagine a counter to the grandiosity of Milton's Lucifer (who Lewis analyses with terrifying brilliance in his book on Paradise Lost). That Hideous Strength is a much more ambitious and darker book than the other two, but that doesn't mean better. Still, it's pretty good. Lewis's portrayal of scientific progressivism is chilling and prophetic. Too long, perhaps, but I enjoyed all of it. |
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Post by Séamus on Dec 25, 2023 5:18:01 GMT
Some fiction. I finished the C S Lewis space trilogy this year and heartily recommend it. I read them out of order finishing with Perelandia. Someone has referred to the work as Narnia for adults. I would be very interested in other posters impressions of this work. The best seller The Lost History by Donna Tart impressed too. Part Greek tragedy part university Brideshead revisited fantasy, part murder mystery where we are invited to support the repulsive and simultaneously attractive anti heroes who are led astray by an amoral classical literature professor. Anthony Isolen's translation of the Inferno is a good read. Dante's treatment of the prophet Mohammed isn't well known. Have a read.... The Children of Men by PD James was a novel I returned to in 2023. It's prophetic in its treatment of euthanasia and a declining west. There's a distinct Nativity vibe to it to with a Christian minister playing a key role in a new birth longed for by many. Kate O Brien's The Ante Room is my final fiction recommendation. O Brien was a writer who unreservedly fell into oblivion for a few decades but has been revived as a feminist icon . That shouldn't put you off as she was also an intelligent observant recorder of the up and coming Irish Catholic middle classes. She was also a keen student of spiritual processes and the work of conscience and the search for God. The sacraments are at the core of this book. The last rites, the mass and confession. Its never simple religious piety but neither is it sneering agnosticism. Her serious treatment of confession is in complete contrast to say pseudo thinker "Blind boy" who has also produced a tome of musings for Christmas 2023. I briefly glanced at his entirely predictable, cheap shallow remarks on confession. I put him back on the shelf. There is no comparison between the two books. The only one of those books I've read is the Space Trilogy. I've read both Out of the Silent Planet twice, and also That Hideous Strength twice. I've only read Perelandra once, and found this the weakest. The first is my favourite. It's a really gripping space adventure, pure science fiction, despite the theological depths. We should remember that Lewis was one of the first literary critics to take science fiction seriously. The voyage back to Earth is brilliantly described, and it has one of my favourite last lines ever. It's said that Ransom, the protagonist, is based on Tolkien. As I say, I found Perelandra the least interesting, but I always remember one image in particular: Satan ripping a small bird to bits for no reason, an image of the pettiness of evil, and I imagine a counter to the grandiosity of Milton's Lucifer (who Lewis analyses with terrifying brilliance in his book on Paradise Lost). That Hideous Strength is a much more ambitious and darker book than the other two, but that doesn't mean better. Still, it's pretty good. Lewis's portrayal of scientific progressivism is chilling and prophetic. Too long, perhaps, but I enjoyed all of it. I always felt that THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH could easily be read first and the others read as prequels. It was a masterstroke to use a variety of evil characters, all with different mentalities and various reasons for being part of the secret organisation- all coming to various ends too. PERELANDRA was unusual of course and had a lot more of the spiritual in it; the what-ifs of a creation that stifled original sin... some touches, like Ransom's progressive lameness and even the giant fish getting tired from carrying him adds a realism that you don't find in many novels these days, even those meant to be true-to-life . One little episode- where the 'Eve' of Perelandra points out what looks like balls of fluff that turn out to be rabbit-like creatures, is very similar to the rock-trolls introduction in the Disney Frozen film, so may have influenced this, the third novel may have influenced the myriad of antichrist films produced by godless Hollywood. There seems a parallel between Tolkien's three principal inhabitants of MiddleEarth and the three intelligent lifeforms on the Mars of OUR OF THE SILENT PLANET. One episode in the third book I couldn't quite understand was the scene of two normally emotionless professors rocking back and forward in each other's arms. Homosexual attraction is referenced in the character of the unfeminine policewoman, but this doesn't really seem to entirely be the same thing. |
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Post by Séamus on Dec 29, 2023 9:53:51 GMT
The last book I'll probably finish this year was HV Morton's 1938 Through Lands Of The Bible; probably a misleading title as his journey has little particular coherent itinerary, starting in Iraq, taking in many parts of Egypt and finishing in Ostia via Rome, where Morton, who seems have a mostly English protestant identity, attended the canonization of John Leonardi,Andrew Bobola and a Spanish lay-brother named Salvatore who seems rather forgotten now. As the writer concentrates mostly on the persons of Peter and Paul when in Italy, there's a tenuous validity there for Bible status.
His descriptions of Coptic (and Greek in Egypt) churches and monasteries and the mysterious Siwa civilization,who follow a version of Islam, are particularly interesting. He suggests several times that the Egyptian and Greek version of religious life tangibly influenced the early Irish Celtic model and surmised that monks from Ireland must have visited Mt Sinai and other sites.
I heard,after discovering this writer,that there are claims of antisemitism- I find that he considers mostly the pieces of Christian cultures whenever he goes, mentioning the other communities when of interest- nothing derogatory towards Jews or Muslims. He does the Coptic monasteries for their uncleanness, noting that even chapels are unkempt compared to the Western Christianity.
I'm rarely sent e-Christmas cards (per se) but a family sent me greetings from their Euro holidays last week,using the Arc de Triomphe as a background for the trio. One thing they didn't do was edit out a light-post- it was covered with urban-art-style stickers that looked like any stuck to sign-posts in the bohemian alleyways of the world. Reading about the highlights of three distinctive cultures in Morton's book and his various comments, whether describing the offering of the song-birds to the Holy Father during canonization masses, the daily baking of bread in Coptic sacristies or the ruins within walls of an eastern monastery, one recalls that we do have this capacity to wonder about our histories or be happy to heap ugly stickers upon it all.
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