now, ‘t is trueI must be here confined by you,Or sent to Naples.Thus says Prospero, breaking the fourth wall, at the end of The Tempest (by Shakespeare, but you knew that already). Prospero, a magician with an island of his own, decides to forgive all those who wronged him, set everyone free, break his staff and drown his book and reclaim his status as mere human. Lots of interesting things to contemplate there, but for now, let’s just look at this epilogue. The play has ended; everyone … [Read more...] about Prospero’s Island
Great Books
More Surprises in The Brothers Karamazov
As I have noted before in this space, one of the amazing things about The Brothers Karamazov is that it contains within it a zillion different themes. I recently read it with one of my reading groups. I was talking with one of the students a few days before we were going to meet and asked her which of the endless possibilities she thought would be an interesting discussion. Her reply, to put it mildly, surprised me. She really wanted to talk about Perezvon. If you haven’t read the … [Read more...] about More Surprises in The Brothers Karamazov
Looking For Love after the Apocalypse
Peter Heller’s The Dog Stars is one of those books I really want to like more than I did. I really want to say it is a novel you should rush out to read. The praise for it on the back cover is over-the-top. I would like to join the chorus. Sigh. The Dog Stars is the tale of Hig (Big Hig if you want two names), living in a post-Apocalyptic world. The chief virtue of the book is the style. In his former life, Hig was a contractor who really loved poetry. The contractor bit comes in … [Read more...] about Looking For Love after the Apocalypse
Big Brother Doesn’t Need to Watch You
Big Brother is watching You. Newspeak. Thoughtcrime. Doublethink. Two minutes hate. George Orwell’s 1984 needs no introduction. I read this book with one of my reading groups in the Fall. In this particular group, each of the students sends in a question which crystalized in her mind while reading it. Just a question; there is no obligation to try to answer it. There is one question which has haunted me since it showed up in my Inbox. But, first the background. Our hero, Winston, … [Read more...] about Big Brother Doesn’t Need to Watch You
The Love of Scrooge
“There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say,” returned the nephew. “Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round—apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that—as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one … [Read more...] about The Love of Scrooge
Nietzsche and the Apostle Paul
Nietzsche doesn’t get invited to many Christmas parties. Something about declaring “God is dead” has made him persona non grata at gatherings of Christians.But, before dismissing him, let us first note that his most famous aphorism was, in fact, correct. By the late 19th century, in European intellectual circles, God was, indeed, dead. It wasn’t always so; look back at the writings of earlier generations and you find a plethora of Christian intellectuals. Even the non-Christian … [Read more...] about Nietzsche and the Apostle Paul