tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3455307395670672432.post2885111936665428869..comments2023-08-24T08:49:09.340-04:00Comments on William Preston: Pullman's latest; etc.William Prestonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896164917625191919noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3455307395670672432.post-60828845317559543372010-06-26T22:16:19.206-04:002010-06-26T22:16:19.206-04:00And Mick was at the World Cup US/Ghana match today...And Mick was at the World Cup US/Ghana match today! It's all coming together . . . <br /><br />I haven't read the books by the "new atheists," but I've read their summary essays and various reviews that have shown up and heard the NPR interviews. If they had something fresh to say, I might be interested.<br /><br />Maybe you should write a book about them, eh?<br /><br />Good to see you here, old friend.William Prestonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07896164917625191919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3455307395670672432.post-40995419802467358742010-06-26T21:31:57.186-04:002010-06-26T21:31:57.186-04:00Bill,
Great mini-review of Pullman. I'd love t...Bill,<br />Great mini-review of Pullman. I'd love to see your take on the "new atheists" -- Dawkins, Hitchens, etc. -- in long essay. (Maybe for the Catholic Sun! Just joking.) Oh, on The Master and Margarita: Mick Jagger was a fan. "Sympathy for the Devil" bears its influence: http://www.masterandmargarita.eu/en/05media/stones.html<br />P. DuffyAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06008150191308263867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3455307395670672432.post-32583157729284880892010-05-31T16:57:41.487-04:002010-05-31T16:57:41.487-04:00I noticed yesterday that it had come up on the &qu...I noticed yesterday that it had come up on the "What do I read now?" thread. <br /><br />I'm building up a large stack, however. If the first few pages don't grab me, then: "Next!"William Prestonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07896164917625191919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3455307395670672432.post-80141073652488824492010-05-31T16:43:41.553-04:002010-05-31T16:43:41.553-04:00I just started reading The Master and Margarita my...I just started reading The Master and Margarita myself. Some synchronicity going on here..Lukehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08499975976127437276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3455307395670672432.post-85678179890363239752010-05-30T08:36:15.366-04:002010-05-30T08:36:15.366-04:00I've placed the book on hold at my library. It...I've placed the book on hold at my library. It'll join the stack soon enough.<br /><br />I (re)enjoyed a lot of Russian lit this past year, since I taught an independent study for a student interested in reading Russian short fiction.William Prestonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07896164917625191919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3455307395670672432.post-91497615834017122122010-05-30T00:23:20.658-04:002010-05-30T00:23:20.658-04:00The Master and Margarita is one of the great class...<i>The Master and Margarita</i> is one of the great classics of Russian magical realism. I've heard it described as being irreligious, and I can understand where people might pick up that misconception. But Bulgakov is much more interested in shooting at the corruption, both material and intellectual, of the early Soviet Union. The hero of the novel is Satan, but Satan has come to 1920s Moscow to shake the inhabitants out of their cozy, self-congratulatory materialism and self-delusion. This is not Milton's proud, noble Lucifer; this is closer to the Adversary found in Job, who sneers at humans foibles and tests human worthiness, punishing the petty and the greedy. The titular Master is the author of an alt-Jesus story, who nevertheless has been thrown in an insane asylum for not being atheistic enough. In many ways the novel anticipates the folly of using an alt-Jesus to air your grievances; but I'll leave you to discover those. <br /><br />Bulgakov wrote other satires of the regime, including <i>Heart of a Dog</i>: in an experimental procedure, the testicles and other glands of a dead criminal are surgically implanted in a dog, who eventually becomes the perfect Party apparatchik (with the unfortunately tendency to chase after cats). Despite this, apparently Stalin held him in some grudging respect and allowed him to emigrate to Paris.Calvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10558762473911106563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3455307395670672432.post-83971168977202979332010-05-29T21:04:20.029-04:002010-05-29T21:04:20.029-04:00The Life of Brian test of irreligiousness! Perfect...The <i>Life of Brian</i> test of irreligiousness! Perfect! <br /><br />Most everybody seems to have had that response to <i>His Dark Materials</i> (so I ended up not reading the trilogy), and I agree that Dawkins and others fail to raise issues pertintent to modern believers or doubters. It's like they're unfamiliar with biblical criticism and theology of the last nearly 200 years. Jim Crace has a work of fiction featuring Jesus in the desert; it's also disappointing, as his Jesus is a stand-in for non-Jesus issues Crace wants to deal with while simultaneously allowing him to dismiss the man.<br /><br />My Dostoevsky prof said once that Fyodor could produce better arguments against religion than all the atheists--as he proved in <i>The Brothers Karamazov</i>.<br /><br />I'm unfamiliar with the Bulgakov; thanks for the recommendation.<br /><br />Good to hear from you!William Prestonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07896164917625191919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3455307395670672432.post-35371747823102895112010-05-29T20:04:25.075-04:002010-05-29T20:04:25.075-04:00I enjoyed, very much, Pullman's Dark Materials...I enjoyed, very much, Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy, although the last one got heavy-handed. I was pretty sure I was going to skip this one, however, and this only bolsters my resolve. <br /><br />When some friends recommend books such as Dawkins various attacks, I usually respond: is it at least as insightful and thoughtful as <i>Life of Brian</i> in its critique of religion? The question first throw them off, and then, usually, they reluctantly respond "No." <br /><br />You've probably also read Bulgakov's <i>The Master and Margarita</i>, which for my money is a much more creative and entertaining alt-Jesus story (and which also contains a very Biblical theme: compassion coming not from the anointed but from the flawed and imperfect).Calvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10558762473911106563noreply@blogger.com