Kazuo Ishiguro’s fantasy novel “The Buried Giant” works as a fairy tale parable of the shakiness of the European Union and the rise of rightwing parties.
Tag Archives: Fascism
The “Buried Giant” of Fascism Stirs
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Brexit, European Union, Kazuo Ishiguro, rightwing nationalism, rightwing parties, tribalism Comments closed
Trollope & Trump’s Willing Enablers
Trollope describes gentry who enable to a scandalous financier in “The Way We Live Now.” Parallels can be drawn with those members of the GOP who are reconciling with Donald Trump.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Anthony Trollope, Donald Trump, GOP, Presidential politics, Way We Live Now Comments closed
How Trump Is Changing the Discourse
Adam Gopnik of “New Yorker” and Andrew Sullivan of “New York” are very, very frightened by the rise of Trump. As they explain why, they quote Tom Stoppard, Sinclair Lewis, Mark Twain, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Plato.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Donald Trump, GOP, Huckleberry Finn, It Can't Happen Here, J. R. R. Tolkien, Jumpers, Lord of the Rings, Mark Twain, politics, Presidential politics, protofascism, Sinclair Lewis, Tom Stoppard Comments closed
Could Fascism Happen Here?
Sinclair Lewis’s “It Can’t Happen Here,” about the election of a fascist in a 1930s presidential election, seems suddenly relevant again. The novel turns 80-years-old this year.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged American values, Donald Trump, It Can't Happen Here, Marco Rubio, Sinclair Lewis, Ted Cruz Comments closed
Cain: A Positive Way Past Collective Guilt
Nazi perpetrators who turned to Christianity avoided true contrition. Both the story of Cain and “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” show how to really get right with God.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged collective guilt, guilt, Holocaust, Nazism, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge Comments closed
Ayn Rand vs. America’s Social Safety Net
Normally I prefer to write on great literature, not on novels that make our lives worse. But given the outsized impact that novelist and social philosopher Ayn Rand is currently having on current American political discourse, literature blogs need to pay attention.
My Favorite Film: Spirit of the Beehive
Film Friday In today’s post I write about my favorite film, one that pulls me into the world of a child’s imagination like no other artistic work. The film is Victor Erice’s Spirit of the Beehive (Espíritu de la colmena), which came out in 1973. The film is set during or immediately after the Spanish […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Film, Franco, politics, Spirit of the Beehive, Victor Erice Comments closed
Christian Nazis Seeking to Be Cleansed
I learned this past summer how, following the Holocaust, a number of former Nazis were able to embrace Christianity without their churches expecting them to repent. It sounds as though some of these men were able to feel cleansed of their sins without doing much in the way of serious soul searching. The issue raises […]
