Although the late Cormac McCarthy had a very dark vision of humanity, one can find glimpses of hope within his novels.
Tag Archives: Russo-Ukrainian War
McCarthy: Dark, Occasionally Hopeful
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged All the Pretty Horses, Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthy, Passenger, Road, war Comments closed
Homeric Tactics Anticipate Ukraine’s
War scenes from the Iliad bring to mind the Battle of Bakhmut–especially when it comes to superior Ukrainian intelligence gathering.
Weeping for Ukraine’s Lost Children
Ukraine longs for its kidnapped children as the Rachel captain in “Moby Dick” longs for his son, lost at sea.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged genocide, Herman Melville, International Criminal Court, Moby Dick, Ukrainian children, war crimes Comments closed
Zelensky as Hugo’s Enjolras
Ukrainian president bears a striking resemblance to Hugo’s Enjorlas in “Les Misérables.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Les Misérables, Ukraine, Victor Hugo, Volodymyr Zelensky Comments closed
Just How Dangerous Is Fiction?
Peter Brooks’s new book, “Seduced by Story,” raises the issue of fiction’s role in horrors.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged atrocities, Brothers Karamazov, Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Peter Brooks, Vladimir Putin Comments closed
Manskinner Boris & Putin’s Terror Tactics
Russian atrocities in Ukraine bring to mind Boris the Manskinner, from Murakami’s “Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged atrocities, genocide, Haruki Murakami, Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Comments closed
Russian Rockets and Male Insecurity
Putin bombing Kyev is more about proving masculinity than conducting effective military strategy. It’s like Hitler’s V-2 rockets, as described in “Gravity’s Rainbow.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged bombs, Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon, Vladimir Putin Comments closed
Will Putin Use the Deplorable Word?
In Lewis’s “Magician’s Nephew,” Queen Jadis uses the “deplorable word” to end all life–not unlike Putin threatening nuclear annihilation on Ukraine.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged C.S. Lewis, Magician's Nephew, nuclear armaments, Vladimir Putin Comments closed
Russia’s Falstaffian Mobilization
Russia’s current mass mobilization at times resembles Falstaff’s recruitment in Shakespeare’s Henry IV plays.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Henry IV Part II, Russian mobilization, William Shakespeare Comments closed
