Tag Archives: Russo-Ukrainian War

McCarthy: Dark, Occasionally Hopeful

By Robin Bates | Published: June 14, 2023

Although the late Cormac McCarthy had a very dark vision of humanity, one can find glimpses of hope within his novels.

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Homeric Tactics Anticipate Ukraine’s

By Robin Bates | Published: April 4, 2023

War scenes from the Iliad bring to mind the Battle of Bakhmut–especially when it comes to superior Ukrainian intelligence gathering.

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Weeping for Ukraine’s Lost Children

By Robin Bates | Published: March 19, 2023

Ukraine longs for its kidnapped children as the Rachel captain in “Moby Dick” longs for his son, lost at sea.

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Zelensky as Hugo’s Enjolras

By Robin Bates | Published: January 2, 2023

Ukrainian president bears a striking resemblance to Hugo’s Enjorlas in “Les Misérables.”

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Just How Dangerous Is Fiction?

By Robin Bates | Published: November 2, 2022

Peter Brooks’s new book, “Seduced by Story,” raises the issue of fiction’s role in horrors.

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Manskinner Boris & Putin’s Terror Tactics

By Robin Bates | Published: October 24, 2022

Russian atrocities in Ukraine bring to mind Boris the Manskinner, from Murakami’s “Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.”

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Russian Rockets and Male Insecurity

By Robin Bates | Published: October 10, 2022

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.”

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Will Putin Use the Deplorable Word?

By Robin Bates | Published: October 3, 2022

In Lewis’s “Magician’s Nephew,” Queen Jadis uses the “deplorable word” to end all life–not unlike Putin threatening nuclear annihilation on Ukraine.

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Russia’s Falstaffian Mobilization

By Robin Bates | Published: September 25, 2022

Russia’s current mass mobilization at times resembles Falstaff’s recruitment in Shakespeare’s Henry IV plays.

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