July 2017 book and film review

Welcome to this month's media review. I haven't read as much as usual this month, mainly because I have been preparing a "nonfiction novel" about the problems I currently face. I have written over 35,000 words, which represents my most intense output in any one month of my life. Shows you what doing a master's in creative writing can do for you...

BOOKS

THE BLACK SPIDER, by Jeremiah Gotthelf.
In mid 19th century Switzerland, a little village does its best to thrive despite the predations of a tyrannical overlord. And when he makes impossible demands of them, they seek the devil's help to fulfil them. Sure, they have to give the devil an unbaptised child in payment, but surely they can find a way to trick him out of what they promised him...
           Of course the devil will not be thwarted, and when no unbaptised child is forthcoming, he unleashes a terrible punishment on the villagers; hence the title of this truly terrifying tale.
           Written by parish priest, this is both a parable on resisting temptation and an allegory of the plague; whatever, it remains a minor classic of European literature. Highly recommended, though not for those of a nervous disposition...

DEMONS, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Being an everyday story of provincial life in mid 19th century Russia, its nobility, poor and wealthy, the middle classes and the peasants.
           As Csar Alexander II attempted to drag Russia into the modern era by emancipating the serfs, socio-political thinkers divided themselves into two camps: the "Westernisers" who wanted to adopt the more liberal attitudes of Western Europe, and the "Slavophiles" who loved Mother Russia and wanted to maintain its traditional identity in the face of these hated "modernisers". Dostoyevsky uses his characters to debate these and other issues in the course of this demanding yet absorbing epic tale.
           The strength of Dostoyevsky's writing lies not only in the intricate plotting, but in the totally believable dialogue he puts into his characters' mouths. In this way we can enter this world and become lost in the fields, farms and towns of a Russia at the dawn of a new era.
           Give it a go, but only if you have plenty of time on your hands...

Please see next blog for movie reviews