Despair: The Supreme Theme of Progressive Politics and Art
why they prefer Mervyn Peake to JRR Tolkien

I will admit to having a certain fondness for Peake's work. Not as much as for Tolkien, but I did enjoy the Gormenghast series.

Posted by physics geek at June 30, 2011 1:22 PM

What's wrong with Peake? Gormenghast is terrific. Not as good as LOR but still very very good. I don't despair and I'm to right of Ghengis Khan

Posted by Physicist in Boston at July 1, 2011 11:32 AM

This is one of the things I grew to hate about the Harry Potter books and later the movies: the almost pornographic relish with which the author detailed all the physical suffering of her hero. Scars that ache! Pens that cut skin! Spells that leave him battered and bruised on the ground! I think Rowling has some pretensions to writing allegory, and Potter is supposed to be a Christ-figure, but in Christianity Jesus' suffering means something. In HP, it's just ugly stage dressing; nobody is better or changed in any way because of the hero's suffering - even he doesn't change because of it. It's just ugly crap that he goes through because it's an ugly, violent world.

Posted by Dr. Mabuse at July 1, 2011 2:43 PM

Great link. Reminds me of a post by Barbara Nicolosi several years ago about television watching that has stuck in my mind ever since-

"Our Mother would never let us watch anything that would disorder our souls"

Susan Lee

Posted by Susan Lee at July 2, 2011 4:06 AM