Category Archives: Reading

“The Long, The Short And The Tall”, by Willis Hall

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Houyhnhnm

About “the dignity of man”, according to Willis Hall. Yes – that’s what it’s about. And how war makes stark the choice between dignity and survival. Lots of Iliad: the bickering of men at war about warrior status and women; … Continue reading →

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The Divine Comedy

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Houyhnhnm

Wow. Took ages, particularly ploughing through Paradiso: they’re right that evil is more interesting. But it was a surprise. Mainly the strangely modern beginnings to most cantos, easy conversations on the lines of “you know when a candle…” or “you … Continue reading →

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“Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Houyhnhnm

A masterpiece: sometimes, just sometimes, the wonderfully secure narrator’s false shields crack, and the respective pain of pervert and victim is revealed. But so lightly done. Beautifully expressed self-delusion.

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Baby-farming and abortion

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Houyhnhnm

This article, by Dorothy L. Haller, describes how “baby farmers” in Victorian England exploited extreme prejudice against unmarried mothers by taking in unwanted babies for payment, but then letting them die slowly by feeding them watered down milk (he longer … Continue reading →

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“The Dispossessed” by Ursula le Guin

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Houyhnhnm

There’s a book on the politics of The Dispossessed which, if I get round to reading it, might help me think and write about that aspect of this novel. In (that and) other respects it’s a very good book indeed, … Continue reading →

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“The Lost Books of the Odyssey” by Zachary Mason

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Houyhnhnm

One of the best books I have read. 44 short (some very short) stories on the theme of Odysseus and his return from Troy. Poetic, mysterious, playful, jumping around in time, each one, for lovers of Homer, a pre-sleep daily … Continue reading →

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“The Truth about Lorin Jones” by Alison Lurie

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Houyhnhnm

A deft novel about each other and ourselves, about the conflicting stories we hear and tell about us, about prejudice and, more profoundly, the logical unknowability of a person, even ourselves. Lurie’s characters’ names give this away: the heroine – … Continue reading →

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“Ed King” by David Guterson

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Houyhnhnm

A fantastic book in its own right – i.e. judged as a novel, not an updating of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. Guterson has an easy, just-self-conscious style – you know you’re being told a story, but he doesn’t intrude – … Continue reading →

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Plato’s “Protagoras”

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Houyhnhnm

Less cruel to Protagoras than I remember, but very funny in places nevertheless. Interesting prelude to utilitarianism at 356B, where Socrates, arguing (as usual) that people act badly through ignorance, suggests a calculus whereby actions can be considered good or … Continue reading →

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“The Soul Of Man Under Socialism” by Oscar Wilde

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Houyhnhnm

A series of cut’n’pastes from Wilde’s essay. Lots here. His sympathies lie with the poor, whose condition he clearly recognises (“[criminals] are merely what ordinary, respectable, commonplace people would be if they had not got enough to eat”). And his … Continue reading →

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