Ataraxia

  The Virginian – A Horseman of The Plains by Owen Wister, published in 1902, the first fictional western ever written, included on the 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read list How will The Virginian vote today, I wonder 9 out of 10     There is a sensation of exuberance, elation one feels (well, I did) when reading The Virginian, but it is mixed with a sadness, the sense that America and the world have progressed since the 1880s, economically, in technology, social standards (at least in the civilized world, not say in Russia) but some values have been lost   The hero, who is called The Virginian throughout, we have no name for him – someone uses Jeff, but briefly, and it could not be taken as the real thing- has so many qualities that he could be descended from Olympus   https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/02/arcadian-nights-greek-myths-reimagined.html Valliant, principled, generous, loyal, indeed, let us check with the list of Character Strengths, as iden...

  Mythology – Greek Gods Myths, Legends and Ancient History by Roy Jackson 9 out of 10     Reading the Greek mythology is not just entertaining (yes, there will be horror stories, think Medea and her killing of half-brother, and then her own children, or Hercules) but essential in pursuing other reads, unless we talk of Dan Brown https://realini.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-da-vinci-code-based-on-dan-brown-7.html   We have been blessed to have a god, or at least demi-god as teacher in high school, Magister Ludi Anton Chevorchian, and he insisted that unless we are familiar with the myths of Ancient Greece, we will not be able to understand masterpieces, that keep referring to Ulysses, Circe, Penelope, Achilles, and more recently Zeus in The Human Stain https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-human-stain-by-philip-roth-author.html In this novel, the main character is a ‘mature’ (this appears to be newspeak for getting older) man who has a much younge...

  The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall is included on the list of 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read and is recognized as one of the outstanding books for children 9 out of 10     Considering that this is a book for children -something I have just found out – I should have enjoyed it less than I did, and maybe I should see a doctor, this could be a sign of decline – Shakespeare said ‘Is second childishness and mere oblivion; Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything’ about the last age…   Charles aka Chas McGill is the main character of this novel, a good boy in school, first to raise the hand in class, though his father will at some stage question his judgement, but insist that he had ‘guts’, as opposed to one of the adults in Garmouth (a fictional town), who thinks, like the rest of the locals, that the Germans have landed and he flees Chas has the habit of collecting pieces from the Nazi planes that are shot down, and he has ‘the second-best c...

  Arcadian Nights – The Greek Myths Reimagined by John Spurling 9 out of 10     These are some of the most overwhelming stories that one can read, and listening to them again is such a treat, however, this note is not really about The Greek Myths, or let us just say that I find them stupendous and this is all there is here about Arcadian Nights per se, and you could, should move on to other realms, maybe to The Lost Horizon https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/09/lost-horizon-by-james-hilton.html   The idea of the Greek Myths, which have been in the program of the TVR Cultural aka our Culture Channel, made me think of the polemic we have at the sauna Downtown, where we meet with Balaur aka Messi, from the footballer and the Messiah, a man who is not a god, or demigod from these legends, but has a special status He is a very generous Renaissance Man, if this is not the wrong label, we see him as complex, accomplished in a few spheres, he has been a football...

  I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith – one of the 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read, also included on The BBC The Big Read list 10 out of 10     This novel is glorious, mesmerizing and has an impact beyond the pleasure that it provides, which was immense for this reader, but it will also encourage readers to hope that they will find other books that satisfy the conditions explained at the bottom of this note, taken from To The Heritage https://realini.blogspot.com/2022/09/to-hermitage-by-malcolm-bradbury-author.html by Malcolm Bradbury   All my gratitude to Dodie Smith, a divine author, who has brought back the certitude that there are books out there which will bring extreme joy, just like I Capture The Castle, with its fabulous heroine, Cassandra Mortmain, her relatives and other characters, that substantiate the quote from Umberto Eco, the late novelist He said that those who ‘do not read live one life, while readers live five thousand’, words to tha...

  Enraged – Why Violent Times Need Ancient Greek Myths by Emily Katz Anhalt – another note on these legends is here - https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/02/gods-and-mortals-ancient-greek-myths.html Alexey Navalny as Bellerophon 9 out of 10     Because the leader of the opposition in Russia, Alexey Navalny, has been killed a few days ago, the under signed is under that overwhelming impression, and this note will be from the perspective of the martyr as Bellerophon, listening to the legend, it seemed to me that there are aspects that bring the two together, somewhat   Navalny has tried to kill the Chimera of our times, Putin, The Butcher in the Kremlin, but his crashing end looks like what has happened to the Greek figure – it is so good that there is no need to include spoiler alerts here, except to warn a potential reader that he might find the lines dull, and could be better off on other pastures… Another trait that the martyred politician has i...

  Stalin – A Critical Survey of Bolshevism by Boris Souvarine 9 out of 10     This note is written on February 17, 2024, a day after Alexei Navalny was killed in a penal colony, somewhere near (or beyond) The Arctic Circle, where he was serving a seventeen (or was it nineteen) years long sentence, for, well, being an opponent of the regime, which implies trumped up charges and even death   Stalin is re-incarnated in this short, vile, monstrous Butcher in The Kremlin, and a spoiler alert is needed here, this note will be about Stalin, but only as he is resurrected now, the news of the death of the leader of the opposition in Russia makes me think about this brave, determined, altruistic hero and the Vampire that took him out It is no accident, and the blood clot they mentioned as the cause of death is just another lie – incidentally, the falsehood makes me think of this doctor who is a Putin fan, who comes at our sauna, the ghoul complains about phone ca...

  American Fiction – Screenplay by Cord Jefferson – nominated for Five Oscars, including Best Motion Picture of 2023, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor in a Leading and Supporting Roles and many other trophies, one other note is at https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/02/oscar-nominated-for-best-motion-picture.html 9 out of 10     American Fiction is an original, thought provoking, inspiring, outré movie, one of the best in 2023, offering audiences not just entertainment, but also a challenging narrative, satire and intrigue unlike what we can see normally, in the usual programs that we can see in the cinema, or on the streaming networks   Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison is the hero, portrayed by Jeffrey Wright, who is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading role – the main character is a writer, who does not want to be type cast, placed in a box and he rebels against this notion, taking physically his work along with ...

  Greek Legends by Terry Deary 9 out of 10     The under signed is not religious, but The Ancient Greek Mythology does have its attraction, indeed, it may even seem more palatable than many of the other ones, seeing as the Gods here act like humans, they even have Hermes among them, who is quite a character, represented as he is with that double snake on the cane   The symbol is supposed to show us the duality of this god, who was somehow connected with Olympus, but also of Hades, protector of the thieves and liars, he was born in a cave, the father was the ultimate fornicator, Zeus was making Hera, his wife, so angry with his philandering, fathering so many offspring, and Hermes Immediately after he was born, Hermes walks on his feet – remember who his father is – and then he comes across this herd of cattle, with golden horns, that belong to his half-brother, Apollo, the latter is seducing women (and this boy, in other words, they were quite open mind...

  The Chase by Horton Foote 8 out of 10     The chase is a play that has been adapted for the big screen, with a dream team as part of the cast – Marlon Brando as Sheriff Calder, Robert Redford Bubber Reeves, Jane Fonda as Anna Reeves, James Fox is James ‘Jake’ Rogers, Robert Duvall as Edwin Stewart and others, directed by the remarkable Arthur Penn…   However, the result was not cheered by critics, who have mostly dismissed it, disliked the performance of Marlon Brando – the giant said that he was not happy with the script, which did not give him more than just walking around, but it might well be a case of having too high expectations, the reverse worked for me Reading that this was not satisfying enough, and expecting less than a knock out, The Chase turned out to be a pleasant surprise and a good film, if not a landmark, an overwhelming, dazzling experiment – Bubber Reeves escapes prison early, so we may think of The Shawshank Redemption, which stay...