Synopsis: A tribal patriarch in pre-colonial Nigeria is forced to confront the changes to his society brought on by the arrival of European settlers. The Anti-“Heart of Darkness”.
My Take: “Things Fall Apart”, Chinua Achebe’s first novel, is a seminal work in the modern literary cannon. Released in 1958, it was one of the works [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Philosophy'
“Things Fall Apart”, Chinua Achebe
August 28th, 2009 · No Comments · African, Fiction, History, Literature, Philosophy
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“What Does China Think”, Mark Leonard
August 14th, 2009 · No Comments · Asian, Chinese, Non-Fiction, Philosophy
Synopsis: An idiot’s guide to the various streams of contemporary Chinese policy debate. When you view the world through the eyes of China’s intellectuals
My Take: Those who know me know that I’m a bit of a Sinophile. While the human rights record of the Chinese government is obviously indefensible and deserves public attention and debate, [...]
Tags:Mark Leonard
"The Theory of Clouds", Stephane Audeguy
July 3rd, 2009 · No Comments · Fiction, Literature, Philosophy
Synopsis: Parisian survivor of Hiroshima and owner of the world’s largest collection of manuscripts concerning clouds hires an unassuming librarian to catalogue his collection. As the librarian learns about the men of history who had become obsessed by clouds, she is tasked with locating the mysterious Abercrombie Protocol, an attempt by a obscure 19th century [...]
Tags:Stephane Audeguy
"Heart of Darkness", Joseph Conrad
June 25th, 2009 · 4 Comments · African, English, Fiction, Literature, Philosophy
Synopsis: Freed from the constraints of European morality, a man confronts the underlying nature of humanity. Madness ensures.
My Take: For quite a short novella, “The Heart of Darkness” has certainly prompted a lot of meta-discussion. The subject of critical attention as a part of the Western cannon, as a flash point in post-colonial literary debates, [...]
Tags:Joseph Conrad