Sarah Jilani shares the wisdom of a literature student
Lizzy Pennock explores the destructive power of the Internet in relation to books.
Lizzy Pennock explores the fine line between what makes art erotic or pornographic.
Lois Cameron on Anne of Green Gables and how it differs from most books for girls.
Master and Margarita – Mikhail Bulgakov (Adam Green)
Recommended in The Guardian by Adam Green, Mikhail Bulgakov’s comedy combines Biblical and Faustian themes with religious satire. Arriving in Moscow early one morning, Woland encounters local poet Ivan Bezdomny and his Editor. Upon learning that both are atheists he condemns Bezdomny to an asylum and his Editor to death. Inside Moscow's asylum Bezdomny then meets The Master who promptly tells him all about Margarita. Meanwhile, Woland, Koroviev and Behemoth (a six foot black cat with a taste for Whiskey) track down Margarita and explain to her just why they are back in town...
Notes from Underground – Fyodor Dostoevsky (Bob Dylan)
A major influence on Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg in 1950s New York City, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s most famous book is seen as a turning point in Western literature. Unsurprisingly then, Bob Dylan among his many literary influences cites this Russian masterpiece among his favourites. An unnamed protagonist explains his decision to abandon his life among Russian High Society to live isolated underground. First paraphrased by Jack Kerouac in The Subterraneans it was then further paraphrased for Bob Dylan's most influential song Subterranean Homesick Blues
Brighton Rock – Graham Greene (Peter Doherty)
Themes of youth, loneliness, and mortality are all challenged in Graham Greene’s most exciting novel. Pinkie, adolescent gangster of Brighton's underworld, is the key player in an unsolvable murder case. As dangerous as Pinkie is, he is also a devout Christian and after meeting Rose he is led into a showdown with his adversary and with his own sin. Those familiar with Doherty’s lyrics during Libertines’ reign as British saviours will see parallels with Time for Heroes or Up the Bracket. Brighton Rock uncovers a seaside town with a seedy underworld ready to burst at its seams.
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