Entry tags:
2006-06-02
Entry tags:
Illustration Friday: Portrait
When I saw the cue this week, my mind went immediately to the most recent portrait I have drawn – the self-portrait final project for my Intro to Drawing class.
( The sketch )
In the actual scene, of course, there was stuff in the closet. Oh, and a bed, right in between the 'camera' and myself.
Strangely, my classmates thought the result was excellent.
( The sketch )
In the actual scene, of course, there was stuff in the closet. Oh, and a bed, right in between the 'camera' and myself.
Strangely, my classmates thought the result was excellent.
The Man Who Was Thursday - Still Not a Review
Oh, bother! Stuff and bother! G. K. Chesterton, the brilliant writer, the famous Christian apologist, the utter cad!
Review - The Man Who Was Thursday
First, another vocabulary term: "diablerie". It is a word which, according to my mother's turn-of-the-century dictionary, refers either to devilry and mischief or to magic arts and incantations.* Chesterton uses in the latter sense, as implying devilish magic – a use I found quite evocative.
That facility with language is actually the first characteristic I want to mention in my review. G. K. Chesterton is a good writer. I compared him to Dorothy Sayers, to Jerome K. Jerome, and to Charles Dickens – I stand by each of those comparisons, that to Dickens the most. His language is literate, it is evocative, and, most importantly, it is precise. Like a classical artist, Chesterton simultaneously makes his language beautiful in itself and makes it always serve the story.
Ah, but the story...! I cannot appreciate it.
( The following contains spoilers of the worst kind - spoilers for the ending. It also contains spoilers for the middle, and to a lesser degree for the beginning. If you wish to read this novel from a state of ignorance - although I do not recommend it, in this case - do not continue. )
* "Diablerie" is also a term which, according to Wikipedia, refers to a particular action that can be taken in the Vampire: the Masquerade et al. games from White Wolf. I image a number of modern readers will have a pretty odd reaction when they see the word in The Man Who Was Thursday.
That facility with language is actually the first characteristic I want to mention in my review. G. K. Chesterton is a good writer. I compared him to Dorothy Sayers, to Jerome K. Jerome, and to Charles Dickens – I stand by each of those comparisons, that to Dickens the most. His language is literate, it is evocative, and, most importantly, it is precise. Like a classical artist, Chesterton simultaneously makes his language beautiful in itself and makes it always serve the story.
Ah, but the story...! I cannot appreciate it.
( The following contains spoilers of the worst kind - spoilers for the ending. It also contains spoilers for the middle, and to a lesser degree for the beginning. If you wish to read this novel from a state of ignorance - although I do not recommend it, in this case - do not continue. )
* "Diablerie" is also a term which, according to Wikipedia, refers to a particular action that can be taken in the Vampire: the Masquerade et al. games from White Wolf. I image a number of modern readers will have a pretty odd reaction when they see the word in The Man Who Was Thursday.