This excellent review of a new book by Andrew Thornton-Norris, The Spiritual History of English, offers a panoramic perspective of philosophical and literary history. It’s well worth reading as, it seems, is Thornton-Norris’s book. Not surprisingly, Thornton-Norris converted to Catholicism as a direct result of his research for his “Spiritual History”. When you read this review, and see the scope of his knowledge and understanding, you will understand why such an honest intellect came to such an honest conclusion and acted upon it.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article7129997.ece
I think this sounds like an important book. I’m happy to see that it’s only 150 pages; it may therefore make it to my reading list. As I age and life (time) becomes ever more visibly brief, I’m less inclined to read *about* literature, more inclined to read literature. (It happens with age: we want to live instead of think about living, to love rather than analyze love, to worship rather than talk about liturgy.)
I think he’s hit upon my complaint about contemporary fiction in that phrase, “sentimental humanism”. The drivel that clutters bestseller lists has passed the limits of sappy we-must-relate-to-one-another-because-everything-else-is-meaningless-and-that’s-our-only-hope theme. It has fully arrived at boring predictability and become as formulaic as Danielle Steele. No wonder people don’t read any more. You can’t swim in water that’s only an inch deep. All you can do is grab a towel.
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