Fiorella Files- Eagleton, Virgil and Nicholls

Radical Sacrifice by Terry Eagleton

The modern conception of sacrifice is at once cast as a victory of self-discipline over desire and condescended to as destructive and archaic abnegation. But even in the Old Testament, the dual natures of sacrifice, embodying both ritual slaughter and moral rectitude, were at odds. In this analysis, Terry Eagleton makes a compelling argument that the idea of sacrifice has long been misunderstood.

Virgil’s Aeneid 

This is a book about Virgil’s Aeneid, especially the second half of the poem, are explores in some detail Virgil’s use of Homer’s Iliad. The author’s main purpose is to try to re-establish the value and importance of books VII-XII of the Aeneid, which he argues, far from constituting a falling off from the more familiar earlier books, Aeneid VII-XII presents a continuous epic narrative of sustained power, planned and executed on the largest scale and offering a structural unity which matches that of its great model. His secondary purpose is to try to give the modern reader an impression of what Homer’s Iliad meant to the implied reader of the Aeneid and to Virgil himself. Throughout, Gransden places emphasis on the text as a piece of continuous narrative, finding that the experience of reading VII-XII modifies the reader’s sense of books I-VI. This book will interest all those who enjoy Virgil, whether they are studying Latin or reading the poet in translation. A knowledge of Latin is not essential and those concerned with the techniques of narrative in epic and other fiction will also find the book of value.

Starter For Ten by David Nicholls

It’s 1985 and Brian Jackson has arrived at university with a burning ambition – to make it onto TV’s foremost general knowledge quiz. But no sooner has he embarked on ‘The Challenge’ than he finds himself falling hopelessly in love with his teammate, the beautiful and charismatic would-be actress, Alice Harbinson. When Alice fails to fall for his slightly over-eager charms, Brian comes up with a foolproof plan to capture her heart once and for all. He’s going to win the game, at any cost, because – after all – everyone knows that what a woman really wants from a man is a comprehensive grasp of general knowledge…Starter for Ten is a comedy about love, class, growing-up and the all-important difference between knowledge and wisdom. Are you up to the challenge of the funniest novel in years?

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