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Grant L Voth

Auteur van Great Mythologies of the World

89 Werken 372 Leden 7 Besprekingen

Over de Auteur

Werken van Grant L Voth

Great Mythologies of the World (2015) — Verteller — 84 exemplaren
Myth in Human History (2010) 67 exemplaren
The History of World Literature (2007) 62 exemplaren
A Day's Read (2012) — Auteur — 30 exemplaren
Beckett’s Plays 1 exemplaar
Bhagavad Gita 1 exemplaar
Greek Tragedy 1 exemplaar
The Hebrew Bible 1 exemplaar
“Beowulf” 1 exemplaar
The New Testament 1 exemplaar
Indian Stories 1 exemplaar
Moliere’s Plays 1 exemplaar
T’ang Poetry 1 exemplaar
Shakespeare 1 exemplaar
“1001 Nights” 1 exemplaar

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Algemene kennis

Geslacht
male
Nationaliteit
USA

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Besprekingen

As a selection from the Teaching Company's "Great Courses" series, in "A Day's Read" three university professors introduce short works of literature via recorded lectures. The work is available as downloadable digital files from Audible, and used copies are available in both CD and DVD form.

Each of the 36 lectures focuses on a relatively short work of literature, one that can be read within one or a few sittings. The lectures introduce the works in the context of their authors, themes, nature, history, significance, and impact. The idea is that people with busy lives who lack the time to tackle larger works of literature by eminent writers of fiction can sample shorter works by such authors. Thus, readers not ready to try James Joyce's "Ulysses" will benefit from reading and learning about "The Dead", and those intimidated by Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" can start with "Pantaloon in Black". The works presented span the 19th and 20th centuries, and include those from such authors as Austen, Melville, Kafka, Hemingway, Chopin, Wilde, Woolf, Proust, Munroe, and Stevenson, along with a few more modern authors.

I consider the series of lectures to be well- conceived and well- executed, and overall, a fine way to become acquainted with eminent authors and their works of literature. For several of the authors the particular short work selected offers an excellent introduction. For example, "Billy Budd" is a masterpiece of literature, and guided by the analysis of the lecturer (Gerald Voth), the new reader will likely be ready to try Melville's longer works (such as "Moby Dick"). Likewise, "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" is the most accessible and well-known of Stevenson's fiction, and a fine introduction to the new reader who has yet to experience "Treasure Island"

In some cases, the selection discussed will help the reader judge whether to continue with a given author's works. Notably, "A Country Doctor" is a good way to begin with work by Franz Kafka. Lecturer Arnold Weinstein helps guide the reader through strange imagery that would otherwise seem alien and off-putting. A reader who (despite Weinstein's analysis) finds the tale too confusing should probably stay away from "The Trial" or "The Castle".

In other cases, the selection analyzed is not typical of the author's other work. For example, Flaubert's "A Simple Heart" is (in my view) far less enjoyable than "Madame Bovary", and the quality of "Lady Susan" notwithstanding, I would recommend that it be read *after (not before) Jane Austen's novels. In still other cases, the short work selected is of lesser quality than an author's other work, a category in which I would include Hemingway's "Old Man and the Sea".
Likewise, one can question the omission of certain authors, my list of which would include Dickens, Forster, Maugham, Steinbeck, and Vonnegut. But tastes differ

Below is a list of the 36 works discussed, along with their authors.

1. Kafka, Country Doctor
2. Prevost, Manon Lescaut
3. Flaubert, A Simple Heart
4. Faulkner, Pantaloon in Black
5. Borges, Short Story Selections
6. Hemingway, Old Man & the Sea
7. O'Connor, Short Story Selections
8. Lagervist, The Sybil
9. Vesaas, The Ice Palace
10. Calvino, Invisible Cities
11. Duras, The Lover
12. Coetzee, Disgrace
13. Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea
14. Austen, Lady Susan
15. Balzac, Girl with the Golden Eyes
16. Meredith, Modern Love
17. Huysmans Against the Grain
18. Stevenson, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
19. Wilde, Portrait of Dorian Gray
20. Jame, Beast in the Jungle
21. Joyce, The Dead
22. Proust, Lemoin Affair
23. Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway in Bond Street
24. McEwan, On Chesil Beach
25. Cather, Alexander's Bridge
26. Lu Xun, Short Story Selections
27. Chopin, The Awakening
28. Melville, Billy Budd
29. McCullers, Ballad of the Sad Café
30. Chekhov, Short Story Selections
31. Hersey, Hiroshima
32. Satrapi, Persepolis
33. Jataka, Short Story Selections
34. Munro, Short Story Selections
35. Basho, Narrow Road of the Interior
36. Siljie, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
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Gemarkeerd
danielx | 1 andere bespreking | Jul 2, 2022 |
The best thing about this lecture series was how diverse the mythology covered in it was. It touches on myths from all over the world, though it does feature Greek and Roman myth more heavily than any other, and some cultures are notoriously absent (for example, I don't think Slavic myth was mentioned at all). The thing I liked least was how non-diverse the lecturers were. I was less than thrilled with hearing about, for instance, Incan myths from a white man, Indian myths from a white woman, or Chinese myths from a different white man. I appreciated that they all seemed to try to see the myth through the lens of the culture that it belonged to, but it still felt wrong. It was worth it for the overview, but I'll get my deeper look at these mythologies elsewhere.… (meer)
 
Gemarkeerd
ca.bookwyrm | 1 andere bespreking | Jan 20, 2022 |
The Skeptic’s Guide to Great Books by Grant L. Voth is a 2011 Great Course presentation.

This The Great Courses class consists of twelve thirty- minute lectures which suggests alternatives for those who might struggle with literary canons, but would like to read something comparable, but a little less dense, and more manageable for them.

The first part sticks to substitutions for specific hallowed literary canons, such as "War and Peace", while the second half explores more contemporary literature that should perhaps be on a list of great books because they offer us many of the same benefits as reading the classic canons.

The twelve books explored are as follows:

Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol

Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren

Angels in America by Tony Kushner

Slouching Towards Bethlehem – Joan Didion

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Death of an Expert Witness by P.D. James

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold- John le Carre

Watchmen- by Alan Moore

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

A long while back, I received a recommendation to try out The Great Courses, which I accepted, and have been a fan ever since.

When I stumbled across this series of lectures, I was looking for another course on grammar. I was struck by the title of the series- and after reading the description I immediately checked it out instead.

Despite the impression the title might give, the series does not question or dispute any of the great books or Harvard literary canons. However, the professor offers book suggestions to readers, which will cover the same basic themes, but are shorter, and easier to retain.

The author gives a breakdown of each book, exploring the main themes and similarities between it and a comparable literary canon, or classic.

I loved the way the professor approached the lectures, his tone and occasional humor. I also appreciated that he realizes some books that are considered literary greats are hard for many people to complete, much less digest, and that guilt for not having read them, is not necessary. One does not have to read Dickens in a continuous loop to get the same literary quality in a story.

So, if you are looking to read more literary novels, but find the canons daunting- this lecture will point you in the direction of some nice substitutions that will assuage any guilt for not reading more literary novels.

Plus, the professor makes it clear that there are many great books out there that explore important themes and gives us a glimpse of life from many different perspectives, but does not fall into the literary category.

The second half of this lecture proves that, and you can bet that for once I was the one with a smug feeling when the author included a spy novel, a graphic novel, and a mystery novel on the list.

Overall, this is an interesting series of lectures, that not only introduces readers to important books outside of literary canons, it also promotes the joy of reading. One can still feel a sense of accomplishment at having read something meaningful and thought provoking without feeling overwhelmed.

I enjoyed many aspects of this course, and felt a magnitude of validation. It has inspired me to venture outside my comfort zone a little more often, without the fear of feeling as though I will be completely of my element.

*One minor drawback may be that some spoilers are unavoidable- but the author did go to great lengths to prevent that in most instances.

4 stars
… (meer)
 
Gemarkeerd
gpangel | 1 andere bespreking | Oct 11, 2020 |
The book does not do justice to the sheer scope of the subject at hand ; the authors go over a plethora of ancient geographically disparate mythologies which spawned across the globe ;
Myths from ancient civilizations like Greek , Sumerian , Nordic , African etc which are are now form the archetype belief systems of current Abrahamic religions like Christianity , Islam etc due to geo-political consolidation and conquest ; which present day theists mindlessly spout as the “truth“ .

One can easily find certain prophetic “end of the world” patterns in all civilizations such as floods , fire or virgin births etc – which gives one a glimpse into the mind of humans who tried to make sense of their environment .
… (meer)
 
Gemarkeerd
Vik.Ram | 1 andere bespreking | May 5, 2019 |

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Werken
89
Leden
372
Populariteit
#64,810
Waardering
3.9
Besprekingen
7
ISBNs
27

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