Fai clic su di un'immagine per andare a Google Ricerca Libri.
Sto caricando le informazioni... Jack Faust (1997)di Michael Swanwick
Faust legend (5) Sto caricando le informazioni...
Iscriviti per consentire a LibraryThing di scoprire se ti piacerà questo libro. Attualmente non vi sono conversazioni su questo libro. http://speculiction.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/review-of-jack-faust-by-michael-swanw... ( ) Clever reimagining of the Faustus legend. It begins evocative of the Middle Ages and concludes by being provocative of our own. Social psychologists have long been fascinated with the phenomenon of how well-intentioned, perhaps even personally virtuous individuals can be drawn to participate in the most awful things. The social science research often proves inadequate--explanations may only best come through the vehicle of story and metaphor. Here's the book's theme, expressed through the thoughts of one of the main characters: "One thinks of oneself as a good person. One is not an objective judge. Some of the things she'd done . . . she didn't want to think about them. It was so easy to be corrupted by events. All it took was the decision, not necessarily conscious, not to bother thinking about the consequences." It's the tragedy of the human condition. Imagine, broadly speaking, the Faust legend starts the same way. But... instead of Faust asking for knowledge in line with the sources of history that he reveres, this Faust is convinced they're all charlatans and seeks out new (scientific) knowledge. He also takes Mephistopheles' advice about how to disseminate his new knowledge to a largely unready world. The Spanish Armada is suddenly ironclads, defeated by rockets from the English fleet... word is spread by radio and so much more. This is the basis of this book and for quite a long time it works pretty well but there are a couple of weird patches where it seems like the ideas weren't worked out and sadly one of those is the last 5 chapters leaving a rather bitter taste in the mouth. Ranks as possibly my favorite book I have ever read, possibly than for no other reason than this is tackling my favourite thought experiment - if I could go back in time with what I know, how would I change the world. Except that's not really the thought experiment being tackled, but good enough. We see the story of a man who wants scientific knowledge and is offered it in abundance. He thinks it will improve mankind, those who offer it him do so because they are convinced it will destroy mankind. Not sufficient to tell just this story it does track his pursuit, capture and eventual fall of his sweetheart. Again asking the question that if something comes with too much ease is it worth having anymore? nothing i can say can do this book justice - if you like alternate timeline thought experiments then this is the book for you. nessuna recensione | aggiungi una recensione
Premi e riconoscimentiElenchi di rilievo
The acclaimed novels of award-winning author Michael Swanwick have been praised for their "heady mix of wild ideas and images" (San Francisco Chronicle) and "extraordinary richness and scope" (Kirkus Reviews). But nothing that has come before can quite compare to this, Swanwick's finest creation to date.It is Wittenberg, Germany, and Dr. Faust is burning his books. The alchemist is in deepest despair, for even his vast learning is powerless against the ignorance and superstition of his fellow man. Then, in his darkest moment, a voice whispers: Faust. And so begins Swanwick's masterful reinvention of Goethe's story of a scholar who sells his soul to the Devil for the gift of unlimited Knowledge.But the wisdom this Mephistopheles offers goes far beyond anything even imagined in Goethe's day. The principles of flight, technology and economics, the mysteries of the cosmos, medicine and the atom -- all are made known to Faust as he remakes the world in his own image, ushering in the New Age of Mechanization centuries before its rightful day. Ultimately it is love -- for his creations and for a woman named Margarete -- that damns Jack Faust, as this brilliant story spins forward through time, pulling the reader to the very brink of the new millennium to confront the "progress" Faust has wrought.Lyrical, arresting and provocative, "Jack Faust" is a cause for celebration -- it is an extraordinary work that entertains gloriously as it takes a deep and disturbing look into the collective soul of humankind. Non sono state trovate descrizioni di biblioteche |
Discussioni correntiNessunoCopertine popolari
Google Books — Sto caricando le informazioni... GeneriSistema Decimale Melvil (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999Classificazione LCVotoMedia:
Sei tu?Diventa un autore di LibraryThing. |