Protocols of the Elders of Sodom and Other Essays
Tariq Ali
Protocols of the Elders of Sodom and Other Essays
Written over the last four decades, these essays and diary entries explore the links between literature, history and politics. Training his eye on the works of varied writers including Cervantes, Tolstoy, Proust, Joyce, Musil, Roth, Powell, Platonov, Solzhenitsyn, Grossman, Munif, Goytisolo and Rushdie Ali discusses common themes as well as polarities, first impressions and re-readings, always seeking to contextualize the text in the political and historical milieu of its creation.
3.8 out of 5 based on 2 reviews
|
Omniscore:
|
| Classification |
Non-fiction |
| Genre |
Essays, Journals & Letters |
| Format |
Hardback |
| Pages |
256 |
| RRP |
£12.99 |
| Date of Publication |
July 2009 |
| ISBN |
978-1844673674 |
| Publisher |
Verso |
| |
Written over the last four decades, these essays and diary entries explore the links between literature, history and politics. Training his eye on the works of varied writers including Cervantes, Tolstoy, Proust, Joyce, Musil, Roth, Powell, Platonov, Solzhenitsyn, Grossman, Munif, Goytisolo and Rushdie Ali discusses common themes as well as polarities, first impressions and re-readings, always seeking to contextualize the text in the political and historical milieu of its creation.
Reviews
The Scotsman
Marc Lambert
“[An] entertaining and informative selection... Each essay is a shot in the air, even if most have been aired before. There is some repetition, and some duds, such as the essay which gives the book its title, a spoof on Proust, Zionism and homosexuality that doesn't quite work. But for the most part Ali is provocative, polemical and often very funny.”
09/06/2009
Read Full Review
The Independent on Sunday
David Renton
“Not all of the pieces in the collection succeed... The best of the essays either appeared in or were aimed at the London Review of Books, and there is a definite LRB style on show, nostalgic and wistful, even in the non-LRB pieces... The essay I enjoyed most was a review of a recent translation of Cervantes's Don Quixote, which Ali appears to have written in annoyance on reading Harold Bloom's introduction to the same volume.”
02/08/2009
Read Full Review