Literature and the Gods

Rating:
Summary: Absorbing Lectures for those interested.
Review: Calasso is not an easy author to engage. Simply put, he makes little to no apologies from those that are not as well read he is, and does not waste time trying to have others catch up.

However, in this he is like the college professor who challenges his pupils, offering incredible insight to those who want to educate themselves. In this book, he attempts to connect the old gods, and the very idea of pagan divinity, to the literature of the modern age. His goal is to show us that these concrete expressions of divinity make their way into literature because they are what give literature a spark of the mysterious and divine.

In all honesty, it is hard to tell whether he accomplishes his goal, precisely because I am not up to par with his knowledge. At the same time, like a good professor he stuns me with his eloquence, so much so that I WANT to go and educate myself, to bone up on my literature and return to his lectures.

To any who love learning, I recommend this and Calasso's other books. He has a gift for recognizing and conveying the passion of writers and philosophers.