Francis Berger
  • Blog
  • My Work

A Review of The City of Earthly Desire

5/12/2019

0 Comments

 
S.K. Orr has reviewed my novel The City of Earthly Desire on his blog Steeple Tea. Although the novel has received some reviews over the years, very few approach the quality of insight and observation S.K. records in his assessment of the narrative.

Naturally, I appreciate any and all reviews, but reviews of this quality serve to remind me that perhaps, just perhaps, writing fiction is worthwhile after all. It goes without saying that I appreciate the the time and effort Mr. Orr has invested into this review.

The following is an excerpt from S.K.'s review.


Part historical novel and part philosophical treatise, The City of Earthly Desire is a look at the lives of several people connected to post-Communist Hungary and their relationship to the concept of freedom, specifically the kind of “freedom” that can turn virtues into vices.

The novel follows a Hungarian artist, Reinhardt Drixler, and his son Bela through decades of personal and cultural turmoil. It is a vivid slice of Cold War-era history charged with an underlying mythic archetype.

Young Bela, the book’s protagonist, is an immature and mercurial fellow who strikes up a friendship with worldly Anthony Vergil while trying to find his way in the world. This friendship becomes Faustian in its undertones, with Verge playing a cavalier yet tragic Mephistopholes.

Berger’s layered descriptions of the grimy paths down which Verge leads Bela crackle with authenticity. Older readers like myself wince at the accuracy and poignancy of scenes where a character stands on the precipice of ruin and makes a choice with eternal consequences in an offhand way. It’s a testament to Berger’s power as a writer and his skills at character development that the reader can become so invested in the characters who populate this novel.
​

The City of Earthly Desire explores many themes, including the human penchant for drawing gossamer distinctions between art and pornography, between good and evil, between need and desire. But the main theme I identified was almost Dickensian in its scope and focus, a theme most easily described as a dilemma. In symbolic terms, here is the dilemma, in my own words:

I invite you to read the rest here. 


0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Blog and Comments

    Blog posts tend to be spontaneous, unpolished, first draft entries ranging from the insightful and periodically profound to the poorly-argued and occasionally disparaging.
     

    Comments are moderated. Anonymous comments are never published (please use your name or a pseudonym). 

    Emails welcome:

    f er en c ber g er (at) h otm   ail (dot) co m
    Blogs/Sites I Read
    Bruce Charlton's Notions
    Meeting the Masters
    From The Narrow Desert
    Synlogos ✞ Aggregator
    New World Island  
    New World Island YouTube
    ​Steeple Tea
    Adam Piggott
    Fourth Gospel Blog
    The Orthosphere
    Junior Ganymede
    GunnerQ2

    Archives

    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012

    Picture
    A free PDF is also available in My Work. 
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.