I picked up two tiny books to bring with me on my trip/on the beach.
First one are two version of Greek and Roman myths by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Circe's Palace and The Pomegranate Seeds. They were respectful of the source material, but they were obviously aimed at children (which isn't a bad thing!) and also very Puritan - well-written and enthusiastically told, with enticing imagery, but forcing a morality and a "justice" inside the stories that wasn't really there in the original. It's a fun, lighthearted read if you're both into Greco-Roman mythology and American literature of that period, which I am, but you can survive without.
second one is a short story by Miroslav Krleža, a very important Croatian author, Battle of Bistrica Lesina, about Croatian peasants who are co-opted as domobrans, soldiers in the Austro-Hungarian army, during WWI, and it's sad as fuck and very crude but really really amazing. I'm finding out that I really like Balkanic literature and settings in general so I am maybe biased, but it's really some top-notch writing, and the ultimate moral message shines throught without it being in your face, which is something a lot of contemporary writers could stand to learn.
Re: itt: last book you read
First one are two version of Greek and Roman myths by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Circe's Palace and The Pomegranate Seeds. They were respectful of the source material, but they were obviously aimed at children (which isn't a bad thing!) and also very Puritan - well-written and enthusiastically told, with enticing imagery, but forcing a morality and a "justice" inside the stories that wasn't really there in the original. It's a fun, lighthearted read if you're both into Greco-Roman mythology and American literature of that period, which I am, but you can survive without.
second one is a short story by Miroslav Krleža, a very important Croatian author, Battle of Bistrica Lesina, about Croatian peasants who are co-opted as domobrans, soldiers in the Austro-Hungarian army, during WWI, and it's sad as fuck and very crude but really really amazing. I'm finding out that I really like Balkanic literature and settings in general so I am maybe biased, but it's really some top-notch writing, and the ultimate moral message shines throught without it being in your face, which is something a lot of contemporary writers could stand to learn.