More on the Matucheks' Jewish neighbors:
"This was why I'd turned to this family. Not only were they good-hearted and reliable; they believed, and practiced their belief. I didn't see how wicked spirits could pass through the holiness that guarded those doors." (p. 379)
Whatever our beliefs, we often accept certain premises while reading fantasy. These premises include the proposition that there is a holiness that is unassailable by any wicked spirits. James Blish's Black Easter is shocking precisely because its conclusion contradicts that premise. The exorcist's crucifix explodes in his hand and the demon proclaims that God is dead. But Blish explores the contradictions of that position in the sequel.
In Pagan belief, there are good and bad deities, both finite - maybe truer to the world that we inhabit? In secular history, there is no guarantee against absolute evils like Nazism or SM Stirling's Draka. Orwell's 1984 dictatorship would, in my opinion, collapse - if it were not first overthrown by a resurgence from the proles - but it would be able to wreak immense harm, meanwhile.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
That is one of the more elaborate Jewish synagogues I've seen. Where is it located?
Another way of putting it when we read SF or Fantasy being how we temporarily suspend our disbelief, so we can properly enjoy the story.
True, we can have no guarantees of avoiding such absolute evils as Nazism, Communism, or Stirling's Draka. Unfortunately, tyrannies like the USSR can sometimes last a very long time.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
It is the Jubilee Synagogue in Prague.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Something to look up! At first, I even thought it looked like a Hindu temple, till I noticed the Star of David over the main doors.
Ad astra! Sean
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