Robert Irwin (1) (1946–)
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Tietoja tekijästä
Robert Irwin is senior research associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. His many books include Dangerous Knowledge: Orientalism and Its Discontents and Memoirs of a Dervish: Sufis, Mystics, and the Sixties. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Tekijän teokset
Visions of the Jinn: Illustrators of the Arabian Nights (Studies in the Arcadian Library) (2011) 16 kappaletta
Tales from the 1001 Nights 1 kappale
From the Maghrib to the Maldives 1 kappale
Associated Works
Tales of the Wandering Jew: A Collection of Contemporary and Classic Stories (European Literary Fantasy Anthologies) (1991) — Avustaja — 25 kappaletta
The Arabian Nights and Orientalism: Perspectives from East and West (2006) — Johdanto — 10 kappaletta
Byzantines, Latins, and Turks in the Eastern Mediterranean World after 1150 (2012) — Avustaja — 8 kappaletta
Merkitty avainsanalla
Yleistieto
- Kanoninen nimi
- Irwin, Robert
- Virallinen nimi
- Irwin, Robert Graham
- Syntymäaika
- 1946-08-23
- Sukupuoli
- male
- Kansalaisuus
- UK
- Maa (karttaa varten)
- England, UK
- Syntymäpaikka
- Guildford, Surrey, England, UK
- Asuinpaikat
- London, England, UK
- Koulutus
- Oxford University (BA|1967 - Epsom College)
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London - Ammatit
- editor
novelist
professor
arabist - Organisaatiot
- School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
University of St Andrews
Times Literary Supplement - Palkinnot ja kunnianosoitukset
- Fellow, Royal Society of Literature (2001)
Fellow, Society of Antiquaries of London (1989)
Fellow, Royal Asiatic Society - Lyhyt elämäkerta
- Robert Irwin was born in 1946. He was educated at Epsom College and won a major scholarship to Oxford. After a lectureship at St Andrews he became a house-husband and writer, and has continued to produce both fiction and academic work. He is a widely acknowledged expert on The Arabian Nights. His first novel was the celebrated cult book, The Arabian Nightmare (1983), followed by The Limits of Vision (1986), The Mysteries of Algiers (1988), Exquisite Corpse (1995) and Prayer-Cushions of the Flesh (1997). Satan Wants Me, a novel of the occult set in Sixties Britain, is published by Dedalus. His non-fiction includes The Arabian Nights: A Companion (1994) and Islamic Art (1997); his anthology of classical Arabic literature is published by Penguin.
Jäseniä
Kirja-arvosteluja
Ibn Khaldun: An Intellectual Biography Tekijä: Robert Irwin
Biography of one of the greatest Arab intellectuals. The life, times, and ideas of a leading intellectual historian that supplies an interesting contribution to Middle Eastern history.
On Palm Sunday, 1461, the Wars of the Roses descend on Towton, where a bloody, decisive battle literally crowns the Yorkist rebellion against Lancastrian King Henry VI. Anthony Woodville, Lord Scales, numbers among the Lancastrian dead, or so it seems.
Yet he revives, having dreamed during his resurrection the most impossible events, including a ceremony involving the Holy Grail. Almost as miraculously, the new monarch presumptive, Edward, accepts his oath of loyalty.
Anthony is neither the first nor the last great noble to change allegiances during the Wars of the Roses, but suspicion naturally clings to him. His rise — in all senses of the word — attracts enemies whose smiles must not be taken on trust. That’s true even, if not especially, after his sister, Elizabeth, marries Edward and becomes queen. The king’s brother-in-law stands to gain great wealth, power, and fame, which provokes jealousy among rivals and also means he is constantly at the crown’s beck and call.
Wonders Will Never Cease conveys the terror and chaos of England plagued by civil strife, yet this is no standard, ordinary historical tale, even though events follow the facts, and every character actually existed. If you’re looking for, say, The Kingmaker (Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick), he’s here, and so are Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and a host of others familiar from song and story.
Rather, it’s how Irwin presents these people and their actions that seems original. As an astute reviewer for the Guardian noted, the narrative reads like a Terry Pratchett fantasy, and a marvelously rich one it is. At times very funny but also deadly serious, the novel explores the uses and misuses of storytelling; whether heroes deserve admiration; and how inflated reputations entrap living legends.
In other words, Irwin’s writing about spin, and what’s left when you delve through it to the truth underneath. Do you find a hero, or a man on the make who’s too quick to avenge a slight or enrich himself? In the process, some famous figures take a drubbing. Sir Thomas Malory, author of Le Morte d’Arthur, attaches himself to Anthony, who, after listening to the legends, frankly wonders whether these Knights of the Round Table were such paragons after all.
But the most elaborate fun arrives through George Ripley, the king’s alchemist, who delights in making myths of real men. When Anthony first meets Ripley, he’s skeptical of having any use for a dabbler in metals, a prejudice that Ripley vigorously contests.
What results, however, has far-reaching consequences. Ripley embellishes Anthony’s history to include battles with imaginary demons and ascribes acts of chastity and piety that even the son of a fifteenth-century English earl would hesitate to claim.
Ripley knows that not everyone will believe everything, but that everybody will believe something, which makes him a sort of Abraham Lincoln before his time. And lest you think, as I did, that Ripley is too coincidental a name for a fabricator par excellence, let me repeat: He’s a historical figure.
But he probably didn’t spin tales like these, and I doubt very much whether he actually devised a Talking Head to tell the future. I love that touch, which sounds like a satire on today’s pundits, the only difference being that Edward IV’s version is always right. You can spin what you like, but you can’t outrun your fate.
To enjoy Wonders Will Never Cease, you have to like long interruptions to the forward narrative in which the characters tell stories and comment on them. But these tales have a purpose beyond the telling. They lead Anthony, who starts out as less than the deepest thinker, to consider the purpose of his life and what his fame actually means. And if we, the readers, ponder these issues too, I think Irwin has accomplished his purpose.… (lisätietoja)
Yet he revives, having dreamed during his resurrection the most impossible events, including a ceremony involving the Holy Grail. Almost as miraculously, the new monarch presumptive, Edward, accepts his oath of loyalty.
Anthony is neither the first nor the last great noble to change allegiances during the Wars of the Roses, but suspicion naturally clings to him. His rise — in all senses of the word — attracts enemies whose smiles must not be taken on trust. That’s true even, if not especially, after his sister, Elizabeth, marries Edward and becomes queen. The king’s brother-in-law stands to gain great wealth, power, and fame, which provokes jealousy among rivals and also means he is constantly at the crown’s beck and call.
Wonders Will Never Cease conveys the terror and chaos of England plagued by civil strife, yet this is no standard, ordinary historical tale, even though events follow the facts, and every character actually existed. If you’re looking for, say, The Kingmaker (Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick), he’s here, and so are Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and a host of others familiar from song and story.
Rather, it’s how Irwin presents these people and their actions that seems original. As an astute reviewer for the Guardian noted, the narrative reads like a Terry Pratchett fantasy, and a marvelously rich one it is. At times very funny but also deadly serious, the novel explores the uses and misuses of storytelling; whether heroes deserve admiration; and how inflated reputations entrap living legends.
In other words, Irwin’s writing about spin, and what’s left when you delve through it to the truth underneath. Do you find a hero, or a man on the make who’s too quick to avenge a slight or enrich himself? In the process, some famous figures take a drubbing. Sir Thomas Malory, author of Le Morte d’Arthur, attaches himself to Anthony, who, after listening to the legends, frankly wonders whether these Knights of the Round Table were such paragons after all.
But the most elaborate fun arrives through George Ripley, the king’s alchemist, who delights in making myths of real men. When Anthony first meets Ripley, he’s skeptical of having any use for a dabbler in metals, a prejudice that Ripley vigorously contests.
What results, however, has far-reaching consequences. Ripley embellishes Anthony’s history to include battles with imaginary demons and ascribes acts of chastity and piety that even the son of a fifteenth-century English earl would hesitate to claim.
Ripley knows that not everyone will believe everything, but that everybody will believe something, which makes him a sort of Abraham Lincoln before his time. And lest you think, as I did, that Ripley is too coincidental a name for a fabricator par excellence, let me repeat: He’s a historical figure.
But he probably didn’t spin tales like these, and I doubt very much whether he actually devised a Talking Head to tell the future. I love that touch, which sounds like a satire on today’s pundits, the only difference being that Edward IV’s version is always right. You can spin what you like, but you can’t outrun your fate.
To enjoy Wonders Will Never Cease, you have to like long interruptions to the forward narrative in which the characters tell stories and comment on them. But these tales have a purpose beyond the telling. They lead Anthony, who starts out as less than the deepest thinker, to consider the purpose of his life and what his fame actually means. And if we, the readers, ponder these issues too, I think Irwin has accomplished his purpose.… (lisätietoja)
Good little book on the history, art, and culture of camels. Worthwhile. I need to look at other animals in this series.
I did not understand why this book is so highly regarded. I enjoy fantasy books. They take you into unexpected worlds and can delight you if managed well.
This book did not. It takes the hero, Balian, into waking and dream worlds and you are never sure which aspect of the tale takes place in his dreams, and which does not.
Does the book conclude in the temporal world, or does it end in the dreamworld?
Is it an allegory on perceptions and dreams? Or just a romp on the wild side of fantasy?
I don't know. Many people seem to have enjoyed it, so give it a go.… (lisätietoja)
This book did not. It takes the hero, Balian, into waking and dream worlds and you are never sure which aspect of the tale takes place in his dreams, and which does not.
Does the book conclude in the temporal world, or does it end in the dreamworld?
Is it an allegory on perceptions and dreams? Or just a romp on the wild side of fantasy?
I don't know. Many people seem to have enjoyed it, so give it a go.… (lisätietoja)
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