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Modernism: The Lure of Heresy - From Baudelaire to Beckett and Beyond by Peter Gay (view source)
Revision as of 18:10, 10 November 2009
, 18:10, 10 November 2009no edit summary
Particularly in the chapters on art and architecture, more illustrations of the works being discussed would have made this even more valuable for the more casual reader. And certainly, an interest in the subject matter is helpful - my knowledge and appreciation of classical music borders on 'heathen' and so, unsurprisingly, this chapter washed over me a bit - although that is more a fault in this reader than with the book.
Although he covers the decline of Modernism, it would have been interesting to cover some of the start of 'postmodernism' (a term he only uses once in the whole book). But to be fair, he had enough on his plate covering such a broad topic in the first place.
There is no denying that this is a very impressive book though and you get a lot of learning for the price of a paperback. And I even impressed myself by being able to answer a series of questions on modernism on University Challenge last night - if only the contestants had read this book first!