vivdunstan

Slightly disturbed night, so just finished two more books.

First up a reread of Simon Armitage’s translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. This is a marvellously rich tale, quite remarkable to read still, with very vivid imagery. Beware though there are descriptions of medieval hunting scenes and subsequent animal butchery, which are rather horrifyingly detailed. Not for the vegans to read certainly. Incidentally there was a fantastic interactive fiction (web based choice interface) of this story entered into the IF Comp last year, which I thought was a superb retelling. It puts you in the role of Sir Gawain, and is extremely enjoyable to play through.

Next I finished the Treasure Palaces collection of essays from The Economist’s sister magazine, each by a different writer, exploring a museum or gallery around the world. Only rarely are they what would be considered the most popular or top ranked museums. More often than not they are quirky little delights, which the reader is introduced to. This is a lovely collection of little studies, very varied in theme, approach and style. But well worth a read. I did cough at one glaring factual error in the Prado essay (one of the few major museums/galleries featured), where the essayist unfortunately badly muddled up Scottish and English Queen Marys. But that aside it seemed solid. I especially enjoyed Matthew Sweet’s writings about the ABBA Museum in Stockholm, where Martin and I had a lovely time with family.

Both books score a solid 5/5 rating.