Showing results by narrator "Jim Spring" in All Categories

"Why do we do what we do?" This may seem like a simple question at first; in practice however, the closer we examine where our decisions come from, the less intention and independent reasoning we find. Instead, we find primitive instincts and ideas that are often based on nothing more than the imagination of someone who has been dead for centuries.  

Alexei Tolstoy is better known for his grownup novels and stories. Here, however, is a large collection of tales he had recorded and reimagined for the younger audiences. Peasants and kings, domestic and wild animals, magical creatures and objects are mixed together in this delightful cauldron of imagination.

Light, Laugh, and Human Folly is a collection of novellas centered around anti-heroes living in a society that makes a straight road to success impossible. Alexander Belyaev’s reality-set stories with a touch of science fiction are chillingly close to home. They present the listener with scenarios that are very plausible and easy to imagine witnessing in today’s world. Instead of introducing a traditional hero, who comes and saves the world, Belyaev centers his narrative around individuals who are not only far from heroic but are decidedly unlikable at times.

The tragic and captivating persona of Vsevolod Garshin wouldn't be out of place at the heart of a grand drama, complete with breathtaking plot swings and poignant dialog. As it was, over the course of his short life, Garshin created a sizable and formidable body of work. The tales in this collection were initially intended for children. However, following the tradition of Hans Christian Andersen and Oscar Wilde, Garshin's stories transcend one age group and one audience, offering something to people of all ages.

So many dream of limitless power and fulfillment of all wishes. Wise men, alchemists and philosophers spend decades looking for this great secret. What would they say, if they discovered that the ultimate prize they so desperately pursued ended up falling into the hands of the least likely individual?

The Gale Dictionary of Psychoanalysis defines ‘self-representation’ as “the image the subject has of him or herself based on his or her own interpretation.” The hugely influential 20th century psychoanalytic researcher and philosopher Jacques Lacan enlarges on this by speaking of “the finally donned armor of an alienating identity that will mark [the subject’s] mental development with its rigid structure.” Not surprisingly, psychoanalysts see this construct as a manifestation of the ego, and also as something intimately linked to narcissism.  

Eminent art historian and writer Edward Lucie-Smith discusses an ambitious digital art book series called 100 London Artists, designed to celebrate London as an art city.

This year sees the 300th anniversary of the foundation of St. Petersburg, an event that is being widely celebrated here in London as well as in Russia. And today The Times of London carried a story about the "widespread sleaze" that is hampering the restoration of Russia's former capital city. Though Oleg Kulik is not a Petersburg artist, these two facts help to provide a context for his career. Western interest in and curiosity about Russia is acute. The tendency is, however, to look at the Russian past, not at the present.

Every now and then, an exhibition comes along that hits you in the solar plexus. The compact Daumier show at the Royal Academy in London is one of those. It is housed in the moderately sized Sackler Galleries on the top floor of the building, not in the main exhibition rooms below, where it would be swallowed up. Most of the works on view are quite small. Very few are more than medium sized. For the most part, the color is subdued. Indeed, some of the paintings seem monochromatic until you examine them more closely, The range of subjects is, if not exactly restricted, not hugely wide.

When Beryl Cook died, she was the subject of a large number of obituaries. Some of them were predictably condescending, which I suspect she would not have minded a bit. The really telling thing, however, is what has happened since then on the web. If you go to the site maintained by The Times, still regarded as the British paper of record, and look for the paper’s obituary archive, you will find a section within it devoted to "Artistic Genius". The subtitle is "Artists and makers who changed the way we see".

The monograph publishes a study of Rembrandt van Rijn and JMW Turner at the National Gallery and Tate Britain in exhibitions of their later works.

Hammershoi is, in a certain sense, the Danish Vermeer, an artist whom he occasionally paraphrased. That is to say, a quietist painter obsessed by subtle effects of light, forgotten very soon after his death, but rediscovered and turned into a demi-god by a later generation.

A group of scientists arrives to a planet claimed to be uninhabited. They discover it's nothing of the sort.

Gogol's classic tale of mayhem, mischief, and marriage, inspired by Ukrainian lore, everyday life, and traditional comedy.

Alternative Endings series dips into the realm of alternative beginnings by pondering what might have really happened before the opening scene of the beloved classic Beauty and the Beast. 

Much like his stories for children, Vsevolod Garshin's grown-up prose may not always be easy to listen to due to difficult subject matter he tends to pick for his narratives. It is, however, always beautifully written and fascinating.

Fed up with Jack's beanstalk shenanigans, the ogre and his wife decide to turn the tables on him.

The tale of Little Red Riding Hood takes an unexpected turn when the wolf's intended prey turns the tables on him and changes the course of his life.

Doc receives another task, only to discover that it is not so much a riddle to unravel but a family crisis to be averted.

The tale of The Princess and the Frog takes a decidedly darker turn as Doc sets out to investigate what truly happened between the king's daughter and the talking amphibian.