Gesellschaft / Society Archives – Page 3 of 7

Torn apart for their faith

The Huguenot Chronicles by Paul C.R. Monk

Dramatic events following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes

France, 1685. Louis XIV has brazenly revoked his grandfather Henry IV’s treaty, which had granted Protestants substantial residential and religious rights. Now the King is determined to unite the nation in one Church – by force, if necessary. A period of persecution of Huguenots commences.

Torn between two lives

Being Lena Levi by Bobbie Ann Cole

Is she Marlene or Lena? For a fourteen-year-old English schoolgirl to discover ‘Mum’ is not her real mother and by birth she is a German Jewess is a life-shattering revelation. And who is the real ‘Mutti‘ is behind her glamorous but rather worldly façade; she’s quite a contrast to the Christian circles Marlene had grown up in. But how could Mum deceive her so cruelly?

Marlene decides on the spur of the moment to experiment with being Lena. She travels with Mutti by train and ship – how exciting! – to Haifa in Israel, and is introduced to the young Jewish nation’s struggle to survive in a hostile and rather neglected environment. On the way, a brief conversation with a sympathetic old man exposes her burning dilemma.

Dramatic tension as the storm brews

Before The Storm 1685 by Paul C. R. Monk – an object lesson in creative historical fiction writing

This free novella covers the same dramatic events as my work-in-progress, GédéGreet Suzon for me. In my opinion, Paul C. R. Monk has not only written a captivating prequel to his trilogy, The Huguenot Chronicles but presents a masterpiece in regard to character, location setting and atmosphere.

These short chapters contain invaluable examples of how to draw a reader inexorably into the depicted scene, reveal the contrasting temperaments of the protagonists, and conjure a vivid feel for the horrendous experience of having one’s home commandeered by unscrupulous dragoons.

I’d like to quote some passages – narratives as well as dialogues – to illustrate these points.

International intrigues at the highest levels

Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett

Edge of Eternity – the final book of Follett’s perspective-shattering Century Trilogy – traces the vibrant lives of the offspring of the British, Russian, German and American families that we got to know in Fall of Giants and Winter of the World. Relationships come and go and fates fluctuate, revealing international intrigues at the highest levels. A salutary feature of the narrative is how most world leaders are revealed as dishonest, weak and morally corrupt puppets of various political and economic factions.

Thanks to Covid-19…

Companies have discovered that working from home and video conferencing are viable business options, saving time and expense.
School kids have lost the fear of speaking in front of a video camera and have learned to make sensible use of computers. They’ve also come to appreciate school!
We are enjoying beautiful walks on our doorsteps and discovering great places to take a holiday in our own countries.
Neighbours are noticing each other more, sharing things and offering each other practical help.
We’ve survived quite well without exotic South American fruit and all those cheap Asian gadgets and clothes.
Reading has proved to be a lot of fun – even to the grandchildren via Zoom.
Cycling has often turned out to be a more efficient way to get from A to B – as well as being good for our health.
The air has got a lot cleaner and there have been far fewer road accidents.
We’ve managed to catch up on some of the things we’d wanted to do but never found time for.

I’m sure you can come up with some more side benefits of this crisis. Leave a comment below.

Ein einzigartiges Familiendrama

Der Duft von bitteren Orangen, von Claire Hajaj

Wer Eltern hatte oder selber eine Familie, der weiss, dass es früher oder später zu Meinungsdifferenzen, Spannungen oder sogar Konflikte innerhalb der Familie kommen kann. Wie, aber, wenn sprachliche, religiöse, kulturelle und vor allem ethnische Faktoren mitspielen? Oder kriegerische Auseinandersetzungen zwischen den Herkunftsvölkern?

“Unsere Familien werden niemals akzeptieren, dass wir zusammen sind.”

“Lord, don’t you care…?”

Spring has come, nature bursts out in joy. But people panic and die.

Lord, what are you saying to us?

Are you judging the world?

Sixty years later…

For some months I have acted as a senior classroom assistant – one morning per week – in the fourth class (mainly 10-year olds) of the little village school where I live. What a shock for an old man like me!

The printed T-shirts and hotpants, alternating with fashionable tops and ripped jeans were no surprise. But what had happened to the uniform? Even the teacher was casually dressed.

The Peregrine’s Odyssey by Michael Kleinfall

During the first 20 years of the second century AD, Gaius Segusiavus Peregrinus is torque-bearer of the Gallic clan based near Lugdunum (Lyons). As master of the family’s cereal and luxury goods shipping enterprise, he constantly roams Mare Nostrum, visiting the trading posts in Ostia (Rome), Carthago, Alexandria, Antiochia and Ephesos. His faithful wife Fionna delights him whenever he is back at the Villa of the Three Crows, but his sons and nephew disappoint him. Will anyone prove worthy of inheriting the family torque when he dies?

“They’re all just lazy parasites!”

“Jurj?” the rebel fighter read from Tariq’s friend’s ID. “Then you’re a Christian!” And with that he shot his brains out. That was the final trigger. Tariq had to flee. To Europe. And arrange for his family to join him.