Allowing true churches to break over issues like critical race theory is not only a patently unwise move but a disservice to the power of Christ, its one true Foundation.
The public image of a fallen woman has long captivated the foremost Russian writers. Describing the life of their fictional characters, male novelists couldn’t bear to turn a blind eye to such follies and vices of society as injustice, poverty, moral choice and female freedom.
Last modified on Wed 12 May 2021 05.34 EDT
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mong the hoary lessons a debut writer must learn is that of Chekhov’s gun, the notion that anything introduced to a story must be there for a reason. “If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall,” Chekhov wrote, “then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don’t put it there.” It is good advice, serving the demands of brevity and precision, avoiding the deadly burden of inconsequential intrusion into the sparse landscape of narrative.
My novel, A Melancholy Event, features not one but two guns, hanging in a pair. These are guns with a purpose, for they are duelling pistols, and thereby – with apologies to Shakespeare and Jeffrey Archer – hangs a tale.