Historical and Enlightenment

1. HISTORICAL
Sunne in Splendour (Sharon Penman)
See my original reasons in the first book club list (See further below). It is just one of those books that you can’t put down. I am keen to read her other books including Here Be Dragons... which I have been meaning to read for ages. So this is my next read definitely.


2. ENLIGHTENMENT
The Master & Margarita (Mikhail Bulgakov)
A strange work of protest fiction, the book's main character is Satan, an eccentric, entertaining figure whose murderous exploits in 1930's Moscow go unnoticed. They simply don't seem out of place at the time. People suddenly going missing and later being found dead - particularly politicians and others who speak out against the government - is all part of the norm in Moscow during the time of Stalin's campaign of terror. So what if the Devil has come to town? The conscience of Pontius Pilate is also explored as he comes to terms with the role he played in the death of Jesus. His story unfolds as told by "The Master", a broken failed author who has been driven mad by rejection by his editor and political persecution. Its a story that addresses the roles of "good" and "evil" in human society and makes you wonder which one is winning the battle. A bit dark, but in its own way enlightening. "What would your good be doing if there were no evil, and what would the earth look like if shadows disappeared from it?"