The Modern Myths

This was an extremely enjoyable dip into literary criticism. Ball takes ahold of a focused definition of a ‘myth' (not mapping onto common language but also not idiosyncratic): a story which is somewhat ambiguous or ill defined often even in its first incarnation and so is extremely mutable, with numerous retellings, and serves as the projection of cultural themes (sometimes contradictory). Following along with each example of popular literature, and the chain of cultural effects, this perspective becomes ever more engaging (although not without some head scratching, I'm still trying to give Ball the benefit of the doubt in the claim that Batman is a myth whereas Superman is not). Anyone who enjoys reading the occasional nonfiction about the fantastic fiction they love will enjoy this one.