To Norwegians in the near future who blame Hitler on Wagner and the oppression of women on The Taming of the Shrew, Søren’s love for high culture looks a lot like “hate.” Despite being morbidly oversensitive and gay, Søren has trouble fitting into a world that celebrates nothing more than equality. When his school bans even George Eliot for being a dead white male, Søren must decide whether to retreat further into his imagination or literally fight back. Or both. In t...

Father Dorsten said that fear of ghosts was nothing next to fear of a ghost. “The Holy Ghost?” Grandma asked. “I certainly don’t believe in any other.” “What do you think he looks like?” Mother asked. “I’ve always pictured him as young and bald, riding a cloud, like one of the trebles in The Magic Flute.” “I think you’d have trouble giving me chapter and verse for that,” Father Dorsten said. Grandma said, “In Culture and Anarchy, Matthew Arnold wrote, ‘One may say t...