Precarity dominates the sensations generated through the twenty-four stories in Ray Kohn's book 'The Cliff Edge'.Yet in today's life's precarious situation, the author reveals a kaleidoscopic array of perspectives that underpin our concept of what is of value and what is beautiful. He avoids the traditional academic accounts referencing golden rectangle ratios, symmetry and mandalas. Ray Kohn - a musician - avoids the trap of trying to describe the world of Mozart and Bach with verbal text. Although passing reference is made to beauty in music (in the artistic achievements described in 'Images' and in 'Chavauch嶪' which contrasts musical aspiration with the self-defeating grandeur of military might); instead, he challenges the reader to interpret these stories' collective meanings through a wide variety of storylines.At one extreme, some stories reflect or dispute the romantic version of beauty most famously expressed in John Keats' 'Ode on a Grecian Urn' - "Beauty is truth, truth beauty, that is all ye know on earth and all ye need to know." At the other extreme, some could be regarded as a rejection of the brutalist version of what a tyrant might regard as beautiful[1]. But none of these simplistic interpretations catch the fine-grained perspectives of what is of value captured through these multifaceted tales.The perplexing but exposed nature of creativity itself is explored in 'The Cliff Edge' (a dad telling his twins bedtime stories) and 'the proofreader' (writers and their craft). Male views of female beauty are questioned in 'Narcissus' (beauty as youth?), 'Tales of a Bygone Age' (with school children in attendance) and 'Black and White' (subtitled 'What colour was Schr鐰inger's cat?').The first story, 'Fashion Shows', shows how na鴳e belief in beauty can inadvertently presage disaster whilst 'A Beautiful Game', reveals the full prostitution of the term. These varied tales call upon the myths and legends upon which our understanding of beauty and value rests. The longest of these short stories, 'Second Sight', is a reimagining of the Christian myth. 'The perfect Principles of Art' gently exposes a Stoic perspective on ethics. The short 'Passing through', and 'High Jump' celebrate appreciation of nature. Irony is evident in 'Flight Times' (when a gambling addict enters Heaven) and 'Son of a gun' (the hubris of an arms manufacturer). A visceral strand of humour seems to run through the entire gamut of tales. The final tale, 'Transmigration' takes us beyond the value of the greatest human achievements with the most unexpected twist imaginable.It is difficult to tie down what the author's personal view of beauty might be: his personal, Jewish account in 'Images' and hard-nosed vision of reality in 'Achilles' might be options although the full spectrum across the twenty-four tales probably reflects it best.
Although these tiny tales are highly entertaining, they do leave more questions unanswered. For readers seeking easy answers, this is not the book for you
[1] Viz. Bonnie Greer's article published on 3 March 2025 in the 'Byline Times' supplement: .
https: //mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQZTVrVkrdbmkQkPQkXrhZRphpj
And Alexander Hurst article in the Guardian: 19th March 2025
https: //mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQZTVrVkrdbmkQkPQkXrhZRphpj
