Does the world need a Great American Novelist?
I’ve never seen anything like the hype leading up to Jonathan Franzen’s recent novel, ‘Freedom,’ which came out in the States in August and the UK in September. Franzen was on the cover of Time magazine. He featured in many many articles, and rumours circulated that his novel would rescue the book industry from an … Read more
Alain de Botton's poor parties
Today in the Guardian the popular philosopher, Alain de Botton, was the subject of an aggressive attack. He was interviewed in the Times about his ideal dinner party, and revealed that he buys ready-meals to feed his guests. He also likes his guests to be vulnerable, and here things get complicated, or maybe just plain patronising. … Read more
Marilyn & a subway fire
I’ve always thought that February is the cruelest month, not April as TS Eliot suggested. When I began this blog I promised myself I’d write at least one post a week and last month I wrote just one in all. I put it down to turmoil — some romantic kerfuffles, and my first ever time … Read more
