A visit to Edinburgh, judging the Winner of Winners, and a case of mistaken identity
My fellow Baillie Gifford judges are formidable close readers: diligent, erudite, passionate, smart, committed. They made my job very easy.
ByLiterature
Immerse yourself in the captivating world of literature with our collection of articles, offering literary analysis, book recommendations, author spotlights, and thought-provoking discussions that celebrate the written word.
Sigrid Rausing’s Diary: Why it’s time to step down at Granta, the sound of music, and the art of making lists
Our Best of Young British Novelists list proved that publishing is more permeable, and more transformative, than we imagine.
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Anatomy of a romantic hero
Curtis Sittenfeld’s Romantic Comedy presents a new male ideal: famous, feminist, fantastically handsome – and blind to your every flaw.
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The decline of the Literary Bloke
In featuring just four men, Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists confirms what we already knew: the literary male has…
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The true meaning of James Bond
The ultimate GQ snob, 007 more than anything represents consumer goods becoming available to people outside of aristocracy.
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Javier Marías and the mists of history
In his final novel Tomás Nevinson, the late Spanish author concluded a profound literary project built on personal and political…
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Jeanette Winterson wants more life
The writer has stayed vital through constant movement and insisting on “living in the world as it is, not as…
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Multi-Dimensional Man
Herbert Marcuse was the philosopher of the future in an age without one.
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From Roald Dahl to Ian Fleming, censorship is good for the book trade
Releasing bowdlerised books into a predictable storm of ridicule and then making the “classic texts” available is clever business.
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The best fiction books for 2023
The year’s publishing highlights, including new novels by Salman Rushdie, Diana Evans and Eleanor Catton.
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I’m a writer who thrives on stories – so why can’t I read novels any more?
I fear my reluctance to read fiction reveals how focused on myself I have become, amid the inwardness of depression.
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Changes to Roald Dahl reveal our hypocritical attitudes towards children and media
Kids are expected to shrug off a daily barrage of sexual and violent imagery – but are seen as too…
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Roald Dahl’s books are nasty by nature – editing a word or two won’t make them nice
Sanitising the writer’s legacy may help him remain profitable – but his books can’t be easily cleaned up.
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The infinite art of John Donne
His life was blighted by poverty, but his poetry made exhilarating connections between sex, faith and death.
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Why Salman Rushdie’s imagination cannot be stopped
In his first interview since the attack on his life, the novelist refuses to be defined as target or victim.
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Dickens and his demons
How the novelist hid his cruel side – infidelity, bullying callousness, malice – in plain sight in his fiction.
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How a bestselling novel reveals French sympathy for Putin
The Wizard of the Kremlin has provoked fierce debate in France, where support for Russia lingers on both the right…
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The upside-down world of Lewis Carroll
9 December 1939: The author was a man who spoke to the child in all of us.
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What critics don’t get about Sally Rooney
To label her an over-hyped ingenue is to misunderstand her greatest conceit.
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The poetic history of David Graeber
The posthumous publication of “Pirate Enlightenment” shows how the anarchist, like any true intellectual, never grew out of his childhood…
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