Oh, do SO agree. You should have a column in the Guardian. Trouble is, you’d end up hating it. Editors, publishers, mates-of-mates, the Golfing Mafia (not joking), they’re all out to get you. Not for nothing was one of the old Fleet Street pubs known as The Stab in the Back.
I quite liked The Old Man and the Sea but it’s hardly a novel. Short story on steroids maybe. Similarly Of Mice and Men – marvellous, beautifully written but a short story. Tend not to read “worthy” works. Of all the US stuff I’ve read, Catch 22 stands out above the rest. Funny, witty, intensely moving and with more mad, intriguing and engaging characters than you can shake a stick at!
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