False Dichotomies

I’m always interested when novelists write about politics. As passionate a fan as I am of modern literature, I can’t help but thinking that writers let themselves down when they express their views on contemporary political debates in the op-ed pages. Some examples: I think Martin Amis’ frequent interventions on terrorism are hopelessly misplaced, a tragic misuse of his unmistakeable prose style. Amos Oz should stop with the banal entreaties about divorce and fanatics, and get back to novels. And then there’s Paul Auster’s recent statement that 9/11 might not have happened had Al Gore been president. That’s some counterfactual. Read more