On the E.U. vote: wars, words and perceptions of truth.

The referendum vote on June 23rd is one of the most important political decisions in our lifetime and, I have to admit, at the beginning I didn't think the Leave campaign was likely to win. I spent some time in Europe last month and I had lunch with some French and Belgian people who told me they were …

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When to stop and when to read on until the bitter end?

A few days ago, I began reading a book which didn't immediately grab my attention. Like all readers, I encounter novels which work for me and some which don't. Even among  novelists whose work I love, there are books which don't do it for me. Donna Tartt is a great example- I loved The Goldfinch and The …

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On identifying the darlings and then killing them

Stephen King famously said 'Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.' He followed William Faulkner in this idea: in order to become the greatest writer you can be, you must get rid of all your self- indulgent passages and your precious, unfeasible characters for …

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