August 13, 2007
Insufferabilio!
Just finished reading Harry Potter 7, which means I was free and clear to read this incredibly pompous review by Christopher Hitchens, and which I would have been just as happy to avoid, as I am almost always happy to avoid articles that include words like "ontology" and "Manichean".
Posted by Francis at 01:40 AMChristopher Hitchens reads Left Behind novels? Research for his latest book, I guess.
Posted by: Richard at August 13, 2007 02:09 AMI thought the Perry Mason reference was apt, as well as funny.
Posted by: Laura Dickerson at August 13, 2007 08:35 AMSomeone tell him (and the NYT Book Review editors) that there is no town called Stanford, Calif.
Posted by: Doug Orleans at August 13, 2007 01:00 PMIf you thought this was bad, you should read his Vanity Fair article from a little while back titled "Why Women Aren't Funny." In a side-snark, let me add that I've never understood how a guy who's allegedly a fan of, and expert on, George Orwell could have so consistently defended this administration in its utterly Orwellian run-up to the war. Yeesh, what a blowhard.
Posted by: Dave Dickerson at August 13, 2007 01:30 PMI knew this was going to be *special* as soon as I saw the reference to the Hitler-Stalin pact in the lede, and I was not disappointed. Hitchens doesn't even get around to reviewing the book until nearly a page and a half into the article.
I'm so glad Hitchens is around to educate me on why I am a clueless, slackjawed moron compared to him. How on earth could I possibly have enjoyed these books without fully comprehending the broader sociopolitical issues, Rowling's secularist tendencies, and her detailed historical allegories? God, I should just stick to simple stuff from now on, like Thomas Pynchon.
Posted by: Debby at August 13, 2007 04:45 PMHitchens accused Mother Teresa of being a publicity hound. Yeah, right, she'd be on "The Surreal Life" if she were alive.
Posted by: Ellen at August 14, 2007 01:12 AMIt's been pointed out to me that Stanford, Calif. is a census-designated place with its own zip code. Hmph.
Posted by: Doug Orleans at August 14, 2007 01:24 AMPay that inconvenient fact no mind - the General Electric plant in Schenectady, NY has its own zip code (12345, in fact), and that doesn't make it a town.
Posted by: RichM at August 15, 2007 08:47 PMHeck, I think Reader's Digest has its own zip code.
Posted by: Francis at August 15, 2007 10:57 PM