“One has to wonder, for instance, if V.S. Naipaul had encountered a Trinidadian named Seepersad on a travel assignment, whether the local journalist would have been spared the brutal first-impression critique the author often inflicts on his subjects. How the colonial comported himself, a few of his words spoken in private, a paragraph of his prose later discovered in a regional publication — for one flaw or another, his fate would not likely have been kind…. Though he can love and admire his father with eyes wide open, he remains blind to the presence of his parent in those mimic men he everywhere sees.” Charles Foran offers an unusual reading of Naipaul the writer and Naipaul the son. (Link found on Arts and Letters Daily.)

“As a writer, I’m relieved that Amis has produced a novel unworthy of his talent. No one wants a masterpiece knocking around when your own book is looking for attention.” Tibor Fischer is refreshingly honest in this interview with The Guardian.