Lynn Newman 

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Thanks Lynn! I'm so glad you're enjoying it – and coming straight from W&P is perfect! Exactly what Tolstoy did himself.

"F*** it man. I've had seven beers and I am LOST. I'm just going to sleep here."

Class of 2024 report in!

Love the shirt! I think this year’s Siege of Krishnapur/Things Fall Apart/Place of Greater Safety/Blue Flower garment might be more of a thematic mess.

Class of 2024 report in!

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I am glad Farrell’s writing is making me feel uncomfortable, for it’s making appreciate how far we have evolved into a better society, if you can get my gist. In fact, as I read the chapters I cannot help reflecting on many social issues from the past ..

Footnotes and Tangents
War and Peace with Footnotes and Tangents
W&P #3: A heart needs a home
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“Brian got some hair gel and now he thinks he’s a f***ing unicorn.”

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I think some of the best literature makes the reader feel uncomfortable. The skill of Farrell is in keeping his cast of pompous, snobby, racists from verging on caricature.

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I think that's what the writing is meant to do: make you laugh and feel uncomfortable, and uncomfortable about laughing as well.

A serious chat about civilisation
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Bhairava: (I’m not South Asian, but was married to one, and lived with him in Chennai, formerly called Madras, for many years). Bhairava’s name means terrifying, he looks terrifying, eager for blood. He has a baffling number of arms. His cup is made from a skull. There are jackals, carrion eaters near his shrine. He is often a gatekeeper, stationed at the entrance to temples to keep out evil-doers. I would have thought that he belonged at the place where Fleury goes to meet the Maharaja, and th…