Jake Kerridge
Fairytale of New York
The Final Testament of the Holy Bible
By James Frey
John Murray 400pp £16.99
I wonder if James Frey’s new novel might be an act of oblique revenge on Oprah Winfrey and those others who keelhauled him for mendacity in his memoir of drink and drug addiction, A Million Little Pieces (2003). The idea that a book’s value is diminished if it contains details that are untrue has a dangerous corollary: if you value a book you will want to believe that it contains nothing but the literal truth. Hence the widespread view among Bible-reading Americans that the Earth is only 5,000 years old.
Such views come in for scornful comment from Ben, the hero of this novel. He is the sort of chap who would be happier if, like the later editions of Frey’s memoirs, the Bible and all key religious texts carried disclaimers pointing out that not everything in them
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
Knowledge of Sufism increased markedly with the publication in 1964 of The Sufis, by Idries Shah. Nowadays his writings, much like his father’s, are dismissed for their Orientalism and inaccuracy.
@fitzmorrissey investigates who the Shahs really were.
Fitzroy Morrissey - Sufism Goes West
Fitzroy Morrissey: Sufism Goes West - Empire’s Son, Empire’s Orphan: The Fantastical Lives of Ikbal and Idries Shah by Nile Green
literaryreview.co.uk
Rats have plagued cities for centuries. But in Baltimore, researchers alighted on one surprising solution to the problem of rat infestation: more rats.
@WillWiles looks at what lessons can be learned from rat ecosystems – for both rats and humans.
Will Wiles - Puss Gets the Boot
Will Wiles: Puss Gets the Boot - Rat City: Overcrowding and Urban Derangement in the Rodent Universes of John B ...
literaryreview.co.uk
Twisters features destructive tempests and blockbuster action sequences.
@JonathanRomney asks what the real danger is in Lee Isaac Chung's disaster movie.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/eyes-of-the-storm