Literary Criticism

Daphne du Maurier, as we have seen, favours lists of two:
"... possessive mother, demanding, searching, probably does more damage to daughter or son than the indifferent one, her thoughts elsewhere; nevertheless in both cases seeds are sown of doubt, of insecurity ..."


Bernard-Henri Lévy, on the other hand, goes in for long lists:

... who has been my friend for 20 years and who will remain my friend, bears no resemblance to this monster, this caveman, this insatiable and malevolent beast ..., but this brutal and violent individual, this wild animal, this primate, obviously no, it’s absurd.

I resent the New York tabloid press that depicts ... as a sicko, a pervert, borderlining on serial killer, a psychiatrist’s dream... And I hold it against the commentators, pundits, and other minor figures of a French political class overjoyed at this divine surprise who immediately, indecently, and at the very first opportunity commenced with their de Profundis drivel by talking about a “redistribution of the cards” or a “new deal” at the center of this or of that. But I must stop here, for it makes me nauseous.


Mr Lévy is currently resting in the south of France.