John Baker’s Blog

Hari Kunzru and others join the debate over Monica Ali’s Brick Road:

Art isn’t about promoting social cohesion, or cementing community relations. It’s about telling the truth as you see it, even if it annoys or offends some people. That’s called freedom of expression, and last time I checked we all thought it was quite a good idea.

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Right now my hole punch is propping the window open. I have a little paper cutout of a boy wearing a school uniform and holding a ladybug the size of a rabbit hanging from the lock on my window. I bought him in Berlin this summer. Depending on whether the window is open or closed, he has his toes in the treetops, he floats inside someone else’s window or he flutters against the sky as the clouds move past him. Behind him I can also see the corner of our pink fire escape and the curve of the building next to ours (we live on a circle, though it is officially called a square).

An Interview with Matthea Harvey at Bookslut

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The Bookaholics’ Guide to Book Blogs is reviewed over at Girl Friday.

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