This week BBC Radio 4 is featuring the Hitch's newly published book 'Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens' as it's Book of the Week. A collection of Hitch's more recent essays, the series is abridged by Pete Nichols and read by the talented and funny Roger Allam, who even looks like Hitch. I'm enjoying it very much. Catch up on iPlayer, here. Someone once seemed to think that my liking anything Christopher Hitchens was all about Peter - a nu-nu-nu-nu-nuh attempt to spitefully compare the two brothers and wave Christopher's alleged superiority in Peter's face. It couldn't be that I simply like Christopher's writing for it's own sake. It had to be evidence in itself of a thwarted egg-white adoration Peter's fingers could find if he chose to explore the pathetic misery of one of his fans, now rejected. That's how we seem to be regarded here - spurned lovers of all things Hitchens. Our fealty turned to resentment and anarchy. If I've ever bashed Peter over the head with anything Christopher in a fit of temper, and there have been a few, then that was then and this is now. Let me take this opportunity to state that I think both brothers are skilled with words and are worth reading. However, this Book of the Week is not universally applauded. On the Amazon site there are mixed reviews, one stating that the book is "Too much together":
"Much as I love Hitchens this is a poor representation of his talent.
The problem of is one of editing not writing although when read in sequence like this the reviews become (to use a much overused word) quotidian plus it seems every piece of literature can only be appraised by comparison to something written by George Orwell"
The man who accused me demonstrates a common reaction: that of guessing why anyone says something is good? Recently I suggested a fan of Christopher Hitchens also read Peter's views on a topic the brothers had both commented on. The Hitchens' viewpoints were unsurprisingly opposite and I thought it interesting to read both sides of the argument. But the reaction I got was a scathing denunciation of Peter. It seems to me that a lot of people like a writer if that writer writes the readers own views, better than they can. If they write opposing views they are generally bad.
I do not agree with many of Christopher's viewpoints and arguments. But man can he launch a good one (as can Peter). Please do read all reviews before investing in 'Arguably' - I haven't read the book. But if you can find time to listen to 'Book of the Week' then I strongly recommend it to you. As to why I'm doing that, you'll just have to guess...
“The enemies of intolerance cannot be tolerant." • "If it is an offense to justice to hold people who may have been victims of mistaken identity or of vendettas by other factions, then it is also an offense to justice to release psychopathic killers who believe that they have divine permission to throw acid in the faces of girls who want to attend school." • "Don't be such a lesbian!
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