Poor old Martin Amis – he takes a real beating in this Guardian article written by the impressive Ronan Bennett.
Shame on us | News | Guardian Unlimited Books
Interesting in the context of the earlier post in which Hitchens defends Amis against the attacks of the even more recalcitrant Mark Steyn.
Amis has been sloppy – Bennett’s dismantling of the distinction he makes between Islam and Islamism is convincing. A stand out stylist, it wouldn’t appear that he’s a first rate historian or commentator. Of course, the desire to lash out in response to attack is understandable, but it’s not the civilised way – and Amis is all too quick to differentiate between ‘our’ civilised ways and ‘their’ uncivilised ones.
Bennett wrote the screenplay to the very good THE HAMBURG CELL – the best fictional account of the 9/11 plot I’ve seen and the novel Zugzwang which was serialised before publication in The Observer. Someone to watch.
There’s more discussion – with BookNinja – with a link to a Guardian response from Hitchens.
More comment, this time from the DJ Taylor in The Guardian.
