Post by dawnoshiro on Sept 8, 2012 22:40:28 GMT -5
I was reading Christopher Hitchens' book "Mortality" today and discovered, much to my surprise and delight, and that the final chapter contained an extensive quote from Julian Barnes' book, "Nothing to Be Frightened Of" (which is one of my favorites).
This section (chapter 8 of the American hardcover edition) contains fragments, notes and ideas that Hitchens was mulling over for his own writing.
Unfortunately, there appears to be some error or oversight on the part of the publishers. You get the note from Hitchens that he is quoting Julian Barnes on page 87, but the quote itself doesn't appear until the bottom half of page 88-89, which makes it looks like the anecdote and thoughts are by Mr. Hitchens, NOT Mr. Barnes! There are several other Hitchens quotes in between the two, so readers who are unfamiliar with "Nothing to Be Frightened Of" will be misled.
The original paragraph can be found on page 106-107 of the American paperback edition of "Nothing to Be Frightened Of" and is reproduced verbatim.
I really hope that future editions of "Mortality" corrects this. It might inspire more readers to pick up "Nothing to Be Frightened Of".
I found myself wondering why Mr. Hitchens chose that particular quote--perhaps he wished to avoid comparisons to John Diamond as he documented his own illness. Reading "Mortality" is a bit like reading a cross between "Nothing to Be Frightened Of" and "In the Land of Pain," which Julian Barnes translated. If anyone else on this forum is interested, all three of those works are well worth the read.
This section (chapter 8 of the American hardcover edition) contains fragments, notes and ideas that Hitchens was mulling over for his own writing.
Unfortunately, there appears to be some error or oversight on the part of the publishers. You get the note from Hitchens that he is quoting Julian Barnes on page 87, but the quote itself doesn't appear until the bottom half of page 88-89, which makes it looks like the anecdote and thoughts are by Mr. Hitchens, NOT Mr. Barnes! There are several other Hitchens quotes in between the two, so readers who are unfamiliar with "Nothing to Be Frightened Of" will be misled.
The original paragraph can be found on page 106-107 of the American paperback edition of "Nothing to Be Frightened Of" and is reproduced verbatim.
I really hope that future editions of "Mortality" corrects this. It might inspire more readers to pick up "Nothing to Be Frightened Of".
I found myself wondering why Mr. Hitchens chose that particular quote--perhaps he wished to avoid comparisons to John Diamond as he documented his own illness. Reading "Mortality" is a bit like reading a cross between "Nothing to Be Frightened Of" and "In the Land of Pain," which Julian Barnes translated. If anyone else on this forum is interested, all three of those works are well worth the read.