Bad Sex, or Just Plain Irony?

Last month, Tom Wolfe, he of the white suit, was given the bad sex award. that most prestigious literary award given to the writer of the most toe-curlingly awful sex scene of the year before. Here is a sample of Wolfe's prize-winning prose from the novel 'I am Charlotte Simmons':

Slither slither slither slither went the tongue. But the hand, that was what she tried to concentrate on, the hand, since it has the entire terrain of her torso to explore and not just the otorhinolaryngological caverns - oh God, it was not just at the border where the flesh of the breast joins the pectoral sheath of the chest - no, the hand was cupping her entire right - Now!

Obviously upset by the award, Wolfe has claimed, reversing the usual charge, that the Brits (who are responsible for the prize) just don't understand American irony. He added, somewhat cryptically, that you "can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her sing." Hmmm. For the other long-listed passages, go here.

Sikh Writer Faces Death Threats

London writer Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti is currently in hiding as violent protests forced her play Behzti, which was due to run at the Rep theatre in Birmingham, to close. The play, set in a Sikh temple or gurdwara, was condemned by Sikh community leaders for its depiction of rape and murder within the precincts of the temple. There is more on this story at the Guardian website and the Independent gives a good profile of the writer. The Rep theatre can be found here.

Mathematics and Literature

We have a new review online of Greek author Apostolos Doxiadis' wonderful mathematical novel, Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture. The book is available from the Birmingham Words Bookshop.

You Shalt Know Them by the Colour of Their Spines

Anyone who has attempted to find their way around Birmingham University Library and been bamboozled by the classification system therein, a system that, if not invented by the devil, then was devised by someone in very close league, will appreciate artist Chris Cobb's intervention into the San Francisco Adobe Bookshop. He rearranged all of the books according to the colour of the spine. The project was called There is Nothing Wrong in this Whole Wide World, and you can have a look here: http://www.pushby.com/tomas/2004/11/15/ or else on the famous McSweeny's website: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/events/chriscobb.html. I am sure that, should Birmingham University wish to inaugurate a new, more sensible system of classification, Chris Cobb will be able to arrange a reasonable rate for the job. 

Guardian First Book Award

The winner of the Guardian first book award was announced last night. A motley collection of judges including Alexei Sayle and Lewis Wolpert awarded the prize to Armand Marie Leroi for his book Mutant, a  "beautifully written mixture of science and historical anecdote".

Go to The Guardian's Website for the full article.