My “to be read URGENTLY” shelf as it currently stands. The Satanic Verses and A Prayer for Owen Meaney are definitely the next two on the list.
Excellent article about the point of art that needs effort. Oddly, I was thinking of Damien Hirst before Self mentioned him; I can’t help thinking that many artists (Hirst and Tracy Emin, for example) are amongst the things that fuels the dissatisfaction with difficult art, as they pretend depth and meaning while being utterly vacuous - and are encouraged in this by the plaudits they receive by people too afraid to admit they have seen the emperor naked.
The article is also read by the author here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01g65tj/A_Point_of_View_Challenging_Intellect/
