David Lodge, Sunday Times
'Informative, thought-provoking and entertaining.'
Rupert Christiansen, Spectator
'Carey lays into the snobs... Exhilarating and suggestive.'
Blake Morrison, Guardian
'Incisive and inspirational... I found myself putting ticks in the margin and laughing at the jokes.'
Sam Leith, Daily Telegraph
'Engaged, provocative and frequently funny.'
D.J. Taylor, Independent
'Savagely amusing and pointed fun.'
Product Description
Do the arts make us better people? Are they a sign of civilization? Why should 'high' be thought higher than 'low'? Are judgements about art anything more than personal opinions? What are works of art anyway - do they belong to some special, sacred category? Can the brain-scientists who are investigating the arts tell us anything useful about them? In the first part of his new book John Carey returns startling answers to these and related questions. In the second part he makes out a self-confessedly personal and subjective case for the superiority of literature to all other arts.
About the Author
John Carey is Emeritus Merton Professor of English Literature at Oxford University, a Fellow of the British Academy and Chief Book Reviewer for the Sunday Times. His books include studies of John Donne, John Milton and William Makepeace Thackeray, The Intellectuals and the Masses and What Good Are the Arts?
