Uploaded May 2018 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Polemicist par excellence, the late lamented Christopher Hitchens left an indelible legacy of literary wit that eclipsed by far his infamous magnum opus, "God is not Great".
Endowed with a wicked pen and an almost Churchillian vocabulary, his cerebral pyrotechnics remain the stuff of legend, most manifest in his essays. Those priceless pieces, anthologised in such books as "And Yet..." and "Arguably" (equally commended), culminated in his highly unorthodox autobiography, "Hitch 22", published shortly before his death.
This last - an unusually frank work, in which he discloses both the ups and downs of an Anglo-American existence - is not only brilliantly written, but unusually revelatory, even for him. His account of his lifelong friendship with that other linguistic polymath, Martin Amis, for example, makes the book an eye-opener on its own (q.v. pp. 157-8); but his humour, even when dying (he knew his number was up as he wrote), remained miraculously unsullied to the end.
A highly appropriate finale to a colourful career.
More essays reviewed at
bookreviewsandvideos.com/category/belles-lettres
Polemicist par excellence, the late lamented Christopher Hitchens left an indelible legacy of literary wit that eclipsed by far his infamous magnum opus, "God is not Great".
Endowed with a wicked pen and an almost Churchillian vocabulary, his cerebral pyrotechnics remain the stuff of legend, most manifest in his essays. Those priceless pieces, anthologised in such books as "And Yet..." and "Arguably" (equally commended), culminated in his highly unorthodox autobiography, "Hitch 22", published shortly before his death.
This last - an unusually frank work, in which he discloses both the ups and downs of an Anglo-American existence - is not only brilliantly written, but unusually revelatory, even for him. His account of his lifelong friendship with that other linguistic polymath, Martin Amis, for example, makes the book an eye-opener on its own (q.v. pp. 157-8); but his humour, even when dying (he knew his number was up as he wrote), remained miraculously unsullied to the end.
A highly appropriate finale to a colourful career.
More essays reviewed at
bookreviewsandvideos.com/category/belles-lettres
