Literary feuds: Typewriters at dawn
Latest in News
Related stories
Noam Chomsky has responded irritably to John Gray's poor review of his latest book, claiming "The stunning irrationality of [Gray's] inferences renders comment superfluous". Here's a recent history of other literary handbags:
Alain de Botton, to Caleb Crain of The New York Times, who criticised de Botton's, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work (2009) "I will hate you till the day I die and wish you nothing but ill will in every career move you make."
Martin Amis, regarding a reviewer of Yellow Dog "Tibor Fischer is a creep and a wretch. Oh yeah: and a fat-arse."
Niall Ferguson, following a review of his book Civilization by Pankaj Mishra (2011) "If he won't apologise for calling me a racist, I will persecute him until he does... it seems to be becoming de rigueur for mediocrities to build their fame on attacking those more successful than them."
Alice Hoffman, who tweeted in anger 27 times following a review of her novel The Story Sisters in The Boston Globe (2009) "Roberta Silman in the Boston Globe is a moron. How do some people get to review books?... Now any idiot can be a critic."
Ayelet Waldman, wife of Michael Chabon, tweeting about negative reviews for her husband's book The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man (2011) "To the fucking MORON Amazon reviewers giving Awesome Man 1 star [because] 'It would be good for, like, a 2 year old' IT WAS WRITTEN FOR LITTLE KIDS"
- 1 Publishing: Rude bits in disguise
- 2 A dark day for goths (in a good way)
- 3 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (12A)
- 4 BANNED: The most controversial films
- 5 French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy calls for West to intervene in Syria
- 6 Spencer Tunick creates 'naked Dead Sea'
- 7 Free Range: Meet the designers of tomorrow
- 8 Win a limited edition Tracey Emin monoprint
- 9 The ten best: Bollywood movies
- 10 Cannes: Too much rain, too few women, but great movies
- 1 Mark Zuckerberg saved $111m by selling Facebook shares before stock slumped
- 2 Brazil rocked by abortion for 9-year-old rape victim
- 3 Schoolboy spiked brownies with cannabis in cookery class
- 4 Police letter reveals St Paul’s cathedral involvement in Occupy eviction
- 5 Fat? Really? Olympic hope laughs off official’s jibe – but others aren’t amused
- 6 'Hello mum, this is going to be hard for you to read ...'
- 7 African monkey meat that could be behind the next HIV
- 8 Cameron aide's cosy chats with News Corp revealed
- 9 Coke reveals its secret: It may need to carry a cancer warning
- 10 French in uproar over oral sex anti-smoking posters
Experience the Heineken Hub
Get free wi-fi and exclusive i content while you enjoy a tasty pint of Heineken at participating pubs.
Can you imagine a career in teaching?
Be inspired to teach - let real teachers show you how rewarding the job can be.
Playing a game-changing role during the Games
Cisco is providing the solutions for London 2012's complex IT needs.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
Ridley Scott: The most macho man in movies?
Gallic gourmets put France back on culinary map
The outsider: Margaret Howell
For men only: A pilgrimage to Mount Athos
Feeding a hungry world – or meddling with laws of nature?


Comments