Alain Botton
Alain Botton
devotion english-writer everyday humanity interest problems using welcome
I find a welcome interest in the problems of everyday life. I find a humanity and a devotion to using thought to alleviate suffering.
block built flats past trying walk
I used to walk past this block of flats and wonder: 'Who could have built that? What were they thinking? What were they trying to do?
bad circus draws freaks literature maybe people towards
Literature has always had its circus side, its freaks and its frivolities - and maybe that's all part of it, and no bad thing if it draws people towards what is most worthwhile.
bare facts general laugh laughter life nervous precisely utterly
I am in general a very pessimistic person with an optimistic, day-to-day take on things. The bare facts of life are utterly terrifying. And yet, one can laugh. Indeed, one has to laugh precisely because of the darkness: the nervous laughter of the trenches.
areas critics-and-criticism exists external features guide immovable judging literary method snobbery work
Snobbery exists in all areas of life, not least literary criticism. By snobbery I mean, any method of judging someone or something whereby you latch on to one or two features about them/it, and use these to come to a definitive, immovable judgement. In intellectual matters, the snob will often take the external features of a work as a guide to its value.