Category Opinion
The House Husband
I really recommend you watch this video, but if you don’t want to, I’ll summarize for your convenience. The location is France, the protagonist is a house husband who, in the course of his day, gets crudely hit upon by a hobo chick, sorta-raped by a gang of feral women and diminished by his sexist […]
Why I Wrote My Novels
I have finished three novels and, although they share only the most tenuous connections in setting, character and plot, I do consider them a trilogy of sorts. All three are attempts to understand the disconnect between intentions and outcomes. All three are, in a very real sense, about my attempt to overcome the desire for […]
Mohsin Hamid Replies to My Open Letter
The first in my series of open letters was addressed to Sinead O’Connor. It consisted of my thoughts regarding her and Miley Cyrus’ little “poison to feminism except we aren’t sure what feminism stands for” feud. I really doubted I would get a response from either participant and, considering the level of maturity in Ms. […]
위험한 도덕 파트2
파트2 독자들이여, 이곳이 바로 제가 덫을 놓고 여러분의 도덕적 끈을 낚아채는 곳입니다. 파트1에서의 감정을 기억하시고 그 감정을 다음 글에 비추어 읽어주세요. 한국은 위험한 존재입니다. 우리는 중동의 골치 거리 테러에 걱정하기 바쁜 나머지 한국이 위협적 존재라는 것을 잘 인식하지 못하고 있습니다. 그러나 한국에서 과잉적으로 날뛰어대는 애국주의자들은 지난 역사적에 있어서 어리석은 일본과의 숙명적 대결에 너무나도 신경을 많이 […]
The American Morality Trap, Part Three
If this series of articles did to you what I hope they did, then the way in which I manipulated your feelings might be of some use to you in your normal lives. So, how did I make you feel hostile and united with your countrymen in article one and defensive and persecuted in article […]
위험한 도덕
서론: 먼저 여러분들께 이 글이 덫(속임수)임을 경고하는 바입니다. 저는 여러분의 믿음을 공격할 것이며 여러분들께 불편함을 드리고자 합니다. 저는 여러분의 믿음을 이용할 것이며, 여러분이 제 글을 다 읽으시고 난 후에 기분이 안 좋으시다면 저의 승리가 될 것입니다. 워드프레스의 페이지 통계에 따르면, 대부분의 제 독자들은 대한민국 국민이나 미국인이라고 합니다. 따라서 이 글은 특별히 그 두 나라 사람들을 […]
The American Morality Trap, Part Two
Here, reader, is where I spring the trap and catch your moral leg. Please remember your feelings from part one and consider them in light of the following. America is a nation of dangerous lunatics. Koreans, with the exceptions of the occasional rape/assault by US soldiers, the pollution of the Han River and that unfortunate […]
The American Morality Trap
I should warn you up front, this is a trap. I intend to attack your beliefs. I hope to cause you discomfort. I am going to exploit your beliefs. If, when you finish reading, your stomach is tied up in little knots, I will consider that a victory. Most of my audience, according to the […]
An Open Letter to Mohsin Hamid
Dear Mr. Hamid, I would like to start by saying that you are my favorite living author and that, since Carlos Fuentes’ death in 2012, you are facing very little competition. Indeed, your novels, short stories and essays are some of the biggest influences on my own writing. I sometimes quasi-seriously feel that, when my own books […]
Something Rotten in the Publishing Industry
As a writer, the thought of the publishing industry shrinking or dying used to really bother me. What writer doesn’t want to see their name on the spine of a Penguin Classics novel or, upon walking into a Barnes and Noble, see their own work featured by the front door? If the industry shrunk, I […]
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