"It is a nonsense to me when people come along and tell me not to be pessimistic; or that culture has..." — Howard Jacobson

To be clear, I abhor the separation wall. It is an eyesore in itself and makes tangible the failed diplomacy and cruel short-sightedness that causes such misery in the region. No Palestinian can see that wall and not wonder if the Israelis mean it to stay there forever, a constant reminder of what they never intend to change.

Things happen in 'If This is a Man' that are beyond ordinary daily experience, but it is still us to whom they are happening, and the understanding Levi seeks is no different in kind from that sought by Shakespeare in 'King Lear', or Conrad in 'The Heart of Darkness'.

'Family Guy'. It's not only the funniest programme on television, it's the most wonderfully, indecorously literate.

I am in denial about sport. I refuse to accept that I watch it. I am not the kind of man who watches sport.