Book Review: "A Hitch in Time" by Christopher Hitchens

Yes, I'm still reading anthologies of works by the late and great Christopher Hitchens. Before this little binge read, I hadn't read something by Hitchens ever since I was a teenager. It's always been a joy getting back into his works and trying to understand where his points of view lie and how they have changed over the course of his life. I was also recently watching one of his talks that he did more towards the end of his life where he is rather more subdued than previously but definitely has the same level of British sarcasm within him.

One of the early essays in this book is about Tom Wolfe in which Hitchens identifies that Wolfe's portrayal of American culture may not be entirely correct and critiques how Wolfe often celebrates some odd things about America. Hitchens likes to focus on how Wolfe seems to ignore the complexities of American society whilst he focuses on the space program. It's quite a critique because I've never seen someone write about Tom Wolfe like this before. Normally, people are quite adamantly respectful of Wolfe's point of view, but Hitchens manages to critique him without being insulting. Well, he's not that insulting.

Another one of the essays concerns PG Wodehouse especially the biography of Wodehouse by Barry Phelps. Hitchens seems to agree that Wodehouse was a great writer with an incredible amount of wit. (For some reason, I also remember the late Queen saying something similar about the writer, or I'd read something about her joy of reading Wodehouse. I can't really remember the exact wording, but it was definitely something I'd read. Whether it was by her or by someone who was talking about her, I don't recall).

Hitchens seems to accept that the strange delving into the political world that Wodehouse did during the war was probably wrong of Wodehouse to do and, to this day divides the writers fans. But it had only come off so controversially and traitorously because, Hitchens argues, Wodehouse was so immersed in the fictional world that to come out of it and try to do something political was perhaps, a mistake on Wodehouse's part. Of course, he then gets underway with analysing the literary works of Wodehouse - looking at very particular characters and how they communicated the message of the writer.

There's another essay regarding Salman Rushdie in which Hitchens defends Rushdie's freedom of speech and artistic expression against the extremists and the fatwa. He uses this to criticise the regimes of the middle eastern world, especially that of Iran. Of course, since the death of Hitchens, Rushdie has been defended by masses of political thinkers such as Dr Jordan B Peterson and a bunch of others. However, it is unfortunate that someone did make an attempt on Rushdie's life eventually. But he survived so I guess it didn't all work out for the extremists. I mean, imagine being stabbed that many times and surviving just to come out and keep writing. It is the ultimate act of rebellion against the extreme.

An essay I thought was really thought-provoking was the one Hitchens wrote about the Oklahoma City Bombing. Christopher Hitchens analyses this steady rise of domestic terrorism in the United States of America. He argues that there is something rooted in the political divisiveness and the climate of the country's political history which allows cycles like this to take place. He discusses everything from the political climate at the time of the bombing to the history of the USA all the way to the way in which national identity in America has been formed throughout the years. It is honestly a very interesting essay, especially now as we move through the 30th anniversary of the bombing and remember those who lost their lives and the lives of their loved ones.

Hitchens also writes an essay about Isaiah Berlin and one about Diana Mosely. One is about the writings of a man who, during the Vietnam War was perhaps morally questionable in his politics. The other is about a socialite with fascist links. But both are again, in classic Christopher Hitchens style and often tinged with British sarcasm.

All in all, this is perhaps one of the Hitchens anthologies that I have enjoyed because there were a lot of essays about books and writers - we all know that is quite what I enjoy. I hope I find more Hitchens books to read.