Hall of Uselessness

Simon Leys’ cultural and political commentary has long been legendary for its profundity and acerbic wit. In The Hall of Uselessness his most significant essays are finally gathered together, on subjects ranging from China to Orwell, from Quixotism to the sea.

Leys feuds with Christopher Hitchens, ponders the popularity of Victor Hugo and analyses whether Nabokov’s unfinished novel should ever have...