When I look back at my childhood on the Ayrshire coast, I recall a basic devotion to the idea that human nature and national character are as unknowable as the weather's rationale. Andrew O'Hagan ayrshirebackbasic Change image and share on social
Fans of football and fans of nationhood have a similar zeal. Read the fanzines: their contributors could find a needle-sized diss in a haystack of compliments, and their passions are fundamentalist. Andrew O'Hagan complimentcontributordis Change image and share on social
Novelists are no more moral or certain than anybody else; we are ideologically adrift, and if we are any good then our writing will live in several places at once. That is both our curse and our charm. Andrew O'Hagan adriftcharmcurse share on social
The idea that people in novels should be more sympathetic than people in life simply baffles me. Andrew O'Hagan baffleidealife Change image and share on social
We now live in the era of fake consensus, or phoney populism, a condition in which galleries and homes are seen to succeed best where they manage feelings of non-difference. Andrew O'Hagan conditionconsensusdifference Change image and share on social
Long before I was a writer, when I was just a haphazard reader and a dreamer of stories, I learnt about an influential book by Harold Bloom. 'The Anxiety of Influence', published in 1973 when I was five years old, is taken up with the terrifying influence of poets on each other. Andrew O'Hagan anxietybloombook share on social
There's a horrible fallacy that exists in the popular discussion of fiction these days: the idea that a successful central character need be 'likeable' or 'sympathetic'. It is surely more important that they be human, no? More crucial that they breathe? Andrew O'Hagan breathecentralcharacter share on social
Everybody has an idea of the kind of society they'd like to live in, and I would like to live in one where our senior politicians were spirited and original and possibly even good at what they do. Andrew O'Hagan goodideakind Change image and share on social
I think I am becoming obsessive-compulsive. David Beckham apparently turns all the Diet Coke cans in his fridge to face the same way every morning, and I nerdily sharpen all the pencils in my pot before sitting down to work. Andrew O'Hagan apparentlybeckhamcan share on social
Long before the arrival of reality TV - before speed cameras, before recording angels on buses and lampposts - I felt I was living in a country that already knew how to watch itself. It was journalism that held the responsibility for seeing who we were and noticing what we did. Andrew O'Hagan angelarrivalbuse share on social
