I’ll take it.

……

And more seriously … I think H is special in that he develops within us. And I read him if nothing else (but there is more), to enjoy how he constructs a sentence.

I enjoy the quote - “since H, people try to write like him, or not at all like him”. - Not sure who said it, but it’s true.

He changed things. I love that.

He came to me at university, first year English. “The Old Man and the Sea” … And has never left.

I think him, Joseph Conrad and Chinua Achebe have the same effect on me. They’re not Dickens, who brings characters to life like no other, but they creep into our empty spaces and make it their home.

Thanks Malky. Your humour and take on this are exceptionally good. Personal. Hemingway’esque.