The Staggers; The next challenge
 

Do you remember that competition about 'The First Lie'? Bazza won money with his excellent entry. I must say some of the others seemed to me a bit below par, but then I would say that since I didn't win.

The new competition is that old chestnut. You write a review of a book but are mistaken as top what KIND of a book you have. You suppose, let us say, thet The Trial is a thriller, that Crime and Punishment is a detective story, that Das Capital is a book of amusing historical anecdotes (would that it were!). In fact I have taken all these examples from an excellent booklet of NS Competitions from 1979-1988. I might have entered one of them, supposing the author to be dead or gone away, but alas, Bill would know. He wrote the Forward.

150 words by 5 October to comp@newstatesman.co.uk

Hell, is it 150 or 125 words? I'll check. Do you know, Bazza? Bill?

category errors
 

125. And here's my shot at it.

Anyone who opens this volume in the belief that it will offer a candid and unashamed exploration of the erotic underside of life in our society will have his expectations disappointed. No light is shed here on the forbidden world of pederasty. No taboos are boldly challenged. No call for an enlarged concept of sexual freedom and identity is issued. On the contrary, Scouting For Boys evinces an almost frenzied concern with piety, sobriety, 'cleanliness' and rectitude. This didacticism, and the book's equally odd preoccupation with exotic outdoor skills, give the impression of an author floundering with his topic and soon dissipate interest. Obsessive and programmatic, it has neither the impact of dramatic personal testimony nor the objective, scientific value of a social survey.

Basil, it's terrific! Thanks for the laugh!

Good luck, though I don't really think you'll need it

Donna