Why Les Miz Became A Hit

“It has played for 45,000 performances in 42 countries, been translated into 21 languages, including Mauritian Creole, Icelandic, Japanese and Hebrew. It’s all about Victor Hugo’s story. And it’s a story that’s entirely contemporary because it’s a brilliant observation of human nature.”

Literature As Competitive Sport

“It’s a lot of pomp and circumstance for a corner of the culture that seems increasingly uncertain of its role in contemporary society, where the slow, immersive satisfactions of reading are easily overwhelmed by the onslaught of the information stream. In such a landscape, readers look to awards for reassurance, as arbiters of whether a book or author is any good.”