Oddly, I do have a problem with authority. I find it very difficult to knuckle down and follow rules. Which are the classic symptoms of someone who has a troubled relationship with their father. And yet, I never had a problem with my father. – Toby Young
Ive become a professional failure – in order to pay the mortgage I have to remain unemployed. Luckily, a disaster always seems to befall me at exactly the right moment. – Toby Young
America thinks of itself as a meritocracy, so people have more respect for success and more contempt for failure. – Toby Young
In Britain, by contrast, we still think that class plays a part in determining a persons life chances, so were less inclined to celebrate success and less inclined to condemn failure. The upshot is that its much easier to be a failure in Britain than it is in America. – Toby Young
Just about every childrens book in my local bookstore has an animal for its hero. But then, only a few feet away in the cookbook section, just about every cookbook includes recipes for cooking animals. Is there a more illuminating illustration of our paradoxical relationship with the nonhuman world? – Jonathan Safran Foer