The Modern Novel

Biography

Cool, trendy, Swiss-born Brit writer. Likes sex and Proust (though I am not sure in which order). He was born in Zurich in 1969, of Sephardic Jewish origins. He grow up in Switzerland before coming to England and was educated at Cambridge University, where he read philosophy. Most of his works are non-fiction, with a philosophical and/or literary bent, though his first work was a sort of novel, which is why he is here. He has also written on travel and architecture and, most recently, on a week he spent at Terminal 5 in Heathrow airport.

Other links

His own website
Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton
Toil and Trouble (book review by Caleb Crain that led to the reaction detailed below)
Review of Alain de Botton’s”Pleasures and Sorrows of Work” (Crain’s blog where de Botton posted his comments)
Alain de Botton tells New York Times reviewer: ‘I will hate you until I die’
Alain de Botton: You’ll regret those words until your dying day
Caleb Crain v Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton Clarifies the Caleb Crain Response
The Consolations of Pessimism (article by de Botton)
Interview
Interview
Interview