Words take on life of their own if born from honesty

The passing of an 86-year-old writer has sparked a lot of comment in the last couple of days.

Not surprising, when the man was a hero to so many of us labouring in the trenches. Command of the language might be a given in a writer — though it’s surprising how often it isn’t, to be honest — but this particular writer’s outlook and viewpoint took articulate expression to a new level. He was always unique. Many tried to imitate but none succeeded.

A sad day, then, the passing of Gore Vidal last Tuesday.