Now, I’m not going to try to convince you that Jilly Cooper is a master of language on a par with Flaubert, or that she does with words what Picasso did with paint; she is, however, a master of her craft, and as such, we should hold her dear and rejoice in what she brings to writing. About a hundred years ago, possibly before the internets was invented, the Icelandic singer and all round sonic adventurer Bjork gave an interview to the NME, a British music paper. In it, she said ‘I don’t want meat and potatoes every day.’ Or words to that effect. It’s been a while, and my memory is not all that it was. In any case, there’s a corollary to this, being that sometimes you want something bland, comforting and easy to make. Read more
