In the hands of Frank Kermode, it gives quite a lot.The reviewer is professor of English at York University. WHY GO NOW?

WHY GO NOW?
Christmas shopping is more fun in the markets of Nice than on your local high street, and there’s the added bonus of great food, drink and art. If you can stay on, you’ll be in the right place on Christmas Day for the annual Bain de No? when thousands take to the sea. A carnival atmosphere prevails as goose-pimpled swimmers are revived at stalls selling socca (wafer-thin pancakes made with chickpea flour and olive oil).DOWN PAYMENTThe main airline from the UK to Nice is easyJet (0871 750 0100; ), which has plenty of room if you’re travelling out on 19 December and returning on Monday 22 December, from Luton (£84 return), Gatwick (£124 return), Liverpool (£114 return) and Bristol (£94 return).

Tony Blair was accused yesterday of exaggerating the evidence that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and putting his own “spin” on a report by the group searching for Saddam Hussein’s arsenal.
Opposition parties and Labour MPs said the Prime Minister’s claim that the Iraq Survey Group (ISG) had found “massive evidence” that Saddam had weapons programmes was bogus and made a nonsense of Downing Street’s attempt to stop “spinning.”Charles Kennedy, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “The Prime Minister went too far. “Do we simply say if you’re a family and you touch British soil you are here forever? We can’t do that and have a credible system.”He also highlighted the growing problem of asylum-seekers destroying travel documents en route to Britain.”Without a country to receive them [because of lack of documentation], we’ve nowhere to remove them to,” he said.”We can’t eject them into outer space.”. remove the basic means of substance from children.”But Mr Blunkett said the immigration service would face no chance of dealing with failed claimants if parents knew they could still receive support because of their children. A series of Labour MPs backed a rebel amendment complaining the legislation “would make children destitute”.Leading the revolt against the “immoral” Bill, Hilton Dawson, the MP for Lancaster and Wyre, told ministers: “You are wrong, you are taking us a step far too far.”It seems extraordinary to have to say this to a Labour Government but you should never, ever, under any circumstances whatsoever, whatever the parents have done, whoever they are, wherever they’ve come from … David Blunkett came under concerted fire from Labour MPs yesterday over his planned overhaul of the asylum system, including a proposal to put the children of rejected refugees into care.
The Home Secretary was accused of making youngsters suffer for the actions of their parents and urged to improve the quality of initial decisions on asylum applications.But in a combative Commons performance he turned on his critics, saying they were avoiding a “sensible” debate and warning the Government faced “the devil’s own job” in ejecting fraudulent claimants.The clashes came during the Second Reading of the Asylum and Immigration Bill, which strips benefits from failed claimants who refuse to accept a free flight home, with the result that their children could be handed into care. Neither British nor Iraqi officials would comment on that possibility yesterday..

“We feel thankful for the humane and courageous attitude of the Prime Minister and Jack Straw,” he said. “It was a holy mission that the US and British governments took part in.”The Iraqi leaders were in London on the latest leg of a European tour that appears designed to present them as members of a credible government-in-waiting.The present timetable assumes that sovereignty will be transferred to Iraq by the end of June at the latest, when the US-British Coalition Provisional Authority – the civil arm of the occupation – is to be dissolved.There has been speculation, however, that the capture of Saddam could speed up the return of sovereignty. The Government expressed public support yesterday for the right of Iraqis to try Saddam Hussein in Iraq, even if this meant that he could face the death penalty. He says he had been ordered by his doctor to play squash to aid recovery.Mr Crow urged management to go to the conciliation service Acas to avoid the action which, he said, enjoyed the full support of drivers.A spokesman for London Underground said: “We are surprised RMT is taking action again, especially as Londoners try to enjoy their Christmas and New Year.”The spokesman said management would seek to provide the best possible service.. The following strike is to last 24 hours from noon on 31 December.Mr Barrett was disciplined after being seen leaving a sports centre. They say Mr Barrett’s sacking was unfair.The strikes, called yesterday after Bob Crow, the general secretary of the union, failed to win reinstatement for Mr Barrett, were dismissed as “predictable but unacceptable” by Lynne Featherstone, chair of the London Assembly’s transport committee.The union staged a strike last month over the issue which closed the Circle line and led to limited services on the Hammersmith & City line.The planned stoppage will begin at 4.30am on 24 December 24 and end at 4.30am on 25 December. A key part of London Underground will be severely disrupted on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day when drivers walk out over a dismissal of a colleague, Chris Barrett, who played squash while on sick leave with an ankle injury.
Tube drivers belonging to the RMT rail union are to halt work on the Circle and the Hammersmith & City routes, which carry about 400,000 people a day.