Preferences and predilections …

… Salman Rushdie's star ratings of fellow novelists revealed | Books | The Guardian. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Inevitably, it’s the damning assessments of his peers that compel attention - so feud-watchers in particular may be disappointed to see him giving a five-star endorsement to A House for Mr Biswas by VS Naipaul. (Those with long memories might remember Naipaul’s description of the fatwa against Rushdie as: “An extreme form of literary criticism”.)

Rushdie could have himself said what Naipaul did. Unless the context indicated otherwise, what Naipaul said is simply a good wisecrack.