Sounds persuasive …

… Why You Should Read Peter Handke | John Wilson | First Things. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

… you may say, why should I invest time reading about a controversy involving a writer whose work I know only slightly or not at all, especially when it sounds rather murky? That’s a good question. I think the intention of those who have denounced Handke is to surround him with a toxic smell, so that readers who might otherwise have been tempted to pick up some of his books will be discouraged from doing so. That seems wicked to me, especially when it is cloaked in moral trappings.

 Many years ago, I reviewed Handke’s The Left-Handed Woman. The intrepid Dave Lull tracked down a copy of that review. I was not impressed. But I have just ordered Repetition.