Many younger friends of mine are engaged in courses of study, reading groups, and other collaborative undertakings focused on “great books” and pursued for their own sake. This is an encouraging trend; may their tribe increase. But an overweening emphasis on “greatness” is wearisome. I want to propose a different sort of project, not at all in opposition to but rather complementing such enterprises. There are so many books that are not “great,” but are also worth saving from oblivion, at least for the moment.
Here I want to present one candidate for revival: the Irish-born novelist Brian Moore (1921–1999; his first name is pronounced “Bree-an”), whose native Belfast celebrated his centenary in 2021 with a week-long festival.
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