Shelf Life: Tom Hollander

Fleur Macdonald

Thursday, 10th November 2011

Next off the shelf is actor Tom Hollander. He tells us what children ought to read at school, which party from literature he'd most like to attend, and that his dream is to play Victor Hugo's most tragic hero. The first episode of the new series of 'Rev.', in which he stars, airs tonight at 9pm on BBC2.

1) What are you reading at the moment?

London Fields, by Martin Amis
 
2) As a child, what did you read under the covers?

The James Bond books
 
3) Has a book ever made you cry, and if so which one?

One Day (I know, I know)
 
4) You are about to be put into solitary confinement for a year and allowed to take three books. What would you choose?

The collected works of Dickens, Tolstoy and Teach Yourself Mandarin
 
5) Which literary character would you most like to sleep with?

Helen of Troy
 
6) If you wrote a self-help book, what would you call it?

'Try and Look on the Brightside'
 
7) Michael Gove has asked you to rewrite the GCSE English Literature syllabus. Which book, which play, and which poem would you make compulsory reading?

Great Expectations, King Lear and John Clare's 'I Am' 
 
8) Which party from literature would you most like to have attended?

Belshazzar's feast, but leaving early
 
9) What would you title your memoirs?

'Good in Parts'
 
10) Which literary character do you dream of playing?

Quasimodo
 
11) What book would you give to a lover?

Love in the Time of Cholera
 
12) Spying Mein Kampf or Dan Brown on someone's bookshelf can spell havoc for a friendship. What's your literary dealbreaker?

You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise Hay

Blog Tags: Shelf Life