Orientalism is that large theory about the subjugation of the East by a body of writers and professionals, technocrats etc. But it is also a test of how far a scholar can get away with biting the hand that feeds it. Said is a western scholar, in awe of high culture. His grasp of classic literature is breath taking. It would take a lifetime to unpick all of the critical readings that he offers in Orientalism. But yet this catalogging, and cartography of culture, is not in itself enough. He tentatively suggests a trilogy of works, detailing the different sphere's of Orientalism. (the other having now been completed are 'Culture and Imperialism', the 'Uncovering Islam'). It is as though he was hoping to expunge centuries of history. (Perhaps that explains why it lacks real history).

So why does Orientalism speak to me? When I first read Orientalism in 1992, I was struck by its power liberate. It was as though someone had peeled away the wallpaper in a grand house, and revealed a tarnished tacky, scarred wall behind it.