27 MAY 1949, Page 18

" THE NAKED ANDL-THE DEAD "

Sia,—In Mr. Ross's own words, " A lot of nonsense has been talked and written recently about The Naked and the Dead, but surely his own letter is the most nonsensical. Firstly, sales figures neither add to nor detract from a book's obscenity ; Forever Amber, which met with similar criticism, is still selling well. Secondly, as a sixth-form boy, I do not see why such indecency should be forced into our minds merely to act as a " shock-absorbing preliminary " ; and thirdly, if Sir Alfred Munnings panders to mob approval, I wish some other prominent people would do the same and blast the incomprehensible surrealists back to