Great expectations but Jacobson doubts he will win the Man Booker this year - The Jewish Chronicle

Sport, Dickens and the dangers of complacency were some of the issues tackled by Howard Jacobson at an evening of literary talk.

The author said he believed Jews only pretended to like football or rugby, as a way of being accepted by non-Jews. Secretly they preferred more highbrow pursuits, such as classical music.

And he disclosed that, in his view, "Great Expectations is the best novel ever".

These revelations came at the JC Editor's Choice evening, in association with the London Jewish Cultural Centre, with Mr Jacobson in conversation with the newspaper's literary editor, Gerald Jacobs, in front of a sold out audience.