In the New York Times, John Banville saw it as "profound" and "provocative" in showing the author "facing squarely the dismaying fact that against life's onslaughts nothing avails, not even art; especially not art".
In its first century, the Observer was in varying degrees a scurrilous gossip sheet, government propaganda rag and provocative thorn-in-the-side of the establishment.
The original is, arguably, chancy and provocative in a way that the film isn't.
And under Mr. Slimane, Dior Homme nearly always stood out as new and provocative, in part because of the casting of his models.
The chapter includes much information, page after page, both exciting and provocative in terms of how fertile the field is for future advances.
"We believe that this tragedy occurred solely because of the determination of the police to enable the Nazis to hold their racist and provocative meeting in the centre of the Asian community in Southall" he said.
In that sense, one of the most stimulating and provocative passages in the entire book comes when the mathematicians Robert Kaplan and George Gheverghese Joseph go toe to toe in a long footnote, arguing whether the ancient Egyptians truly "understood" irrational numbers.
Readers who are on Twitter can see some of it there (though, let's face it, in the Twitter universe, something that old is about as fresh as Chaucer), and others can see a lively and provocative discussion in the comments below the post.
"All of us are seeing an increased pattern of aggressive behaviour and provocative actions in the South China Sea, seriously threatening the peace, security, prosperity and stability in the region".
