大象传媒

Hisham Matar, who won the Pulitzer prize for 'The Return', a book about his search for his missing father, lives near to Grenfell Tower.

The fire is thought to have spread so rapidly through the block because the tiles put around the outside were flammable. They were installed in part for insulation, in part to improve the look of the building.

For Radio 4's World at One Hisham reflects on what the use of cladding tells us about how society places too much value on appearances.

(Image: Grenfell Tower, credit: Getty Images)