book reviews and features
Book extract: Insurrecto by Gina ApostolFriday, 11 October 2019
She has more armed guards than she has luggage. She has a sense of purpose even Magsalin admires. She rides along the coast toward a historic place and, by simply stepping on its soil, she will... Read more... |
Book extract: Insurrecto by Gina ApostolWednesday, 09 October 2019
She had clutched the envelope given by the shy messenger, but she had never opened it. The Intended. True. The message from the director was for her. A joke between... Read more... |
Book extract: Insurrecto by Gina ApostolMonday, 07 October 2019
At first, what puts Magsalin off at the pastry shop is Chiara’s voice. It is nasal, and her monotone, a bored flatness, even in the most interesting parts, keeps Magsalin, or the pastry shop... Read more... |
Zadie Smith: Grand Union review – a roller coaster collectionSunday, 06 October 2019
“Adorable cock, nothing too dramatic, suitable for many situations,” remarks Monica on the penis of her university boyfriend. She is the candid protagonist of ‘Sentimental Education’, the second... Read more... |
Joanna Cannon: Breaking and Mending review - can you feel too much?Sunday, 06 October 2019
Joanna Cannon was a wild card. She left school at 15 with one O-level and after various jobs, including working as a barmaid, she was given a place at... Read more... |
Ben Lerner: The Topeka School review - lessons to be learnedSunday, 06 October 2019
The Topeka School begins with a female listener getting bored of hearing her boyfriend talk. Which did not bode well, as the perspective’s was the boyfriend, and I am a... Read more... |
William Feaver: The Lives of Lucian Freud: Youth 1922-1968 review - a testament of friendshipSunday, 29 September 2019
Lucian Freud was never an entirely willing subject, but his remark to William Feaver that his... Read more... |
Al Alvarez: 'If I drop dead this minute, I’ve had a terrific time'Monday, 23 September 2019
We like to think of ourselves as a nation of eccentrics, but some take their patriotic duties more seriously than others. Al Alvarez –... Read more... |
Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey: She Said review – better than the moviesSunday, 22 September 2019
October 5th in the United States is a day for righteous rage. In 2016 it marked the release of the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape in which Donald Trump made his now-infamous “grab them... Read more... |
10 Questions for author Martin GayfordSaturday, 21 September 2019
Over the past four decades Martin Gayford, The Spectator’s art critic, has travelled the world, been published in an amazing range of print and digital publications and written more than... Read more... |
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