book reviews and features
Lisa Halliday: Asymmetry review - unconventional and brilliant
Sunday, 04 March 2018
Lisa Halliday’s striking debut novel consists of three parts. The first follows the blooming relationship between Alice and Ezra (... Read more... |
Rhidian Brook on The Killing of Butterfly Joe
Thursday, 01 March 2018
When I was 23 I had a job selling butterflies in glass cases in America. I worked for a guy who, as well as... Read more... |
Ursula K Le Guin - Dreams Must Explain Themselves review - enraging and enlightening
Sunday, 25 February 2018
Essay collections are happily mainstream now, from Zadie Smith to Oliver Sacks, with more and more bits and bobs coming from unexpected quarters. These patchwork quilts from remarkable writers can... Read more... |
John Tusa: 'the arts must make a noise' - interview
Thursday, 22 February 2018
In our era of 24/7 news, downloadable from anywhere in the world at the touch of an app, it's hard to... Read more... |
Mick Herron: London Rules review - hypnotically fascinating, absolutely contemporary
Sunday, 18 February 2018
London Rules – explicitly cover your arse – is the fifth in the most remarkable and mesmerising series of ... Read more... |
Roma Agrawal: Built review - solid love
Sunday, 11 February 2018
"I've been known to stroke concrete," writes self-professed geek Roma Agrawal – and from the very beginning of her memoir-cum-introduction... Read more... |
Joe Dunthorne: The Adulterants review - a richly illuminating comedy of disappointment
Sunday, 04 February 2018
Joe Dunthorne's debut novel Submarine (2008) burrowed plausibly inside the head of a teenager... Read more... |
Afua Hirsch: Brit(ish) review - essential reading on identity
Sunday, 04 February 2018
Usually extracts in newspapers should stimulate the appetite of the reader to get with it; this is a rare moment when the glimpses afforded to Afua Hirsch’s Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and... Read more... |
Julian Barnes: The Only Story review - passion, pain and sorrow in Surrey
Sunday, 28 January 2018
From his debut Metroland, right up to the Man Booker-winning The Sense of an Ending, the prospect of a road not taken has haunted the mild and mediocre narrators of Julian Barnes... Read more... |
Dave Eggers: The Monk of Mokha review - how to become a grand master of coffee
Sunday, 28 January 2018
A macchiato may never taste the same again. If you’ve ever wondered about the politics and history behind your cup of designer coffee, The Monk of Mokha will answer all your questions,... Read more... |
Pages
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
The future of Arts Journalism
You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!
We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d
And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.
latest in today
Help to give theartsdesk a future!
It all started on 09/09/09. That memorable date, September 9 2009, marked the debut of theartsdesk.com.
It followed some...
The Gang of Three, King's Head Theatre - three old Labo...
There was a time when the only daytime TV (ex-weekends and ex-Wimbledon fortnight) comprised the annual party conferences and the...
theartsdesk Q&A: Gary Oldman on playing John Cheever in...
Gary Oldman has always lived life to the fullest, on screen and off. Maybe that's why he is often at his best in his pitch-perfect portraits of...
The Excursions of Mr Brouček, LSO, Rattle, Barbican review...
Who doesn’t love the quirky, passionate and humanitarian genius of Leoš Janáček? All of it, these days. Since Charles...
Conversations After Sex, Park Theatre review - pillow talk p...
In Dublin, a city that has changed more than most in the last 30 years, a young woman, with an English accent that is expensive to...
Album: PinkPantheress - Fancy That
There’s plenty of noise out there about 24-year-old Kentish musician Victoria Walker, AKA PinkPantheress. Since being acclaimed BBC Sound of 2022...
Malpractice, ITV1, Series 2 review - fear and loathing in th...
Following on from the first series of Malpractice in 2023, this second season again probes into issues of medical malfeasance and...
Shack, Union Chapel review - the surprise return of the Live...
After kicking off with the psychedelia-tinged “Sgt. Major,” they keep coming. A string of songs as Sixties-influenced as they are edgy and...
First Person: young cellist Zlatomir Fung on operatic fantas...
My new album, Fantasies, recorded with pianist Richard Fu, is the culmination of my years-long fascination with the wonderful genre of...
Blu-ray: Laurel & Hardy - The Silent Years (1928)
Eureka’s second volume of Laurel and Hardy shorts catches the pair in 1928 on the cusp of their successful...