book reviews and features
Adam Macqueen: The Lies of the Land review - light, but enlightening
Sunday, 17 September 2017
We are now firmly in the post-truth era as defined by Oxford Dictionaries: "adjective - relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping... Read more... |
Robert Harris: Munich review - reselling Hitler
Saturday, 16 September 2017
Robert Harris’s first book about Hitler told the story of the hoax diaries which seduced Rupert Murdoch and Hugh Trevor-Roper. After Selling Hitler (1986) came Fatherland (1992... Read more... |
John le Carré: A Legacy of Spies review - the master in twilight mood
Sunday, 10 September 2017
Over his long career – 23 novels, memoirs, his painfully believable narratives adapted into extraordinary films (10 for the big screen) and for television – John le Carré has created a world that... Read more... |
Extract: Peter Brook - Tip of the Tongue: Reflections on Language and Meaning
Sunday, 10 September 2017
A long time ago when I was very young, a voice hidden deep within me whispered, "Don’t take anything for granted. Go and see for yourself." This little nagging murmur has led me to so... Read more... |
Sigrid Rausing: Mayhem review - you want it darker?
Sunday, 03 September 2017
There is fictional Nordic noir. And then there is this, the real thing. Subject matter really couldn’t be much darker than that of Mayhem: A Memoir in which publisher,... Read more... |
Val McDermid: Insidious Intent review - dark and expert crime writing
Sunday, 27 August 2017
Val McDermid has written close on 30 award-winning thrillers and suspense novels, in four series, since... Read more... |
Omar Robert Hamilton: The City Always Wins review - Egypt's revolution, up close and personal
Sunday, 20 August 2017
A few days ago we learned that British taxpayers have unwittingly donated around £1m. in aid to the police and court systems of Egypt’s military dictatorship, via an opaque “Conflict, Stability... Read more... |
Fred Vargas: The Accordionist review - intriguing Gallic sleuthing yarn
Sunday, 13 August 2017
The two haunting series of crime ... Read more... |
James Hamilton: Gainsborough - A Portrait review - an artistic life told with verve and enthusiasm
Sunday, 06 August 2017
James Hamilton’s wholly absorbing biography is very different from the usual kind of... Read more... |
Jason Webster: Fatal Sunset review - more flavoursome crime in Valencia
Sunday, 06 August 2017
The sixth in a series of crime... Read more... |
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latest in today
Fauda, Season 4, Netflix review - Israeli terrorism thriller...
Bald, barrel-shaped and pugnacious, Doron Kavillio (Lior Raz) could have been conceived as the anti-Bond or the un-Ethan Hunt. But as action...
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish review - thrilling adventure wi...
The Shrek universe expands a little more with Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, another...
Album: Shania Twain - Queen of Me
Shania Twain describes her sixth studio album as “a song of gratitude and appreciation. I was inspired that I still had air in my lungs” – and it...
Titus Andronicus, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse review - notorious...
If All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure and Troilus and Cressida have earned the sobriquet "‘problem plays...
The Whale review - Brendan Fraser stars in a fat suit
Yes, Brendan Fraser gives a fine, Oscar-nominated performance as a...
Philharmonia, Hrůša, RFH review - total brilliance in Bartók...
Salome was not to get her head on a silver platter: Jennifer Davis, due to sing the bloody final scene of Strauss’s opera, had been experiencing...
2:22 A Ghost Story, Lyric Theatre review - Cheryl makes an i...
The set of 2:22 A Ghost Story is open to the auditorium when we arrive and locates us at once in gentrification-land. We are...
EO review - lyrical tale of a donkey's odyssey
It’s been a good year for donkeys at the cinema. Not only did Martin McDonagh make a surprise star out of Jenny the miniature donkey in The...
Album: Kelela - Raven
Kelela, the DC-born artist, has been fusing R&B with experimental electronics since her 2013 mixtape Cut 4 Me...
Tannhäuser, Royal Opera review - true goodness triumphs in t...
It’s always a disappointment when the Venusberg orgy Wagner added in 1861 to his original, 1845 Tannhäuser to suit Parisian tastes gives...