sun 22/12/2024

book reviews and features

John le Carré: A Legacy of Spies review - the master in twilight mood

Marina Vaizey

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...

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Extract: Peter Brook - Tip of the Tongue: Reflections on Language and Meaning

Peter Brook

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...

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Sigrid Rausing: Mayhem review - you want it darker?

Sebastian Scotney

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,...

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Val McDermid: Insidious Intent review - dark and expert crime writing

Marina Vaizey

Val McDermid has written close on 30 award-winning thrillers and suspense novels, in four series, since...

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Omar Robert Hamilton: The City Always Wins review - Egypt's revolution, up close and personal

Boyd Tonkin

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...

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Fred Vargas: The Accordionist review - intriguing Gallic sleuthing yarn

Marina Vaizey

The two haunting series of crime ...

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James Hamilton: Gainsborough - A Portrait review - an artistic life told with verve and enthusiasm

Marina Vaizey

James Hamilton’s wholly absorbing biography is very different from the usual kind of...

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Jason Webster: Fatal Sunset review - more flavoursome crime in Valencia

Liz Thomson

The sixth in a series of crime...

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Emma Dibdin: 'Being scared of something is a sign you should write about it'

Emma Dibdin

When I began writing my first novel four years ago, there were a few ideas that had coalesced in my mind. I...

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Teju Cole: Blind Spot review - haunting hybrid of words and images

Boyd Tonkin

As a photographer, Teju Cole has a penchant for the scuffed and distressed surfaces, materials and tools that form rectilinear patterns on construction sites. Opposite a shot of scaffolding,...

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