The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson, The Front Seat Passenger by Pascal Garnier, Darkness, Darkness by John Harvey, The Murder Bag by Tony Parsons, and two reissues Duffy by Julian Barnes writing as Dan Kavanagh and Speedy Death by Gladys Mitchell There is always money to be made out of debt, and the eponymous setting of Antonia Hodgson's splendid debut, The Devil in the Marshalsea...
The fact that so many Indigenous children continue to be taken into care is deeply concerning but there are no simple answers, writes the author of Far From the Tree Lynne, the sister of a close friend in Philadelphia, became a foster parent a few years ago. She and her partner, Mandy, were assigned a little boy whom I will call Diery. He had lived his first six months in the care of a mother who...
We're not supposed to judge books by their covers, but good design can work wonders - as all publishers know. Can you name the novels pictured here? Continue reading... ...
Do you keep your favourite books pristine or love them to death? You can tell the books I cherish by how battered they are How do you treat your books? I ask because I treat mine terribly. I love them dearly oh so dearly but I don't look after them one bit. Just look at my copy of Joe Hill's Nos-4R2. Not in a good way, is it? This is a novel which I raced through at high speed, which I adored and which...
Could photosynthesis solve the world's energy problems? Is there anything new to add to a debate that seems to have reached stalemate? The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has spoken again, but does anyone expect government policies or public opinion to change much as a result? Fortunately, Keith Barnham does have something new to say: he cuts through the current morass of fossil-fuel and...
Hassan Blasim takes Independent prize with The Iraqi Christ, a collection of short stories portraying Iraq as a 'surrealist inferno' Exiled Iraqi author Hassan Blasim's portrayal of his country as a "surrealist inferno" in his short story collection The Iraqi Christ has won the author the Independent foreign fiction prize. Blasim, a poet, filmmaker and short story writer, is the first Arab...
The look, the voice even the left-handedness: I wanted to be Paul McCartney and he's brought nothing but joy into my life I've never been fickle when it comes to hero worship. My heroes when I was a teenager are my heroes today. George Orwell, Rodney Marsh (the balletic QPR forward) and Paul McCartney. With Orwell and Marsh it was an admiration for their skills that began with Animal Farm and that...
Charles and David Koch have spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to bring their libertarian views into the mainstream. In a new book, Daniel Schulman looks at the roots of their ideology....
Political journalist Elizabeth Drew chronicled the events of 1974 in her recently-reissued Washington Journal . She tells NPR's Robert Siegel that she sees "a certain nobility" in Nixon's resilience....
'It's surprising he didn't choke on his own venom' the evil genius who captured the glory days of Soho In the emollient climate of today's portrait photography John Deakin's work presents a bracing corrective. Deakin (1912-1972) photographed celebrities in his heyday, but he never cosseted or flattered them in the manner of a Mario Testino or an Annie Leibowitz . The faces of his sitters, caught in...
At the Sydney writers' festival the author discussed how reading awakened her political consciousness, why we need to "show up for others", and her optimism that change is coming Alice Walker meditates, and it was from her meditation cushion in Mexico that Walker, then 60, suddenly rose with a particular conviction to help those bearing greater burden than herself. The renowned poet and author, who...
The whole week of the Sydney writers' festival could happily be filled with Malouf offering his reading suggestions, and detailing how those books have shaped his life Its obvious to say that many would be in awe of David Maloufs career as a writer, speaking at the Sydney writers festival in his 80th year. What the audience really take away from his discussion with Tegan Bennett Daylight, however,...
At Sydney writers' festival, the fashion journalist spilled the beans on the shows he's been banned from, the return of couture, and why Victoria Beckham is here to stay Colin McDowell used to be the fashion writer for the Sunday Times in the UK, although he said that he didn't do that much for them now a state of affairs that will continue if his editor finds out that he was teasing her in front...
We're at the Sydney writers' festival for the next four days and will be live blogging throughout. Do join us 6.10pm AEST As I said earlier, I went to see Colin McDowell this morning. As promised (or should that be threatened?), I've now written it up the piece is here . In a very entertaining hour he bigged up Victoria Beckham, excoriated middle-aged men who wear trainers (like me), and talked about...
From Harry Potter and the Prisoner Of Azkaban to the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the author of The History Keepers picks the best books that journey into the past or future and asks where would you go if you could travel in time? Who doesn't love the idea of escaping to another place in time? Imagine if you could travel back to watch the gladiators in ancient Rome, or the pyramids being built...
Will Self marvels as the controversial columnist condemns himself over 200 pages I must declare an interest: Rod Liddle gave me a job about 15 years ago. It was when he was editing Radio 4's Today programme, and he engaged me and Freddie Forsyth to deliver short, pithy diatribes on alternating Saturday mornings. Rod's reasoning was that Freddie was the rightwing maverick and I the lefty one. I enjoyed...
In Jo Walton's elegant, heartbreaking new novel, an elderly woman remembers two distinct lives and families, in parallel timelines splitting off from one crucial decision: to marry, or not to marry?...
"Everyone must leave something behind," the author once wrote. Also: Philip Roth retires from sandwich eating. And Jane Fonda is writing a novel....
Francine Prose's latest novel was inspired by a 1932 photo of two lesbians, one of whom was in the Gestapo. Critic Maureen Corrigan says it's an ingenious excursion into the Parisian demimonde....
Shortlisted for a Miles Franklin award and writer in residence at Sydney Writers' festival, the author says she is living the literary dream At 36, Fiona McFarlane says that she is living the literary dream Ive imagined since I was a child. Not only has her debut novel The Night Guest been shortlisted for Australia's most prestigious literary prize , this week she is also one of two writers in residence...