More Brit(ish) than ever: A review of Afua Hirsch at Brighton Festival
Afua Hirsch’s 2018 book – part memoir, part polemic – provokes mixed feelings. So too did her discussion of the topic at this year’s Brighton Festival. Don’t get me wrong,…
What’s wrong with the literary canon?
This elusive and slightly archaic category, ‘the literary canon’ seeps into what we know and what we think we know about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ literature. On a simple level, the…
‘Dictator for life’ Xi Jinping bans book about dictatorship
Chinese leader Xi Jinping, now the Chinese ‘dictator for life’, has recently banned Orwell’s Animal Farm and 1984 as of February 2018. Some of the more unusual results of Xi…
This week’s must reads : Northlanders and The Ancient Magus Bride
Northlanders by Brian Wood, published by Vertigo This historical epic is the perfect mix of history, Vikings and gore. It is an anthology series about various historical and legendary events…
The ultimate LGBTQ+ books guide this February
Throughout the month of February, LGBT History Month aims to promote tolerance and spread awareness of the historical and present-day prejudices faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. One…
‘Fire and Fury’: Personality trumps Policy
Journalist Michael Wolff unveils the character behind the caricature in his book Fire and Fury, revealing deception far beyond president Trump’s hacked hairdo. Fire and Fury has since reached inevitable…
The Golden Age of Dystopian Literature
Orwell’s 1984 cult classic is back in fashion these days – bringing nostalgia to a newer, much younger readership. Everything that is old is new, from novels about presidencies going…
Hillary Clinton: What Happened? Review
Hillary Clinton was in the UK in recent weeks, promoting her newly released memoir of the 2016 Presidential Election, ‘What Happened’. In this intimate account, she outlines what led her…
Man Booker Prize – Just another prize to be Americanised?
After the much-heated debate in 2014, the rules for the Man Booker took a 360-degree turn from a solely British enterprise to an internationally global one. The rules made it…
The Handmaid’s Tale – does Hulu do it justice?
Bruce Miller’s Hulu adaptation of award-winning classic ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ has found an upsurge in fans since its release date on 26th April 2017. Yet when pitting the series and…