James Purdon
A Matter of Record
White Tears
By Hari Kunzru
Hamish Hamilton 288pp £14.99
Hari Kunzru’s fifth novel is a ghost story, and the ghost is in the machine. Leopold Bloom, in Ulysses, mused on the resurrection of the voice that would be made possible by placing ‘a gramophone in every grave’; White Tears tells a story of blues music and race in which every recording is engraved with the voices of the restless dead.
One ghost in particular haunts the book: that of the fictional bluesman Charlie Shaw. But how fictional is he? An unearthly voice registers on a recording made by the book’s primary narrator, Seth, a misfit audiophile and would-be music producer, as he wanders the streets of New York,
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
Are iPhones ruining children's lives? A prominent American psychologist thinks so.
@tiffanyjenkins is not so sure:
Tiffany Jenkins - The Smartphone Pandemic
Tiffany Jenkins: The Smartphone Pandemic - The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an...
literaryreview.co.uk
India's 'festival of democracy', or general election, begins next month. Like every good festival, it looks likely to have its fair share of murders and arrests.
@OwenBennettJon probes the state of democracy in India:
Owen Bennett-Jones - New Delhi Confidential
Owen Bennett-Jones: New Delhi Confidential - The Incarcerations: BK-16 and the Search for Democracy in India by Alpa Shah
literaryreview.co.uk
Where is the world's newest narcostate and why is it thriving?
@AdamBrookesWord investigates Asia's meth mecca.
Adam Brookes - Meth Comes to Myanmar
Adam Brookes: Meth Comes to Myanmar - Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Outwitted the CIA by Patrick Winn
literaryreview.co.uk