Among fictional spies, James Bond remains supreme. No one has come close to dethroning him. George Smiley might boast a powerful intellect, but he can’t throw a punch. Jason Bourne can, but he has all the fashion sense of a lorry driver: in five movies, he doesn’t once put on a tuxedo. The two Jacks […]
Poetry and despotism do not mix. Except, it seems, in communist East Germany. There, according to Philip Oltermann’s gripping and highly readable new book, The Stasi Poetry Circle, poetry was seen as a secret weapon. The Stasi (the nickname for the Ministry for State Security) cultivated a creative writing workshop, officially known as the Working […]
In chapter seven of Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin, the disillusioned Tatiana inspects the books in Onegin’s abandoned library. She finds ‘marks of his pencil on their margins. Everywhere Onegin’s soul can’t help expressing itself with a short word, a cross, or a question mark.’ Tatiana ends up wondering about the real character of the man she […]
Leonid Brezhnev, leader of the USSR and Communist Party general secretary, died on 10 November 1982, unlamented outside the curtilage of his family and political retainers. The official cult of his greatness had for years been the object of ridicule among citizens of the Soviet Union, and his mental and physical degradation had been an […]
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My review of Sonia Faleiro's powerful new book in this month's @Lit_Review.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/where-rituals-come-home-to-roost
for @Lit_Review, I wrote about Freezing Point by Anders Bodelsen, a speculative fiction banger about the cultural consequences of biohacking—Huel dinners, sunny days, negligible culture—that resembles a certain low-tax city for the Turkey teethed
Ray Philp - Forever Young
Ray Philp: Forever Young - Freezing Point by Anders Bodelsen (Translated from Danish by Joan Tate)
literaryreview.co.uk
‘A richly rewarding book, which succeeds in painting a vivid portrait of one of the 17th century’s most intriguing figures.'
Alexander Lee's review of 'Lying abroad' in the latest issue of the @Lit_Review, read it here:
'Lying abroad' is out now!
Alexander Lee - Rise of the Machinations
Alexander Lee: Rise of the Machinations - Lying Abroad: Henry Wotton and the Invention of Diplomacy by Carol Chillington Rutter
literaryreview.co.uk