Sarah A Smith
Cult Fiction
The Strange Case of the Composer and his Judge
By Patricia Duncker
Bloomsbury 262pp £11.99
Patricia Duncker is a novelist of ideas. Her work has encompassed French postmodernism, gender politics, postcolonialism and cultural diversity. Her fifth novel, The Strange Case of the Composer and his Judge, takes on monotheist sects, astronomy, opera and the battle between rationalism and mysticism. Like much of her previous fiction, it does so within the context of a thriller.
Duncker's inspiration here is what she calls ‘warped Christianity’ and the phenomenon of mass suicide, as well as the more recent horror of the suicide bomber. What fascinates her is the strength of a believer's convictions. This being Duncker, it is not just the members of the blandly
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
In 1524, hundreds of thousands of peasants across Germany took up arms against their social superiors.
Peter Marshall investigates the causes and consequences of the German Peasants’ War, the largest uprising in Europe before the French Revolution.
Peter Marshall - Down with the Ox Tax!
Peter Marshall: Down with the Ox Tax! - Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants’ War by Lyndal Roper
literaryreview.co.uk
The Soviet double agent Oleg Gordievsky, who died yesterday, reviewed many books on Russia & spying for our pages. As he lived under threat of assassination, books had to be sent to him under ever-changing pseudonyms. Here are a selection of his pieces:
Literary Review - For People Who Devour Books
Book reviews by Oleg Gordievsky
literaryreview.co.uk
The Soviet Union might seem the last place that the art duo Gilbert & George would achieve success. Yet as the communist regime collapsed, that’s precisely what happened.
@StephenSmithWDS wonders how two East End gadflies infiltrated the Eastern Bloc.
Stephen Smith - From Russia with Lucre
Stephen Smith: From Russia with Lucre - Gilbert & George and the Communists by James Birch
literaryreview.co.uk