Christopher Hart
Radium Relationships
The Story of Blanche and Marie
By Per Olov Enquist
Harvill Secker 219pp £16.99
Per Olov Enquist’s last book to be translated into English was the masterly and prize-winning The Visit of the Royal Physician. Now, once again, he has taken an historical story and used it as a vehicle for enquiry into love, art and death. He treats these big themes with miniaturist care and attention, while his characters, trapped in history like insects in amber, are deeply and sympathetically observed.
The ‘Marie’ of the title is Marie Curie, while ‘Blanche’ is the rather less well-known Blanche Wittman. Indeed, as the conclusion tells us, we do not even know where Blanche is buried. But her life was a fascinating if not a happy one. At eighteen she began to exhibit ‘somnambular
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
Knowledge of Sufism increased markedly with the publication in 1964 of The Sufis, by Idries Shah. Nowadays his writings, much like his father’s, are dismissed for their Orientalism and inaccuracy.
@fitzmorrissey investigates who the Shahs really were.
Fitzroy Morrissey - Sufism Goes West
Fitzroy Morrissey: Sufism Goes West - Empire’s Son, Empire’s Orphan: The Fantastical Lives of Ikbal and Idries Shah by Nile Green
literaryreview.co.uk
Rats have plagued cities for centuries. But in Baltimore, researchers alighted on one surprising solution to the problem of rat infestation: more rats.
@WillWiles looks at what lessons can be learned from rat ecosystems – for both rats and humans.
Will Wiles - Puss Gets the Boot
Will Wiles: Puss Gets the Boot - Rat City: Overcrowding and Urban Derangement in the Rodent Universes of John B ...
literaryreview.co.uk
Twisters features destructive tempests and blockbuster action sequences.
@JonathanRomney asks what the real danger is in Lee Isaac Chung's disaster movie.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/eyes-of-the-storm