AN Wilson: the assembly-line intellectual
The writer’s exasperating new memoir offers a full dinner service of clichés and an insight into the glib fogeyism of…
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Immerse yourself in the captivating world of literature with our collection of articles, offering literary analysis, book recommendations, author spotlights, and thought-provoking discussions that celebrate the written word.
Thus Bad Begins confirms Javier Marías as a master of the novel form
Marías’ masterful expression of his characters’ psychological weather, combined with Margaret Jull Costa’s gifted translation, makes for rewarding reading.
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Philip Larkin at 100
Writers reflect on the poet’s life, work and legacy, a century after his birth.
Donna Tartt’s The Secret History at 30
How a bestselling debut novel about a group of murderous students became a cult classic.
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Writing in the age of Big Data
Alexander Kluge’s information epic and how the time for learning is running out.
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Ian McEwan’s long look back
The novelist on Liz Truss, Salman Rushdie, and why he finally decided to write his own story into his new…
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From spy to journalist to celebrated poet: the curious life of Basil Bunting
The letters of the Northumbrian modernist reveal an idiosyncratic career and an exacting critical mind.
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Reviewed in short: New books by Guy Standing, Stu Hennigan, Jessica Andrews and Don Paterson
The Blue Commons by Standing, Ghost Signs by Hennigan, Milk Teeth by Andrews and The Arctic by Paterson.
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In drought-struck England, I have a moment of connection with another living creature
At first, I didn't see the deer – but then I saw it was looking straight at me.
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The NS Poem: West Cork
A new poem by Kevin Cahill.
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France and the fatwa
The attack on Salman Rushdie has exposed the deepening fault lines in French culture.
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Natalia Ginzburg’s small worlds
Years of anti-fascist struggle shaped the author's intense portraits of family life in Mussolini’s Italy. Now, her books are undergoing…
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Mohsin Hamid: “After 9/11, I was treated as a potential terrorist”
The Booker-shortlisted author on race, America and his new novel, The Last White Man.
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The best children’s books for summer 2022
Magic and nature help children confront their fears in the best new books for young readers.
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A life without peace
A new collection of autobiographical prose reveals the turbulent inner life of the celebrated poet Robert Lowell.
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The attack on Salman Rushdie is an attack on a global community of writers and readers
The freedom of expression and imagination that the novelist has bravely championed for so long is under renewed assault.
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The mysterious life of Inez Holden
The novelist and former Bright Young Thing ably captured Britain in the early 20th century. Her work deserves to be…
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Raymond Briggs’ genius was his understanding of loss
The writer and illustrator has died aged 88. From The Snowman to When the Wind Blows, his work was sensitive…
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Censoring university reading lists is crude and condescending
“Offence” isn’t the only way to measure the worth of literature.
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Mark Haddon: “I’m quite lucky to be alive”
The novelist on his triple heart bypass, literature’s “culture wars”, and why he’s donating book royalties to abortion funds in…
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