The Dutch House by Ann Patchett is a gripping examination of what makes a home
A novel that makes the reader reflect upon how much anyone ever knows about a family, about the truth…
By
Cameron’s legacy of chaos
Girl: Edna O’Brien’s moving fictionalisation of the Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram
In Maryam, O’Brien has created a character both archetypal and individual: narrator of her own story and repository of…
By
David Goldblatt’s The Age of Football shows the game’s global power
There are two great lies told about football: that it is only a game, and that it shouldn’t mix…
By
Footsoldiers is a search for answers to the question: who joins a political party?
It is hard to escape the conclusion that British politics is a middle-class voluntocracy: a politics run by “a bunch…
By
Will and Testament by Vigdis Hjorth, a controversial but immaculately restrained Norwegian novel
Hjorth’s precision becomes a quietly devastating mimicry of the effects of trauma, and of ambiguous and conflicting memories.
By
Beyond Today’s solemn and considered tone makes it required listening in my house
The BBC Sounds’ programme is often just two people talking – a welcome change to the usual mad thrill…
By
What does Supermarket Sweep say about Brexit Britain? Absolutely nothing
Rylan Clark-Neal, who replaces the late Dale Winton as presenter, surely came into the world wrapped in cellophane and…
By
Downton Abbey at the cinema: TV-sized acting that looks grotesque on the big screen
The film leaves nothing left to ridicule, no cliché unexploited and no spectacle to recommend it.
By
A Very Expensive Poison and Hansard: sets that make or break
Two new plays, at the Old Vic and the National Theatre, both have incredible assets – but their set designs…
By
Maybe I’m not the ideal father, but at least I’ll give my son an awkward hug – unlike my dad
I may be vague about my children’s birthdays but I am not vague in my affection for them.
By
Why the rise of “grower Champagne” seems like the ultimate capitalist dream
Made by the people growing the grapes, does grower Champagne offer proof that the individual can flourish within a…
By
Mary’s swollen face was not the result of ten rounds with a boxer – maybe soft fruit was to blame
“You’re allergic to something.” “I thought so,” she said. “But I haven’t changed my washing powder or anything.”
By
Football managers may deserve a gap year but players are already just lolling around
Managers work round the clock, they are never not managing. A player’s life, by comparison, is easy. They train from ten…
By
John Dyson: “I sang ‘Hey Jude’ at karaoke for the Sultan of Perak”
The former judge talks Nelson Mandela, University Challenge, and family holidays in Switzerland.
By
How the bond vigilantes are holding Argentina to ransom
International institutions have allied with bond vigilantes to bludgeon Argentina into imposing policies that benefit investors and harm working…
By
Carrie Gracie on her battle for equal pay at the BBC: “Women are not winning this fight”
The news broadcaster and former China editor on being paid less than her male equivalents at the BBC – and…
By
Commons Confidential: Andrea Leadsom’s steely threats
Your weekly dose of gossip from around Westminster.
By
Why demonising plastics won’t save the environment
The real source of major ecological catastrophes isn’t so much the existence of single-use plastics but rather poor waste management…
By
Conspiracy theories help us believe that there might just be some order in the world after all
I admit the case of Jeffrey Epstein tests my conspiracy scepticism to the limit.
By
I wanted to understand why strange men send me messages online, so I started to say “hi” back
Their messages are rarely threatening, strange, or sexually forward – they’re simply there.
By
David Cameron yearned to modernise the Tory party but his legacy is one of chaos
The ex-prime minister was brought down by his gambler’s instinct and an elevated sense of superiority and entitlement.
By
Can the Lib Dems be anything more than a catch-all party for disgruntled Remainers?
A major part of Jo Swinson’s leadership pitch to members was her superior ability to persuade small “l” liberal…
By
Leader: Our honours system rewards failure
Theresa May has emulated her predecessor David Cameron’s dismal conduct by awarding knighthoods to her former director of communications…
By David Goldblatt’s The Age of Football shows the game’s global power
There are two great lies told about football: that it is only a game, and that it shouldn’t mix…
By Will and Testament by Vigdis Hjorth, a controversial but immaculately restrained Norwegian novel
Hjorth’s precision becomes a quietly devastating mimicry of the effects of trauma, and of ambiguous and conflicting memories.
By Footsoldiers is a search for answers to the question: who joins a political party?
It is hard to escape the conclusion that British politics is a middle-class voluntocracy: a politics run by “a bunch…
By The Dutch House by Ann Patchett is a gripping examination of what makes a home
A novel that makes the reader reflect upon how much anyone ever knows about a family, about the truth…
By Conspiracy theories help us believe that there might just be some order in the world after all
I admit the case of Jeffrey Epstein tests my conspiracy scepticism to the limit.
By How the bond vigilantes are holding Argentina to ransom
International institutions have allied with bond vigilantes to bludgeon Argentina into imposing policies that benefit investors and harm working…
By Why the rise of “grower Champagne” seems like the ultimate capitalist dream
Made by the people growing the grapes, does grower Champagne offer proof that the individual can flourish within a…
By Carrie Gracie on her battle for equal pay at the BBC: “Women are not winning this fight”
The news broadcaster and former China editor on being paid less than her male equivalents at the BBC – and…
By Maybe I’m not the ideal father, but at least I’ll give my son an awkward hug – unlike my dad
I may be vague about my children’s birthdays but I am not vague in my affection for them.
By Girl: Edna O’Brien’s moving fictionalisation of the Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram
In Maryam, O’Brien has created a character both archetypal and individual: narrator of her own story and repository of…
By Commons Confidential: Andrea Leadsom’s steely threats
Your weekly dose of gossip from around Westminster.
By What does Supermarket Sweep say about Brexit Britain? Absolutely nothing
Rylan Clark-Neal, who replaces the late Dale Winton as presenter, surely came into the world wrapped in cellophane and…
By Why demonising plastics won’t save the environment
The real source of major ecological catastrophes isn’t so much the existence of single-use plastics but rather poor waste management…
By Downton Abbey at the cinema: TV-sized acting that looks grotesque on the big screen
The film leaves nothing left to ridicule, no cliché unexploited and no spectacle to recommend it.
By Beyond Today’s solemn and considered tone makes it required listening in my house
The BBC Sounds’ programme is often just two people talking – a welcome change to the usual mad thrill…
By I wanted to understand why strange men send me messages online, so I started to say “hi” back
Their messages are rarely threatening, strange, or sexually forward – they’re simply there.
By Mary’s swollen face was not the result of ten rounds with a boxer – maybe soft fruit was to blame
“You’re allergic to something.” “I thought so,” she said. “But I haven’t changed my washing powder or anything.”
By Can the Lib Dems be anything more than a catch-all party for disgruntled Remainers?
A major part of Jo Swinson’s leadership pitch to members was her superior ability to persuade small “l” liberal…
By Football managers may deserve a gap year but players are already just lolling around
Managers work round the clock, they are never not managing. A player’s life, by comparison, is easy. They train from ten…
By David Cameron yearned to modernise the Tory party but his legacy is one of chaos
The ex-prime minister was brought down by his gambler’s instinct and an elevated sense of superiority and entitlement.
By Leader: Our honours system rewards failure
Theresa May has emulated her predecessor David Cameron’s dismal conduct by awarding knighthoods to her former director of communications…
By John Dyson: “I sang ‘Hey Jude’ at karaoke for the Sultan of Perak”
The former judge talks Nelson Mandela, University Challenge, and family holidays in Switzerland.
By A Very Expensive Poison and Hansard: sets that make or break
Two new plays, at the Old Vic and the National Theatre, both have incredible assets – but their set designs…
By