Category Archives: Reviews

Tsitsi Dangarembga’s ‘Nervous Conditions’.

Posted on May 3, 2020 by

The personal is political, and this wonderful book is both entirely personal and deeply political. Nervous Conditions (1988) is the story of Tambudzai, a young woman growing up in rural Zimbabwe (then known as Rhodesia) in the late 1960’s, told … Continue reading →

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Rebecca Solnit on Hope.

Posted on April 23, 2020 by

In a crisis, it is easy to despair. ‘Don’t mourn, organise!’ is a good mantra in such situations. Mourning has its place, but our response should be neither blind despair nor blind hope. We need to understand the objective reality … Continue reading →

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In praise of lightness – Calvino’s Leggerezza.

Posted on March 29, 2020 by

The Italian writer, Italo Calvino, was invited to give the Charles Eliot Norton lectures at Harvard University in 1985 but died before he was able to deliver them. Luckily, we have the text of 5 of these 6 planned lectures … Continue reading →

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‘Unsheltered’ by Barbara Kingsolver

Posted on August 11, 2019 by

Barbara Kingsolver’s novels are always fascinating and rewarding and her latest, Unsheltered (2019) is no exception. We follow two stories over a hundred years apart and set in the same location; Vineland, New Jersey, a town originally established as a … Continue reading →

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‘The Overstory’ by Richard Powers.

Posted on March 10, 2019 by

Richard Powers is an extraordinary writer. If you’ve not yet discovered his novels, I strongly recommend them. He tackles big ideas which concern all of us while at the same time telling compelling stories about complex and conflicted characters who … Continue reading →

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Top posts of 2017.

Posted on January 1, 2018 by

Most popular posts of 2017 Of the posts I published on this site in 2017, the most read were: Sixth form resolutions for 2017: 3 modest resolutions to make 2017 better than its predecessor. 10 things which could improve education: … Continue reading →

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‘What if?’ – dystopias in fiction.

Posted on December 3, 2017 by

Fictional dystopias use the power of ‘what if?’ to change something or extrapolate particular social or technological trends and imagine the impact on people’s lives. The best ones are also good stories, well told, about people; their hopes, fears, feelings … Continue reading →

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