book reviews and features
Robert Gordon: Memphis Rent Party review - a fast-moving Mississippi anthology
Sunday, 10 June 2018
“There’s a rhythm in the air around Memphis, there always has been,” Carl Perkins once said. "I don't know what it is, but it's magic." The city on the Mississippi lives up to its... Read more... |
Meg Wolitzer: The Female Persuasion review - the many faces of feminism
Sunday, 03 June 2018
Meg Wolitzer’s 10th novel has been hailed as a breakthrough, a feminist blockbuster, an embodiment of the zeitgeist. (Nicole Kidman has bought the film rights, which goes to show.) But... Read more... |
Frank Gardner: Ultimatum review - topical terrorism
Sunday, 03 June 2018
The journalist Frank Gardner has turned to fiction to illuminate with imagination the world that he knows inside out from years of reporting. His biographical trajectory, from scholar of the... Read more... |
Sophie Mackintosh: The Water Cure review - on the discipline of survival
Sunday, 27 May 2018
A body can be pushed to the brink, to the point where thoughts flatten to a line of light, and come back from death, but the heart is complex and the damage it wreaks barely controllable. For... Read more... |
The World Of Moominvalley, Brighton Festival review - a fascinating insight into the world of Tove Jansson
Monday, 21 May 2018
It was no matter that journalist Daniel Hahn dropped out ill at the 11th hour of this "audience with" event. Author Philip Ardagh's deep knowledge and unflappable demeanour comfortably carried the... Read more... |
William Trevor: Last Stories review - final intimations
Sunday, 20 May 2018
An Irishman who spent more than half a century in London and then Devon, and a prolific writer – nearly 20 novels... Read more... |
Clancy Sigal: The London Lover review - a merry prankster's very long weekend
Sunday, 20 May 2018
To readers of newspapers and magazines, the name Clancy Sigal will be very familiar, probably as a film reviewer. Addicted to... Read more... |
Mario Vargas Llosa: The Neighbourhood review - a surprisingly sketchy telenovela
Sunday, 13 May 2018
Mario Vargas Llosa has written a thriller which opens eye-poppingly. Two wives, one staying over with... Read more... |
Christie Watson: The Language of Kindness review - tender memoir, impassioned indignation
Sunday, 06 May 2018
Anecdotal story-telling wrapped up in hypnotic prose, Christie Watson’s narrative is a gentle, emotive five-part layered package of reflection and indignation. It is part... Read more... |
John Gray: Seven Types of Atheism review - to believe, or not to believe
Sunday, 29 April 2018
To suggest an absence is to imply a presence. Philosophers, novelists, dictators, politicians – as well as almost every “ism” you can think of – take the stage in this absorbing, precisely and... Read more... |
Pages
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 10,000 pieces, we're asking for £3.95 per month or £30 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take an annual subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
latest in today
The Guardians review - beautifully crafted drama
A slow tracking shot over the gassed corpses of soldiers, their masks having failed the ecstasy of fumbling, opens The Guardians....
Prom 44, Gringytė, CBSO, Morlot review - eloquently sculpted...
This should have been the third much-anticipated Prom of the...
CD: Moskus - Mirakler
Last month, theartsdesk reviewed Skadedyr’s Musikk!, an eccentric album which skipped “through...
Prom 43, Batiashvili, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Barenboi...
The days are long gone when a Proms gig by...
On the Edge, Channel 4, review - fast and furious new dramas
Television drama is living through a golden age, yes, but...
Edinburgh Fringe 2018: Luisa Omielan/ Brennan Reece/ Olga Ko...
Luisa Omielan ★★★★
Luisa Omiela, a confirmed party girl, is the first to admit she used to...
The Best Plays in London
London is the theatre capital of the world, with more than 50 playhouses offering theatrical entertainment. From the mighty National Theatre to...
F Off: National Youth Theatre puts social media on trial
F Off came about off the back of a meeting I had with Paul Roseby, the artistic director of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain....
DVD: Arcadia
Arcadia is the latest and the best of a series of films which draw on the archives of the...