Balzac’s Paris: The City as Human Comedy by Eric Hazan review – street spirit | History books

Balzac’s Paris: The City as Human Comedy by Eric Hazan review – street spirit | History books

Eric Hazan, a lifelong Parisian who died in June, wrote several books about his hometown, with a particular focus on the class politics of the built environment. In Balzac’s Paris he revisits... Read more »
The Wendy Award by Walter Scott review – the voice of a bewildered generation | Fiction

The Wendy Award by Walter Scott review – the voice of a bewildered generation | Fiction

My enjoyment of Walter Scott’s brilliant Wendy books, in which a millennial arts graduate with a self-destructive streak as wide as the Yukon River pings like a pinball around various Canadian cities,... Read more »
The Secret Public: How LGBTQ Resistance Shaped Popular Culture (1955–1979) by Jon Savage review – pop’s coming out period | Music books

The Secret Public: How LGBTQ Resistance Shaped Popular Culture (1955–1979) by Jon Savage review – pop’s coming out period | Music books

Jon Savage’s mammoth new book skilfully navigates, across more than 700 pages, key moments in music and entertainment history and maps their significance for the advancement and acceptance of queer culture. The... Read more »
Paris ’44: The Shame and the Glory by Patrick Bishop review – a gripping account of the City of Light’s liberation | History books

Coming Home by Brittney Griner review – from hoop dreams to a living hell | Autobiography and memoir

The text messages that open Brittney Griner’s memoir are a chilling short story. “Hey baby I got stopped by security at customs.” “If you don’t hear from me for like one hour... Read more »
My Family: The Memoir by David Baddiel review – sex, lies and the making of a standup | Autobiography and memoir

My Family: The Memoir by David Baddiel review – sex, lies and the making of a standup | Autobiography and memoir

In early 2015, a couple of months after his mother died, David Baddiel wrote to his younger brother, Dan, a sometime taxi driver in New York, setting out his plans for “a... Read more »
On the Shadow Tracks by Clare Hammond review – a train to Myanmar’s dark heart | Journalism books

On the Shadow Tracks by Clare Hammond review – a train to Myanmar’s dark heart | Journalism books

Clare Hammond began her career as a journalist covering the financial markets in Hong Kong, before moving to Myanmar. From 2014 to 2020, she worked freelance for various news outlets and as... Read more »
Paris ’44: The Shame and the Glory by Patrick Bishop review – a gripping account of the City of Light’s liberation | History books

The House of Beckham by Tom Bower review – a sex-obsessed hatchet job | Biography books

Nobody imagined that last autumn’s Netflix series Beckham was a warts-and-all confessional. “There were some horrible stories that were difficult to deal with,” said David, alluding coyly to reports in 2004 that... Read more »
The best translated fiction – review roundup | Fiction in translation

The best translated fiction – review roundup | Fiction in translation

Clean by Alia Trabucco Zerán, translated by Sophie Hughes (4th Estate, £16.99)There’s no hanging about in Chilean author Alia Trabucco Zerán’s third novel, which opens with images of rabbits being frightened to... Read more »
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