Copy: The National 02/02/12 >> We’ve all done it. Bought an entrance ticket for a gallery or a museum and politely declined when a well-meaning employee suggests that we purchase the glossy guidebook. But in the case of the Museum Of Islamic Art in Doha, I would definitely recommend that you take them up on their effort, Reflections On Islamic Art. Ok, so many of you are probably not going to be checking out the incredibly impressive building on the south end of Doha Bay any time soon. But Reflections On Islamic Art is so good, it can stand alone. Instead of simply explaining the art in the rooms, editor Ahdaf Soueif gathered...
REVIEW: THE SPIRIT OF THE GAME BY MIHIR BOSE
posted by Ben East
Copy: Metro 18/01/12 >> Sadly, Metro don’t publish their book reviews online. So here’s my review of ex BBC Sport Editor Mihir Bose’s new book tracking how sport moved from its Corinthian roots to becoming one of the most influential and money-making institutions in the...
TITANIC: A CLIMAX OF DEADLY FOLLY
posted by Ben East
Copy: The National 16/01/12 >> It was truly strange to start last week speaking to the author Richard Davenport-Hines about his book published to coincide with the centenary of Titanic’s demise, and end it talking about a ship sinking off the coast of Italy on Gordon Burns’...
A TOWERING ACHIEVEMENT
posted by Ben East
Copy: The National 26/12/11 >> I love tall buildings. A few years ago it seemed like every spare plot in central Manchester promised a skyscraper to compete with the peerless Beetham Tower. Buildings like this and this And then the credit crunch hit, and we were left with the slightly...
AUTHOR INTERVIEW: LUCY CALDWELL
posted by Ben East
Copy: The National 15/12/11 >> Lucy Caldwell‘s second book, The Meeting Point, has been one of my favourite finds of this year. And it’s not just me either – last month it beat the likes of Tea Obreht to the Dylan Thomas Prize, the judges calling it ”a...
Doorstopping fiction back in fashion
posted by Ben East
Copy: The National 05/12/11 >> Julian Barnes may have won the Booker Prize for one of the slightest books in the prize’s history, but a trip to Waterstone’s this Christmas will confirm that the trend in literature is certainly towards doorstopping fiction: books this autumn...
WHERE SHAKESPEARE MEETS THE SUBCONTINENT
posted by Ben East
Copy: The National 09/11/11 >> It was fantastic to see Daljit Nagra‘s name among the shortlisted poets for the prestigious TS Eliot prize. He has one of those brilliantly fresh voices which periodically shake up the form – new collection Tippoo Sultan’s Incredible White...
HAS ARABIC BOOKER PRIZE DONE ITS JOB?
posted by Ben East
Copy: The National, 26/10/11 >>On Sunday I went to the International Prize For Arabic Fiction event at Manchester Literature Festival. At which I learned that it’s not considered very PC to call it the Arabic Booker, but nevermind. The National did, so I am! Anyway, it was really...
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