The National, November 2017 It’s not so long ago that writers, publishers, readers and critics alike were bemoaning contemporary poetry’s inability to cross into the mainstream. It wasn’t dead, so much as moribund. But try […]
The National, November 2017 Pakistani author Mohammed Hanif is considering the unique challenges of writing about his home country. In his two novels, A Case Of Exploding Mangoes and Our Lady Of Alice Bhatti, he […]
The National, October 2017 It is surely one of the most eagerly awaited books of the year. Seventeen years after the last in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy wowed children and adults alike with […]
The National, October 2017 “Its concept never quite convinces”. “A novel that somehow succeeds despite itself.” “There is no real plot to speak of”. Looking back at The National’s reviews of novels in the running […]
The Observer, October 2017 Language has rules, but there’s no umpire: this is the starting point for Sam Leith’s guide to correct or, more precisely, standard English usage. He goes on to explore how […]