The first poem in Frederick Seidel’s latest collection,Nice Weather, is “Night”. The objective yet disconnected tone of this poem prepares the reader for what follows. Blunt, stoical and in some cases cynical, Seidel rarely embellishes his imagery; instead he simply tells it as it is, as straightforwardly as if he were reading from a list: The Read More
“Schizoid” might be the right word for Douglas Thompson’s novel Mechagnosis; it is brim-full of metaphysical leaps, time travel, esoteric references and apocalyptic imagery, and while these elements certainly test the reader, they produce an extremely enjoyable whole. Scott Malthrop is the character at the centre of the storm. Part engineering prodigy, part lost child, part Read More
Reviewing Roger Scruton’s recent book Our Church, the historian Diarmaid MacCulloch found against it, and in interesting terms: ‘A similar historical farrago of half-truths and wishful thinking,’ he said, ‘helped convert TS Eliot to high church Anglicanism in the 1920s’ (Guardian, 22.06.2013). The present volume of Eliot’s letters covers precisely the moment of this conversion. But Read More
In the Mirror, a Monster, Marten Weber’s fifth novel, is primarily concerned with sexual identity and labels. It aims to show how society’s obsession with labels has a limiting power. Tim and his partner run a gay B & B in Edinburgh. Their clients are a colourful group of people who could be described as Read More
When Kevin Higgins takes great delight in informing us that he “moved like Kevin Keegan” in his new football boots, instantly, the reader expects that the poetry to follow will be a realist description of the life, love and tribulations of the aforementioned author and his experience of growing up. And all of this is Read More
Ben Wheatley’s latest film, A Field in England, is a bold psychedelic adventure filmed entirely in monochrome which follows a group of deserters during the civil war era who lose themselves to mushrooms, madness, alchemy and greed. During the special Q&A session which followed the screening of the film, Wheatley exclaimed that he hoped nobody had Read More
Before Midnight is the long awaited third instalment in Richard Linklater’s series of films which began withBefore Sunrise and Before Sunset. These films together follow the twists and turns of a romance that first bloomed between two strangers conversing on a train. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, reprising the roles of Jesse and Céline, aid Linklater’s believable story Read More
The Studio Game by Peter Burnett, follows a young couple trying to ‘make it big’ in the contemporary art world. However, Liska and Guy Poynti ng believe the only way that this can be achieved is through their own death. Having completed their final collection, the couple plan to jump hand in hand from a Read More
Jon Grahame (pseudonym of journalist Denis Kilcommons), winner of the John Creasey Award from the Crime Writers’ Association of Great Britain for his first book, The Dark Apostle, offers Reaper, the first of his new trilogy of the same name. Reaper is a post-apocalyptic revenge tale-turned vigilante plot, full of action and violence…and not much Read More
Grahame Davies (Seren, 2012); pbk, £8.99 In Grahame Davies’ collection, Lightning Beneath The Sea, the final poem, “Doorway”, ends with the line, “Come on”, you said, “There’s plenty more to see.” The same can be said for Davies’ poems. Curious, reflective and often introspective, his poems introduce the different people we may encounter in a Read More