Andrew Hussey is a professor of Cultural History at the University of London’s School of Advanced Study. His latest book, The French Intifada: The Long War Between France and Its Arabs, seems to be an extension of his previous one, Paris: The Secret History. However, this work is more overtly political as it reveals the relationship Read More
Once Claire was asleep again, the professor removed a chunk of her brain – the ‘epileptogenic’ part – and dropped it into a bin. ‘What was that chunk responsible for?’ I asked him. He shrugged. ‘No idea,’ he said; ‘we just know it’s not eloquent.’ The dedication at the front of this book is simply Read More
“The longing for home and the longing for love are so alike as to be inseparable.” Malachy Tallack, journalist, musician, song-writer, is one of a new generation of travel writers for whom a journey is as much an opportunity for philosophical musings as a geographical experience. Like many of us, myself included, who spend much Read More
Alice in Wonderland is quite absurd, mostly improbable, but generally not stupid. The reason for this final attribution is that there is an underlying reason why ridiculousness reigns over wonderland. In Carroll’s novel, the reason is rather lazily explained as it “all having been a dream”, but this distinction between implausible and stupid is something Read More
There is something deeply wrong with this book. The problem is not the subject matter. The Internet Is Not the Answer is an attack on the way a crude ideology of “winner-takes-all” capitalism is shaping the Internet today through companies like Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, and, more revealingly, through newer companies like Instagram, Uber Read More
“It was wonderful or awful, comic or absurd, poetic or grotesque- to lose one family, then find you had another-but no one seemed able to say which, least of all me.” For those looking for a light summer-read to breeze through on their holiday, Will Boast’s Epilogue might not be the best choice. Telling the Read More
Our attempts to understand the nature of forgiveness often involve making distinctions by degrees. Forgiving someone for being late for an appointment seems simple compared to an accident when bodily harm has been caused. Making these kinds of distinctions provides us with a better sense of when forgiveness can be offered. But what if making Read More