The quote “how different it all is from what you’d planned” from Fitzgerald’s final, unfinished novel seems an apt way to summarise the author’s tumultuous life. Scarred by the class boundaries he was barred from crossing and only granted a brief refuge of success and happiness before yet more tragedy, one of the greatest authors of the 20th century lived amongst the very demons he wrote about.
The French Revolution is often posed as a key moment in the creation of the modern world but, to many, it is little more than a few disparate snapshots: Marie Antoinette and cake, the storming of the Bastille, some enthusiastic usage of guillotines and Napoleon
From his theories about AI to reenvisioned history, Phillip K. Dick was one of the most constantly inventive and complex writers of his time. For many, however, his ideas were too bold and experimental to be considered seriously by America’s elite novelists; like the setting of so many of his stories, Phillip K. Dick was before his time.
Some novels reflect the time in which they are written whilst others contribute to shaping it. Stowe’s novel, the second best-selling of the 1800s following the Bible, does both. The aim of Stowe’s novel is self-evident and phrased by her sister-in-law as ‘mak[ing] this whole
The US Constitution, ratified in 1788, begins ‘We the People’, but Howard Zinn’s ‘A People’s History of the United States’ attempts to prove that America as a nation never has been about the people and never will be unless the middle classes are awoken from
Anthony Burgess’ novel ‘A Clockwork Orange’ wrestles with the question of what makes us human. More precisely, it asks whether free will is an essential human quality. Burgess poses this question through the vessel of Alex, an extremely violent juvenile who is ultimately deprived of
Now that spring is beginning to show its face, Joel discusses what books you can read to complement the move into the new season.
Joel looks at E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey and discusses why its failures actually work to become its strengths.
Fire and Fury took the world by storm in January. Lochlan Emery discusses if it is worth a read.
It’s one of the bestselling children’s books over the last decade, but could Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid inspire a new generation of young males to take up the pen?
