John Self
John Self is a book critic and lead fiction reviewer for The Critic. He lives in Belfast. @John_Self
Doing time
British prison sentences must be taken with a generous pinch of salt
Studio: Victorian architecture in Ulster
The undiscovered 19th century wonders of Northern Ireland
The many rooms of British law
Has British legislation become too complex to be understood?
The silence that tells Joe Biden who his real allies are
Irish reluctance to support Ukraine presents Unionists with an opportunity to counter American Brit-bashing over the Protocol reforms
Getting wrecked
Dame Ethel Smyth’s opera dated quickly, but it hardly hurts to have another look at it
’Verse averse
The idea that there are multiple universes and that it might be possible to “‘versejump” is surely one way of explaining the cinematic urge
Britain’s constitutional knowledge crisis
Rory Stewart’s ignorance smells of Remainer entitlement
Labour of love?
A year in the life of a “TERF” Labour Party Women’s Officer
The rise and fall of Sad White Men
Novels about middle class male malaise are now considered passé but they were once both groundbreaking and shocking
Starmer could do better
Boris would be a more effective leader of the opposition than Sir Keir