Contemporary Literature
A study in radical rhetoric
We can disagree with Annie Ernaux’s politics while saying she deserves her Nobel Prize
Philip Larkin: the man who was always right
The great man’s peerless poetry is not the “soppy stuff” of cheap romanticism, but a harsh, unsparing — and often beautiful — look at the world
A shapeless, moving, end in itself
So entropic is Geoff Dyer’s latest that the reader seeks desperately for structure
Thinkers, writers and storytellers
Narrative, voice and good novels — not always at the same time
Why we need a new movement
The timid world of BritLit needs to be shaken up by a mutinous new clique of writers
Sparks, glitterballs and masterworks
The greatest works of fiction published this year
The Critic Books Podcast: The Gardener
On this episode of The Critic Books podcast, Francesca Peacock speaks to Salley Vickers about The Gardener
Diversity is not our strength
The Khan Review reveals a society needlessly splintered along ethno-religious lines
Plagiarism: a racist weapon
It has been genuinely disturbing to see Claudine Gay ousted simply for being an empowered black woman
Saltburn and the significance of sound
Why has Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor” caught the world’s attention again?
Return of the referendum?
More direct democracy could be Europe’s only means of restoring political legitimacy
Ferrari and the terrible joy
Michael Mann’s Ferrari shows how ambiguity and contradiction fuels us
The first rule of Plot Club is…
The Tories are absolutely, definitely, certainly not scheming to replace Rishi Sunak
Sunak, false equivalence and the phantom far right
There is no comparison between the threat of Islamism and the threat of the far right
Restoring sanity takes time
So many people have built their professional lives around gender insanity
Sexy simplicity
For February, try a palette cleanse
Arresting the fertility crisis
Britain needs more babies — and it is far from alone
Shock of the new
There is a difference between innovation and a gimmick
