Fiction
Young Stalin’s unlikely London holiday
Stephen May’s new novel is a triumph of historical fiction
The Critic Books Podcast: The Golden Rule
In discussion with novelist Amanda Craig about her latest book
Writing outside the box
Elena Ferrante’s essay collection is an exploration of the delights and constraints of form
A return, a reissue, a brilliant new voice
The best, and the not-so-great, new fiction to read this month
On and off the road
Jack Kerouac’s reputation should rest on his whole oeuvre — not just his most famous novel
The Critic Books Podcast: Edgware Road
A debut story of family mystery and intrigue — set between London, Oxford, and Karachi
Will the real Elena Ferrante please sit down?
It is her words and voice, not her purported identity, that matter to her fans
The Critic Books Podcast: Devotion
A story of love in nineteenth century Prussia and Australia
The Critic Books Podcast: Burntcoat
Burntcoat was one of the first “pandemic novels” to be published in the wake of Covid-19
Fuccboi: a load of modern toss
A failed American Psycho for the PornHub generation
Slaying gay culture
How trans activists took over the once worthy gay rights struggle
The new Scotland
Scottish culture is narrowing and secularising under the influence of a strident liberal elite
Useful idiot
Rishi Sunak is the Labour Party’s strongest asset
A lawyer in Number 10
What of prime minister-in-waiting Keir Starmer’s views on legal issues?
Against literary celebriphilia
We need interesting authors, not “big names”
Blairism at its most zealous
The Labour manifesto is a recipe for bland bureaucratic managerialism
Dismantle the HR state
Opaque standards committees are putting British public life in a stranglehold
Brexit: a portrait of political paralysis
There was an exit door, but one which May, the Remainer, was never willing to take
Messing with the master’s work
Beethoven: Emperor Concerto; Brett Dean: A Winter’s Journey (Orchid)
Are we losing control of our collections?
We need trustees who actually believe in our museums
Why there has been no Street life
G.E. Street built or restored 113 churches for the Oxford diocese alone
