News & Reviews

A riveting family memoir. The author’s father was a soldier in Mao’s army in the 1950s.   His loyalty turned to disenchantment and escape to America.   Wong was New York Times bureau chief

Rebellion: How Antiliberalism is Tearing America Apart — Again, by Robert Kagan.   The next time someone asks me to ‘explain America’ — how can Trump be so popular; why is the country so politically

Two Irish football superstars find themselves in court facing sexual assault charges. Robbie is cocky, entitled, privileged; Evan, reserved, self-made, escaping a poor and difficult upbringing. All evidence points to their guilt. As the

A perfectly immersive novel for devouring in a day. The Heart in Winter is a classic Western, a tale of two love bitten vagabonds on the run with destruction and revenge  at their heel. I’m

Set in 17th Century UK and The Netherlands, Lauren Chater’s historical fiction novel “The Beauties” follows the lives of three individuals existing in close connection to the Royal Family. Emilia Lennox, a young married

Sparks: China’s Underground Historians and Their Battle for the Future by Ian Johnson   So much of what we know about China today comes from people who no longer live there.   “Sparks” is brilliant

“James” by Percival Everett It has been a long time since a book grabbed me in the opening pages and kept me reading unable to put it down. James is the runaway slave on

Acerbic. Iconoclastic. Sui generis.  All fit Kara Swisher, who has chronicled the rise of digital, the reading news not on paper but on mobile phones; of Netflix and streaming services disrupting Hollywood. In sketches

The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt We overprotect children in the real world and underprotect them online. It’s like sending them to Mars, with no protections. Play-based childhood has been replaced by phone-based childhood. The

How To Win An Information War: The Propagandist Who Outwitted Hitler, Peter Pomersantsev If you thought disinformation was a phenomenon of social media, you will be transfixed by how Hitler used ‘propaganda’ (‘disinformation, by

Judgment at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia by Gary J. Bass Embrace the heft of this book. It is a rich history of wars and politics in

Reid follows up on her very successful first novel, Such a Fun Age, with this snappy second novel follows the life of an ambitious university student who navigates with issues of socioeconomic class, power,

Caledonian Road by Andrew O’Hagan Caledonian Road is our unputdownable Book of the Month. A cracking read that brims with British high culture and offers poignant commentary on the illusory nature of modern social life.

Ali Lowe‘s latest novel The School Run is a suspenseful thriller exploring the connection between a mother and her children. Three neighbours are all desperate to secure their sons a place at a reputable private high

Lottie Hazell‘s debut novel, Piglet, is a gripping story that explores the empty pursuit of happiness. Coined by her parents, Piglet’s rather cruel nickname is from her love of food. We meet Piglet as she is planning to marry