Books
China today is following Victorian Britain’s industrial pattern
The relentless pursuit of profit inevitably involves cruel exploitation – whether it’s children in Manchester’s cotton mills or Uighurs in Xinjiang’s industrial plants
An unconventional orphan: Queen Esther, by John Irving, reviewed
At the heart of this vast, sweeping novel is a solitary, determined heroine, who – Jane Eyre-like – is a moral force unbound by conventionalities
Childhood illnesses and instability left Patti Smith yearning for ‘sacred mysteries’
Bedridden for much of her youth, she found consolation in music, and a way ‘into fairyland’ through a treasured poetry anthology
Witches, dragons and the Terrible Deev: a choice of this year’s children’s books
Highlights include boarding school antics, adventures in Persian folklore and a wealth of classic stories – including Hansel and Gretel, retold by Stephen King
Alice in Nightmareland: The Matchbox Girl, by Alice Jolly, reviewed
A mute 12-year-old girl is invited to Dr Asperger’s clinic in 1930s Vienna – but how will ‘idiot’ children fare once the Nazis come to power?
Bats have suffered too long from the ‘Dracula effect’
The more we learn about the only mammals capable of true, sustained flight, the more we should admire them
A Chesterton for our time
This is Greg Sheridan’s third volume of Christian apologetics. The first, Christians, was the case for Christian faith. The second,…
How the teenage Carole King struck gold
Aged 18, she wrote ‘Will You (Still) Love Me Tomorrow’ which reached No 1 in the US – and the hits kept coming
Cook books for a colourful Christmas
Crab with Calabrian chilli butter, pink-white marbled beetroot labne and carrot, orange and pomegranate salads are among the many good things on offer this year
The new power players running the world
An Italian former political adviser warns of the tech bros and autocrats upending the international order while our elected leaders appease and procrastinate
A Faustian pact: The School of Night, by Karl Ove Knausgaard, reviewed
In Knausgaard’s latest psychological thriller, Kristian Hadeland, an arrogant Norwegian photography student, is implicated in a crime for which there will be harsh consequences
A philosophical quest: A Fictional Inquiry, by Daniele del Giudice, reviewed
The pacing and tone are noirish in this metaphysical detective story, set in Trieste, about the space between writing and life
The pedant’s progress through history
The pompous know-it-all despised by classical philosophers became a stock comic character of 16th-century theatre – and finally a bore to be pitied
Is ‘wind drought’ the latest climate catastrophe?
In an enjoyable guide to wind-related topics, Simon Winchester reports that terrestrial wind speeds are mysteriously declining and we are now in the grip of ‘the Great Stilling’
What do Oscar Wilde, Gwen John and Evelyn Waugh have in common?
They converted to Catholicism in the past century and are among 12 notable ‘defectors to Rome’ examined by Melanie McDonagh
Escape from investment banking to the open road – a biking odyssey
Miles Morland notches up 50,000 miles on his BMW 1000 with trips through Europe, Argentina, Japan, Australia and the United States – without a single accident
A satirical portrait of village life: Love Divine, by Ysenda Maxtone Graham, reviewed
Within a bourgeois Church of England milieu of round-robins and parish chit-chat lurk rumours of sabotage and clandestine love affairs
The inspiration for David Lynch’s mysterious, disquieting world
A bizarre experience in the filmmaker’s adolescence involving a woman’s escape from domestic violence seems to have left an indelible mark
What hope is there for Syria today?
After two brutal regimes and a devastating civil war, there’s fear of renewed corruption under President Ahmed al Sharaa, a former al Qaeda terrorist
From the wilds of Kyrgyzstan to the Victorian nursery – a choice of art books
Subjects include ancient rock carvings, portraiture, images of lost London and the illustrations of Walter Crane
Laughing at Putin is a powerful form of protest
A constant round of fines, surveillance and detention is alleviated by jokes, mischief and a joyous love affair for Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina
Philosophy’s greatest pessimist wasn’t so miserable after all
Arthur Schopenhauer’s luminous prose, savage wit and commitment to thinking for oneself make reading him an exhilarating, even life-affirming experience
In Putin’s Russia, feminism is an ugly word
The trad wife, happy to defer to her husband in all matters, is today’s ideal – a far cry from the female snipers and fighter pilots of the Leninist era
The simple flatbread that conquered the world
Luca Cesari describes pizza’s journey from the poor man’s staple of 18th-century Naples to today’s global favourite, worth billions
The furious tug of war between 18th-century Whigs and Tories
George Owers evokes the seismic cultural divisions between the parties – with different coffee houses attended, wines drunk, doctors consulted and fashions preferred
