Prague
Peril in Prague: The Secret of Secrets, by Dan Brown, reviewed
Robert Langdon is pursued by dark forces through labyrinthine alleys as he searches for his abducted girlfriend, who is about to crack the secret of human consciousness
Two young men in flight: Partita and A Winter in Zürau, by Gabriel Josipovici reviewed
Kafka, spitting blood, escapes Prague to join his sister in Bohemia, and a fictional lover flees the wrath of an outraged husband in Josipovici’s delightful two-in-one trick
The wry humour of Franz Kafka
A masterly new translation of his Diaries reminds us that Kafka wasn’t solely the prophet of a century of dehumanisation
I always judge a hotel by its club sandwich
As a child I was fascinated by the exotic names of certain cities: Havana, Rio de Janeiro and Los Angeles…
The perils of Prague: Parasol Against the Axe, by Helen Oyeyemi, reviewed
Three women with a criminal past meet for a weekend hen party – but any hopes of enjoying themselves are soon dashed
Naughty but very nice
Sir David Pountney, it appears, has been to Prague. He’s booked himself a mini-break, he’s EasyJetted out, and after (one…
High life
New York Prince Pavlos, heir to the Greek throne, turned 55 recently and I threw a small dinner for him.…
Czexit could be closer than we think
Is Czexit closer than we think? Ahead of the Czech general elections in October, the rise of an anti-EU party…
China’s obsessive attempts to subvert the West
Most people who think themselves well informed know little or nothing about China. They – or I should say ‘we’…
The absurd struggle to claim ownership of Kafka
Benjamin Balint’s Kafka’s Last Trial is a legal and philosophical black comedy of the first water, complete, like all the…
Recent crime fiction
Gabriel Tallent’s My Absolute Darling (4th Estate, £12.99) has the word masterpiece emblazoned on the cover, alongside quotes from several…
Prague
Prague. Prague. It helps to say the name at least twice as a countermeasure to the ridiculous ease of modern…
‘You will pay’
Memories of being Ralph Miliband’s research assistant
