October 06 2025, 20:35
The Men
On a camping trip in the North Californian mountains with her husband and son, Jane Pearson experiences 'an intense nothing' and is suddenly alone. Across the world, all males have simultaneously disappeared—men, children and babies. [more...]
September 22 2025, 20:24
Universality
The novel is in four acts, each from different points of view. It opens with a long magazine article about a young man, Jake, who had disappeared after using a solid gold bar to knock out a squatter on a deserted Yorkshire farm. [more...]
September 13 2025, 14:46
A Spy in the House of Love
Sabina is in a long-term relationship with Alan, a father figure, while having affairs with other men. She is an actress and, when she disappears for days and weeks at a time, she tells Alan it is to perform in plays across the country... [more...]
September 06 2025, 13:46
we had to remove this post
Kayleigh has received several emails from Mr Stitic, a lawyer at a firm bringing a civil action against Hexa, the company Kayleigh used to work for. She was in a team that moderated social media posts, taking them off the site if they broke the rules. [more...]
August 30 2025, 11:25
The Sleepwalkers
A newly married couple, Evelyn and Richard, are gifted a honeymoon by the groom’s mother at Villa Rosa, an exclusive hotel on a Greek island. We know this because Evelyn tells us in a letter she has written to Richard, which takes up the first third of the novel. [more...]
August 29 2025, 20:23
Summer’s end
I’ve started watching the Met Office YouTube channel, perhaps because I know autumn is coming and I want to prepare for it, or it could be because the more unpredictable weather represents my return to work, big new projects, my daughter starting A levels, and a new phase in my life. [more...]
August 27 2025, 20:05
Matt and Mara
Mara, a married creative writing professor, is surprised when Matt, a very close friend from her past that she no longer hears from, shows up at one of her lectures. They pick up their relationship while Matt is in town, leading to Matt driving Mara to a literary conference where the nature of their relationship is called into question. [more...]
August 25 2025, 18:38
In the Mood for Love
A devastating film in the best way. In 1962 Hong Kong, two working couples, the Chans and the Chows, move in to neighbouring apartments in a house run by Mrs Suen. Both Mr Chow and Mrs Chan suspect their spouses are having an affair, and they begin their own relationship to work out what they should do next. [more...]
August 24 2025, 17:56
Parasite
A family friend gives Ki-woo an opportunity to teach English to the daughter of a rich businessman, Mr Park. Ki-woo’s family is struggling to make ends meet, and they live in a basement flat in the poorest part of town. Once he’s secured the teaching job, Ki-woo and his family manipulate the Parks into hiring Ki-woo’s sister, father and mother, replacing all the existing staff. But the modernist house contains unexpected secrets, and their parasitic peace doesn’t last long. [more...]
August 18 2025, 20:11
Fever Dream
An even shorter book than Fatale, Fever Dream is a conversation between Amanda, a mother on holiday in a rural part of Argentina with her young daughter, Nina, and David, troubled son of their neighbour, Carla. In the opening, they talk about worms in the body... [more...]
August 17 2025, 09:53
Caché
Another French classic from the early noughties that I’m only now getting around to. Georges and Anne, and their son, Pierrot, are living a comfortable middle class life in Paris when a VHS tape is left on their doorstep. The tape shows the outside of their house, with the family coming and going oblivious to the hidden camera. [more...]
August 14 2025, 21:32
Irréversible
It’s been a couple of days since I watched this, but I needed time to let my thoughts percolate. Irréversible is infamous for the extended and brutally violent rape scene at its centre. The shock of it overwhelmed the critical thinking part of my brain, and it’s rare that I finish a film completely confused. [more...]
August 12 2025, 18:25
Summer experiments
It’s twenty-nine degrees outside, and I’ve drawn the blinds, turned on the fan, and hunkered down until my swimming lesson at seven. My family return at the weekend, and I’m excited to see them. Tomorrow I’m taking a last-minute day trip to Edinburgh, and I’ve bought tickets to hear A.L. Kennedy talk about her new book at the Edinburgh Book Festival. [more...]
August 11 2025, 20:12
Fatale
My copy of Fatale has a foreword by David Peace that includes extended quotes from Manchette’s essays and letters expressing frustrations at the reactions of both publishers and critics to the novel, which was a departure for him, and expounding on his communist politics. [more...]
August 09 2025, 19:52
The Girl on a Motorcycle
I’m pleased with myself for seeing one of these #ArthouseSummer films in the cinema. The BFI South Bank is an amazing space, and it’s been several years since I’ve visited, so I’d forgotten how they have red curtains in NFT2 and how uncomfortable the seats are. Also, the weirdos. [more...]
August 06 2025, 21:59
Irma Vep
Hong Kong action star Maggie Cheung arrives in Paris to take the lead in a remake of a classic silent film, Les Vampires. The cast and crew are friendly, but Maggie is an outsider, and the group's conflicts and histories become increasingly pronounced as director René begins to realise the film is not working. [more...]
August 04 2025, 19:48
Players
I disliked this book at first. Two voices, Lyle and Pammy, intertwine in the opening chapters, where he is a trader on Wall Street and she works in marketing for a grief counselling service run from the World Trade Center. They’ve become friends with Ethan, an older man Pammy works with, and his much younger partner, Jake. [more...]