Mad Max and the function of cinematic dystopia
Dystopian films reflect the anxieties of their times; but the best ones sneak the message in through the back door.
Culture
Bodies and antibodies
A new book by Eula Biss blends the personal and the political to examine the issues surrounding immunisation.
Salò: The unseen movie
Pasolini’s shocking film, Salò, was banned in the UK for 25 years. But if we can’t laugh at it, we are missing the point.
Rock’n’roll and rebellion
A new book explores the places where popular culture is still a counter-culture.
Bengalis abroad: the fiction of Amit Chaudhuri
These semi-autobiographical novels make a case for another vision of literature and the world.
The moral decline of Tony Blair
Since leaving office, Britain's former prime minister has done little more than amass a huge personal fortune, as a new book sets out.
Architecture, an amphetamine-fuelled train journey, and obsessive self-doubt: the best new novels
Lee Rourke on fiction by Mathias Enard, David Rose, and Ian Parkinson.
Why Game of Thrones is more than fantasy
Game of Thrones is not just great television. It speaks to the social and political struggles of our times.
Our writers at the Stoke Newington Literary Festival
We’re proud to be media partners with the Stoke Newington Literary Festival (London, 5-7 June) for a second year running. Speakers include Fay Weldon, Will Self and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown –…
Trauma, vegetarianism, and poetry: the best new novels
Lee Rourke on fiction by Catherine Lacey, Han Kang, and Ben Lerner.