Literature – Page 3 of 6

A Christmas Carol review: Does Christmas Actually Come from Books?

14Nov

By Charlotte RadcliffeNo Comments

A Christmas Carol review: Does Christmas Actually Come from Books?

Every year, we belt it out to Mariah Carey and count down the days until we can justifiably put the tree up (November 1st, of course). But do we ever stop to consider when or how Christmas became Christmas? Of course, the holiday was originally a celebration of the birth of Christ, but Christmas as we know and love it has far more recent origins. You’ve most likely heard of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol – maybe you studied the book at school, maybe you’ve watched The Muppet Christmas Carol so many times that you know the script by heart – but did you know that its publication in 1843 established a whole new literary genre: the Christmas book? Dickens’ fame and the advance in mass printing during the Industrial Revolution made the book a fast hit. Its cultural impact is still being...

6 Cosy Books to Curl Up with this Winter

14Nov

By Eva Townsend BiltonNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Literature

6 Cosy Books to Curl Up with this Winter

Sure, the Christmas break normally brings with it a whole host of terrifying deadlines, but as the weather gets colder and the nights draw in, might we all be tempted escape the uni work and curl up with a steaming mug of tea (or, more realistically, a quadruple-espresso) and a damn good book? Here are six to get you started: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent Set against the stark backdrop of 19th century Iceland, Burial Rites is definitely a novel fit for winter. The book tells the story of Agnes Magnusdottir, the last person to be sentenced to death in Iceland. Tried and condemned for murder, Agnes is held in the house of a local family to await her execution, but as the months drag on and Agnes grows closer to the family, the truth about what really happened starts to be re...

Girls Don’t Cry Either: Mitski and the Female Experience

14Nov

By Cecilia MunozNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Literature

Girls Don’t Cry Either: Mitski and the Female Experience

There’s a shared feeling amongst women of having something in your chest ready to burst, a rage or emotion so strong and yet so strictly controlled. Often expressing anger, sadness, frustration and even happiness is frowned upon. Artists like indie-rock singer/songwriter Mitski Miyawaki put poetry to this feeling, this quiet desperation, so no wonder she has gained quite the following among women. Playlists on Spotify and YouTube entitled ‘In this life, it’s just you and Japanese-American singer Mitski against the world’ exist for a reason. As a woman, listening to Mitski is a self-reflective emotional experience that will devastate and console you at the same time. She approaches and explores all aspects of what it means to be a woman in the 21st century with a unique musical sound. ‘...

American War Review: Did Omar El Akkad Predict the Covid 19 Pandemic?

14Nov

By Elena-Teodora ChiujdeaNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Literature

American War Review: Did Omar El Akkad Predict the Covid 19 Pandemic?

“This isn’t a story about war. It’s about ruin.” (American War, chapter 1) Omar Akkad’s 2017 American War is classified as a war science fiction novel. But is it science fiction? The international bestseller and winner of the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize is made up of fragments from real life events. From the first American Civil War, the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, to the more recent Afghanistan conflict in which Akkad was a journalist himself, readers are bombarded with the suffering of others. The metafiction – set between 2075 and 2095 – follows the story of 6-year-old Sarat Chestnut after her father is killed in a homicide bombing. Taken to camp Patience with her siblings and mother, Sarat’s childhood is lived in a state of limbo: not dead, not alive, purely surviving t...

The Mermaid of Black Conch Review: A Mermaid Love Story fused with Colonialism

16Oct

By Leah EdwardsNo Comments

Literature

The Mermaid of Black Conch Review: A Mermaid Love Story fused with Colonialism

Monique Roffey’s The Mermaid of Black Conch has recently gained a lot of publicity, having won Costa Book of the Year in 2020 and more recently, a BBC Sounds audio adaptation. Whether they’re sirens in Greek mythology luring sailors to their deaths, or tiny, doe-eyed Disney characters in colourful seashell bras, we’ve seen and read mermaids in all their forms. On the surface, the novel appears to be just another folk-lore tale, but below scratch beneath the water’s surface and it’s a deeply unique story. The Mermaid of Black Conch is not your typical white European Disney Princess, but an indigenous woman from long agow with a tribal tattoo covered torso. And, instead of a glamorous underwater paradise, the setting is a post-colonial Caribbean world. The novel takes place in April 1...

Beautiful World, Where Are You? review: Rooney’s best book yet?

16Oct

By Eva Townsend BiltonNo Comments

Literature

Beautiful World, Where Are You? review: Rooney’s best book yet?

Whether you read a hundred books a year or struggle finishing just one, you’ve probably heard of Sally Rooney, or at least her second novel Normal People. In the four years since the release of her 2017 debut, Conversations with Friends, Rooney has made herself a household name, and her third novel is acutely aware of it. Beautiful World, Where Are You? follows university friends Alice and Eileen, both on the cusp of turning thirty and both navigating romances that form the basis of the novel’s plot. Famous author, Alice, has moved back to Ireland after the pressures of celebrity life in New York proved too much to handle. Despite their less-than-perfect Tinder date, she invites local warehouse worker, Felix, to join her on a work-trip to Rome. Eileen lives in Dublin, flitting betwe...

Must-Read Poetry Collections by LGBT+ Writers

28Feb

By Jack WrightNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Literature

Must-Read Poetry Collections by LGBT+ Writers

The power of poetry as a means of expression and exploration – of self, of identity, and of place – should not be understated. As it is LGBT+ History Month, we wanted to bring your attention to a number of acclaimed poetry collections by poets for whom sexuality and gender identity are significant themes. Surge by Jay Bernard. As the title suggests, Surge, Jay Bernard’s Ted Hughes prize-winning collection, is a text that considers the concept of change in a multitude of ways. In Bernard’s poetry, they reflect upon the flaws of the response in the wake of the 1981 New Cross, and upon their own experience as non-binary. It is a multi-faceted, moving, and powerful piece of work. Physical by Andrew McMillan. McMillan’s use of the gym and exercise as an entry into thinking ar...

Book review: The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson

25Jan

By Thom Cuffin-MundayNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Literature

Book review: The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson

Mark Manson’s ‘counterintuitive approach to living a good life’ can be found in this book, and to say that it changed my life is not even an overstatement. This book starts off with using some of Manson’s experiences and other peoples’ he knew to describe how one might live their life. Through witty and profane prose, Manson then breaks down the issues that these people may have with fulfilment in their lives, which mostly boils down to a misalignment of values. For example, the author describes how some people might value making money, but that ultimately this will result in exploitation and a lack of fulfilment because there is an end goal, and then what you’d spent most of your life working towards seems meaningless now that you have that thing you were wanting – cue mid-life ...

Problematic Authors: A History… and a Future

25Jan

By Mercedes-Georgia MayesNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Literature

Problematic Authors: A History… and a Future

The phenomena of problematic authors, revived and re-embittered by J.K Rowling like Voldemort himself, is nothing we haven’t seen before. The sudden revelation of her prejudices is but one in a long line of writers whose private beliefs have either trickled into their works or been openly admitted, including H. P. Lovecraft and Rudyard Kipling. Awful as it was, however, it prompts an important question: do these “problematic works” deserve to be read. The black and white answer is no, especially if one includes in their remit the range of texts on offer from political extremists that try to convince their audiences (sometimes successfully) of the insidious agendas to “erase white people” or “eradicate heterosexuality”. When falsehoods are presented as fact, the risk is clear. However, ...

E-Books vs. Print – The Environmental Effects of Reading

18Dec

By Reena BakirNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Literature

E-Books vs. Print – The Environmental Effects of Reading

Reena Bakir In the age of digitalisation, e-readers have come to replace the printed book – spearheaded by an excess of devices like the Amazon Kindle. Slowly dominating the literature sector, digital readers allow users to store thousands of books on a single device, promoting accessibility and ease of use. However, many of us might be wondering just how our reading habits might be harming the planet. Are e-readers truly more environmentally friendly than the traditional book? The publishing industry has long been considered one of the most polluting sectors in the world. The lifetime of the printed book, from manufacturing to disposal, poses many risks to the environment. Of the most obvious of its negative effects is deforestation. The making of paper requires the cutting d...