Thursday, March 28Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Tag: fiction

Bag Salad and Box Office
Culture & Literature, Literature, Theatre & Performance

Bag Salad and Box Office

By Daniel Pepin Do you like contemporary fiction? The kind of fiction that makes you squirm? Boundary pushing, unsettling, compulsive, a little bit sexy? Then chances are you have read or at least heard of Boy Parts by Eliza Clark – if you have not then please do so, for the above reasons. Clark’s debut novel was an instant cult classic, epitomising the manic and obsessive world of the internet era – criticising and dissecting modern gender conflict, classism, and performative art. The razor blade sharp book follows Irina, a Northern fetish photographer as she humiliates and captures explicit photos of young men and boys while surviving off a heady mix of coke, ket, Tesco bag salad, and La Mer. The playbook opens with ‘this is the story as Irina tells it. She is an artist, a monster, a...
The Third Policeman Review: An Insoluble Pancake
Culture & Literature, Literature

The Third Policeman Review: An Insoluble Pancake

You know when a little kid tries to explain something scientific even though they have no clue what they’re talking about so they start spouting absolute bullshit? ‘The Third Policeman’ is that conversation on steroids. The novel, published posthumously by Flann O’Brien, is stocked full of complete and utter nonsense. That being said, it is one of the most fantastical novels I’ve ever read and I cannot recommend it enough.  ‘The Third Policeman’ is, by its own definition, “nearly an insoluble pancake, a conundrum of inscrutable potentialities, a snorter”. The storyline, which is semi-impossible to understand, follows O’Brien’s unnamed protagonist (but who for convenience names his own soul ‘Joe’) through a cyclic hell following his death. The novel is stocked full with eccentric c...
American War Review: Did Omar El Akkad Predict the Covid 19 Pandemic?
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...
Fact or Fiction?
News, Opinion

Fact or Fiction?

How technology is helping to disrupt the truth ‘Fake News’ is a phrase most frequently associated with the likes of Donald Trump, pointing the finger at journalists for their sensationalist, subjective reporting and blaming them for the hate he received by many. Journalists have a lot of responsibility in that regard – we are a society built on the opinions of the masses and journalists have a large stake in swaying that opinion. Many also associate this issue with a rising ‘cancel culture’- one bad word and the twitter cavalry storm in.  In the twenty-first century, we have got endless information at our fingertips. Thanks to the internet, we can momentarily discover breaking news or the height of a favourite celebrity; any kind of information that will satisfy a curiosity and ...
Top three books of the month
Culture & Literature, Literature

Top three books of the month

With so many books being published each month, it is difficult to find the right ones. To help you, here`s my top three books to go straight to your reading list: The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins A debut psychological thriller, which will grab you from the first page! Rachel takes the same train every morning and on her way observes the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them and gives them names.Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. The Secret Wisdom of the Earth, by Christopher Scotton Another debut novel, emotional and inspiring! After witnessing the death of his younger brother, 14-year-old Kevi...
Features

#cheltlitfest – ten days of celebrity signings and sexy pizza men

This October, over 1.2 million people attended The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival, which had its best year ever, including a stellar line-up, some wonderful new sponsors and an unbeatable team of event managers, production staff and almost 250 volunteers. The festival itself is constantly expanding its content, sponsorship and patrons. Returners to the festival were happy to see the site buzzing with its usual excitement and the new addition of a Green & Black’s chocolate tasting tent (the most popular stall in the history of existence). Ten reasons you should volunteer for #cheltlitfest: 1. They pay for all your travel, accommodation and food, plus you get a cracking T-shirt. Generous, or what? 2. You’ll have the most productive thirteen days of your lif...