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The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Rehearsal to The Ballad of Wallis Island: the week in rave reviews
Sky Comedy & Now; episodes weekly Summed up in a sentence A mind-boggling comedy-cum-documentary-cum-reality show that helps people prepare for big life events by staging hugely elaborate mockups – currently focusing on how to prevent aviation disasters by improving communication in the cockpit. What our reviewer said 'As with season one, the producers have managed to find civilians who are so uniquely awkward that they feel like integral parts of the chaos. These are people who blur the line between committed normie and aspiring actor so well that many have, in fact, been accused of being fake. But they are all real.' Hannah J Davies Read the full review Further reading The Rehearsal: Nathan Fielder makes genius appointment TV … that may spoil you for ever BBC Two; full series on iPlayer now Summed up in a sentence A loving, exhaustive docuseries celebrating the author on the 250th anniversary of her birth, narrated by Juliet Stevenson. What our reviewer said 'The mood is impassioned and enthusiastic without being emetic – suffused with love of the work, and mapping the contours of the specific genius without anyone getting un-Janeishly carried away. You feel she would approve.' Lucy Mangan Read the full review Further reading 'Much darker than Pride and Prejudice!': authors pick their favourite Jane Austen novel Netflix; full series available now Summed up in a sentence Arrogant detective ends up accidentally causing a death, and is sidelined to a dank basement investigating cold cases – only to assemble a crack team. What our reviewer said 'It is all fantastically well, and rigorously, done. The pacing has a leisurely confidence that some may find a touch slow, but allows for a character-first approach, creating a richness that amply rewards initial patience.' Lucy Mangan Read the full review Further reading Dept Q's Kelly Macdonald on her Trainspotting teen highs and hitting her stride in her 40s BBC Two; full series on iPlayer now Summed up in a sentence A deep dive into the life of the entrepreneur, from fly-on-the-wall footage of her starting a lingerie empire, through to an investigative thriller about the PPE political scandal. What our reviewer said 'In some ways, this is a parable of fame. Mone courted it and won it, but eventually learned that once you turn on the faucet of public attention, trying to turn it off again is a sisyphean task.' Rebecca Nicholson Read the full review Netflix; all episodes available Summed up in a sentence A sensitive, sweet modern-day reimagining of Judy Blume's 1975 novel about teen desire which has been repeatedly banned by less tolerant schools and libraries. What our reviewer said 'As a teen drama, it works because, Heartstopper-style, its teenagers actually look and behave like teenagers. The performances are excellent, especially Karen Pittman and Xosha Roquemore as the mothers, but it all rides on whether you can buy into what leads Michael Cooper Jr and Lovie Simone are selling, and they sell it perfectly.' Rebecca Nicholson Read the full review Further reading Judy Blume forever: the writer who dares to tell girls the plain truth In cinemas now Summed up in a sentence Funny/melancholy story of a former folk duo (Carey Mulligan and Tom Basden) who are inveigled into a comeback performance on a remote island for a single superfan. What our reviewer said 'You'll leave wanting your own island, your own gig and your own lock of Carey Mulligan's hair.' Catherine Bray Read the full review Further reading 'There's no chance an American will laugh': Tim Key on his very British new film and the US Office sequel In cinemas now Summed up in a sentence Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan team up in a charming throwback sequel to the 2010 remake, with Ben Wang as the latest kid to don the bandana and learn the age-old secret of kicking ass with a dose of moral philosophy. What our reviewer said 'It's warm, it's breezy – it's a burst of summery family fun that is sure to inspire long looks back at the old movies and Cobra Kai episodes while sparking renewed interest in martial arts apprenticeship. Anyone would get a kick out of it.' Andrew Lawrence Read the full review Further reading Ralph Macchio on kicking it as The Karate Kid for 41 years In cinemas now Summed up in a sentence Affecting drama based on Raynor Winn's memoir, in which Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs undertake a redemptive hike along the English south-west coast. What our reviewer said 'Somehow, they all bring a real sense of meaning and truth to cheap-sounding messages about living in the moment, and the possibility of long-term relationships deepening and growing in ways impossible to predict.' Cath Clarke Read the full review Further reading Walk on the wild side: Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs on their epic hiking movie The Salt Path In cinemas now Summed up in a sentence Complex relationship movie from French director Katell Quillévéré, focusing on the marriage of a single mother and closeted gay academic. What our reviewer said 'The awful toxicity of love … is an underground stream that has become very much an overground stream in this new, heartfelt movie.' Peter Bradshaw Read the full review Sky Cinema and Now; available now Summed up in a sentence Jesse Armstrong's post-Succession uber-wealth satire about four plutocrats on a lodge weekend that goes awry when the planet descends into chaos. What our reviewer said 'More than any comedy or even film I've seen recently, this is movie driven by the line-by-line need for fierce, nasty, funny punched-up stuff in the dialogue, and narrative arcs and character development aren't the point. But as with Succession, this does a really good job of persuading you that, yes, this is what our overlords are really like.' Peter Bradshaw Read the full review Review by James Smart Summed up in a sentence Her latest autofictional work finds the great graphic novelist exploring midlife contentment. Our reviewer said 'Writing about herself from a greater fictional distance seems to have given Bechdel more room to have fun: dramas and mishaps unspool with a lightly comic charm that belies the darkness in the world outside.' Read the full review Further reading Alison Bechdel: 'The Bechdel test was a joke… I didn't intend for it to become a real gauge' Review by Blake Morrison Summed up in a sentence Coming of age in 70s England. Our reviewer said 'Toy soldiers, conker fights, fizzy drinks, Wall's ice-creams, chicken-in-a-basket pub lunches, swimming lessons (plus verrucas): Dyer's recall of period detail and brand names is exceptional.' Read the full review Further reading Best seat in the house: writer Geoff Dyer on why sitting in a corner is so satisfying Review by Arin Keeble Summed up in a sentence Migration and heritage are explored through one woman's life, in 60s Italy and present-day Ireland. Our reviewer said 'A powerful and beautifully written story of family, friendship and identity.' Read the full review Further reading Novelist Sarah Moss: 'Hunger numbed my shame and humiliation' Review by Stuart Jeffries Summed up in a sentence A peek inside the seaborne world of the super-rich. Our reviewer said 'It's not just how big your superyacht is, but what you put inside it. The latest fashions include Imax theatres, ski rooms where guests can suit up for a helicopter trip to a mountaintop, and hospital equipment.' Read the full review Review by Kitty Drake Summed up in a sentence A cultural history of female friendship. Our reviewer said 'In this book, Watt Smith trawls through the archives to trace the history of imperfect, ordinary friends – who hurt and disappoint each other, but keep striving for connection regardless.' Read the full review Further reading The big idea: should you dump your toxic friend? Out 13 June Summed up in a sentence Jazz artist Halvorson is one of the most exciting guitarists in North America. Her new album features one of her largest backing bands to date. What our reviewer said 'Recently discussing Robert Wyatt in Jazzwise magazine, Halvorson said she loved his ability to blend 'the weird with the beautiful'. She wouldn't dream of it, but she could have been saying much the same of herself.'. John Fordham Read the full review Further reading Jazz guitar 'genius' Mary Halvorson on cocktails, tarot and making music that combusts Out now Summed up in a sentence After the blockbuster success of Flowers, Cyrus clearly has carte blanche to do what she wants – and has billed her new album as psychedelic and healing. What our reviewer said 'It's all about as psychedelic as a baked potato. But it's still all very well written and well made.' Alexis Petridis Read the full review Out now Summed up in a sentence This Scottish indie-folk artist has been creating some sizeable buzz around their spellbindingly beautiful voice and arrangements. What our reviewer said 'These story songs – about youthful infatuation, reckless hedonism and one-sided obsession – are brittle and wounded, each zeroing in on a different strain of disappointment or heartache.' Shaad D'Souza Read the full review Further reading One to watch: Jacob Alon Out now Summed up in a sentence Marking the 400th anniversary of the death of English pre-baroque composer Gibbons, this is a set of his works with a new piece by American composer Muhly at its centre. What our reviewer said 'Muhly's composition, with its urgent string figures, contrasts beautifully with the flowing imitations of Gibbons' fantasias around it.' Andrew Clements Read the full review O2 Academy, Glasgow; touring to 7 June Summed up in a sentence On her first tour since 2018, the Walsall soul-R&B-garage singer shows off how adventurous her songcraft has become. What our reviewer said 'Her searing, smoky voice is used sparingly to start, sometimes even drowned out by the power of the band's two drummers. But by Feelings, Smith drops the wall. She beams megawatt charisma through the track's lyrically chilly push-and-pull, and slinks between risers, glamorously at ease.'. Katie Hawthorne Read the full review
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bridal bucket is the best wedding gift
Re wedding lists (The toilet roll wedding list – is this the least romantic gift request ever?, 20 May), when my parents announced their engagement in 1951, one of my mother's sisters, then on a low wage, bought a bucket. Each week on payday, she added some household item to it – a scrubbing brush, a mop, a floor cloth, shoe polish and brushes, cleaning products. It was the most useful wedding gift they received, according to my mother. Cliodhna Dempsey Bereldange, Luxembourg • 'We have created incentives to try to retain our most precious resource, which is our management team,' the chair of Thames Water is quoted as saying in your article (23 May). I would suggest their most precious resource is clean water. Their management is pretty inept if they don't realise people reckon their track record warrants no bonus. If anything, they should be paying fines for the DunnSt Andrews, Fife • I wholeheartedly agree with Lucy Mangan in her defence of the semicolon (Digested week, 23 May); however, I note with regret that she has not seen fit to use this valuable punctuation mark in her CopasBrentwood, Essex • At school in the 1950s, we were told that, if in doubt, we should read a sentence aloud and if a pause sounded right with a count to one, a comma was required, two – a semicolon, and three – a colon. It seemed to RowleyDidsbury, Manchester • Stand by for balaclavas becoming ubiquitous fashion wear (Live facial recognition cameras may become 'commonplace' as police use soars, 24 May).Colin Prower Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire • 'Artificial intelligence to play increasing role in armed forces, says defence secretary' (20 May). Could this be one small step on the road to the dystopia envisioned by the Terminator franchise?Tony RimmerLytham St Annes, Lancashire
The Guardian
26-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Bridal bucket is the best wedding gift
Re wedding lists (The toilet roll wedding list – is this the least romantic gift request ever?, 20 May), when my parents announced their engagement in 1951, one of my mother's sisters, then on a low wage, bought a bucket. Each week on payday, she added some household item to it – a scrubbing brush, a mop, a floor cloth, shoe polish and brushes, cleaning products. It was the most useful wedding gift they received, according to my mother. Cliodhna Dempsey Bereldange, Luxembourg 'We have created incentives to try to retain our most precious resource, which is our management team,' the chair of Thames Water is quoted as saying in your article (23 May). I would suggest their most precious resource is clean water. Their management is pretty inept if they don't realise people reckon their track record warrants no bonus. If anything, they should be paying fines for the DunnSt Andrews, Fife I wholeheartedly agree with Lucy Mangan in her defence of the semicolon (Digested week, 23 May); however, I note with regret that she has not seen fit to use this valuable punctuation mark in her CopasBrentwood, Essex At school in the 1950s, we were told that, if in doubt, we should read a sentence aloud and if a pause sounded right with a count to one, a comma was required, two – a semicolon, and three – a colon. It seemed to RowleyDidsbury, Manchester Stand by for balaclavas becoming ubiquitous fashion wear (Live facial recognition cameras may become 'commonplace' as police use soars, 24 May).Colin Prower Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire 'Artificial intelligence to play increasing role in armed forces, says defence secretary' (20 May). Could this be one small step on the road to the dystopia envisioned by the Terminator franchise?Tony RimmerLytham St Annes, Lancashire Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
The Guardian
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Ocean with David Attenborough, Forever and PinkPantheress: the week in rave reviews
Netflix; full series available now Summed up in a sentence An adorable TV take on Judy Blume's banned teen sex our reviewer said 'As a teen drama, it works because, Heartstopper-style, its teenagers actually look and behave like teenagers. It's a romantic melodrama, so their young love is at the centre of this show's world, but to its credit for an older viewer, it comes across as knowing and self-aware too.' Rebecca Nicholson Read the full review Further reading Judy Blume forever: the writer who dares to tell girls the plain truth ITVX; full series available now Summed up in a sentence The relentlessly tense drama returns with another doctor receiving a probe by the Medical Investigations our reviewer said 'The new series promises to be as addictive and unsettling as the last, with another good cast and its doctor creator Grace Ofori-Attah still with plenty of material. Malpractice can surely run and run – which is great news for viewers, if less so for doctors and their patients out in the real world.' Lucy Mangan Read the full review Netflix; available now Summed up in a sentence Netflix's sport documentary strand examines two basketball players' struggle to cope with success. What our reviewer said 'Over the years the reliable US documentary strand Untold has found numerous variations on the sad old story of the young adult who gets to the big leagues then throws it all away, and it's turned up a devastating one in Shooting Guards' Jack Seale Read the full review Apple TV+; new episodes Fridays Summed up in a sentence Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman are back for another epic motorbike travelogue, this time taking in the Arctic circle, the Baltic states and western our reviewer said 'It may not entertain viewers less invested in McGregor and Boorman's friendship, or vintage motorcycles, or relentless rain. But the footage of them riding eventually becomes mesmerising, in a gentle, slow-TV kind of way, and while it is steady, it is also perfectly pleasant.' Rebecca Nicholson Read the full review BBC iPlayer; available now Summed up in a sentence Louis Theroux revisits the West Bank settlers he first encountered in 2011 documentary The Ultra Zionists, in what might be his most confrontational film our reviewer said 'I've been watching Theroux's films for more than three decades, since his days on Michael Moore's TV Nation, and watching him be this forthright feels like a true watershed moment in his career. This level of stridently editorialising just hasn't been in his toolbox until now. It suits him.' Stuart Heritage Read the full review Further reading Palestinian activist says home raided 'in revenge' for appearing in Louis Theroux documentary In cinemas now Summed up in a sentence Visually stunning nature documentary protesting against the ruination of the our reviewer said 'He shows us an amazing vista of diversity and life, an extraordinary undulating landscape, a giant second planet of whose existence humanity has long been unaware but now seems in danger of damaging or even destroying.' Peter Bradshaw Read the full review Further reading 99 ways David Attenborough has inspired us, by Barack Obama, Billie Eilish, Morgan Freeman and more In cinemas now Summed up in a sentence A young man on the run from a mob boss lands an unlikely job in a love motel and starts an affair with the manager's our reviewer said 'This film is terrifically acted by its central trio: three intensely and unselfconsciously physical performances in which their bodies are frequently on show, sensual but fragile.' Peter Bradshaw Read the full review In cinemas now Summed up in a sentence Barmy Australian thriller about would-be wave-chaser Nicolas Cage tangling with local our reviewer said 'With a pleasing, no-frills intensity, The Surfer feels resolutely old-school. It's a low-budget, hard-hitting comic bruiser of a picture: a midlife-crisis movie dressed up as a 1970s exploitation flick.' Xan Brooks Read the full review Further reading Nicolas Cage: 'I don't think a day goes by where I'm not mistaken for Nick Cave' In cinemas now Summed up in a sentence Dance/music film telling the story of a woman's secret affairs through a cache of love letters, soundtracked by Emilíana our reviewer said 'The Extraordinary Miss Flower is a real pleasure: luxuriant like a good glass of red wine. Partly that's down to the songs, vivacious pop-electronica numbers sung with seductive intimacy by Torrini, who is pretty extraordinary herself.' Cath Clarke Read the full review Disney+ Summed up in a sentence Jesse Eisenberg writes, directs and stars in a masterpiece of a Holocaust tour comedy, which features a standout performance from Kieran our reviewer said 'It is a road movie which is partly about the Holocaust and about America's third-generation attempt at coming to terms with it, at confronting what their parents and grandparents found too painfully recent to revisit, or necessary to forget in order to survive. And partly it's about family, male friendship and growing older.' Peter Bradshaw Read the full review Further reading 'A collective sigh of relief': how Jesse Eisenberg's A Real Pain went down in Poland Reviewed by Sarah Crown Summed up in a sentence A love triangle plays out over decades in this deliciously immersive American our reviewer said 'Puchner seduces us with a familiar narrative structure, only to undermine that structure, to force it to tell a tale of profound and fatal insecurity. But he tells his tale with such warmth and humour, that it's not until you set the book down that you can appreciate the breadth and brilliance of what he's done.' Read the full review Review by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett Summed up in a sentence A spiky tale of unexpected motherhood and chosen family from the author of Send our reviewer said 'Sams is a skilled writer, sometimes a sublime one. The way she relates labour, birth and newborns is a mark of her talent and will make you forgive her occasional lapse into cliche.' Read the full review Further reading Writer Saba Sams: 'I wanted it to be sexy and really messy' Review by John Mullan Summed up in a sentence The definitive story of America's most famous writer, from the author of our reviewer said 'Chernow makes out of a vast archive this admirably animated, readable account of one of the modern world's first literary celebrities.' Read the full review Review by Clare Clark Summed up in a sentence A high-concept sliding doors debut in which three different names given to a baby boy send him down three very different our reviewer said 'This compelling and original debut asks at least as many questions as it answers. In the end, despite the neatness of its premise, it is not so much about the impact of our names but about the implications of our decisions.' Read the full review Further reading Love Groundhog Day and Russian Doll? These are the novels for you Review by Steven Poole Summed up in a sentence A whistleblower's no-holds barred account of our reviewer said 'Mark Zuckerberg turns out to be a giant man-baby suffering from a severe case of the Dunning-Kruger effect, whereby people overestimate their own cognitive abilities' Read the full review Further reading Meta puts stop on promotion of tell-all book by former employee Out now Summed up in a sentence Back after her TikTok-powered burst to initial fame, the singer-songwriter-producer is still making pithy pop – in longer form this our reviewer said 'There's something infectious and gleeful about the way she stitches together her disparate influences, but her real skill lies in her ability to imprint her own identity on the results.' Alexis Petridis Read the full review Further reading PinkPantheress: 'I don't think I'm very brandable. I dress weird. I'm shy' Out now Summed up in a sentence Five years since her Grammy-nominated breakthrough record Miss Colombia, the singer and producer takes a radical shift in our reviewer said 'La Belleza (The Beauty) is a nine-track orchestral suite touching on everything from Gregorian chant to strings-laden love songs and dembow rhythms. The result is a moving work of remarkable depth.' Ammar Kalia Read the full review Out now Summed up in a sentence The underground New York rapper, celebrated for his leftfield linguistic invention, delivers one of his heaviest albums to our reviewer said 'Through samples, guest verses and his own lyrics, Woods unearths innumerable images of inhumanity: from stories of CIA torture methods to '12 billion USD hovering over the Gaza strip'. Golliwog is dominated by inherited trauma and state-sanctioned terror, and Woods assesses it all with horrible clarity.' Shaad D'Souza Read the full review Further reading Attenborough, weed and 'American apartheid': the awesome mind of rapper Billy Woods Out now Summed up in a sentence John Eliot Gardiner conducts the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in these live our reviewer said 'There's a litheness to the approach, a refusal to get distracted by subsidiary detail from the essential symphonic argument, and a sense of always keeping the structure taut and purposeful.' Andrew Clements Read the full review Out now Summed up in a sentence The UK dance producer is devoted to tracks at the high end of the bpm scale, spanning footwork, jungle and technoWhat our reviewer said 'With her socially conscious projects that spread access and opportunity, Sherelle is building the future she'd like to see. Her music is charged with the same sense of determination.' Ben Beaumont-Thomas Read the full review
The Guardian
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Four Seasons, A Complete Unknown and Model/Actriz: the week in rave reviews
Netflix; full season available Summed up in a sentence Tina Fey's starry comedy follows three middle-aged couples on a series of eventful holidays our reviewer said 'Part White Lotus without fatalities, part Golden Girls with men, The Four Seasons is full of properly funny lines, rooted in properly middle-aged experience. It captures the warm, weary affection for life and each other only old friends and enduring couples really know. Rest your aching bones and enjoy.' Lucy Mangan Read the full review Further reading The Four Seasons to Flintoff: seven shows to stream this week Disney+; full season available Summed up in a sentence Suspenseful four-parter about the notorious 2005 killing of an innocent Brazilian man by armed our reviewer said 'It is an enraging picture of what went wrong after the 7 July 2005 explosions – scenes of which start off the series, submerging us in a febrile, panicked atmosphere. Ultimately it is a reminder that the least Jean Charles de Menezes deserves is the whole truth.' Jack Seale Read the full review Further reading 'We didn't want to avoid the reality of what happened': the drama telling the true story of Jean Charles de Menezes ITVX; full season available Summed up in a sentence Two-part documentary telling the shocking story of Carol and Stephen Baxter, found dead in their Essex home by their daughter our reviewer said 'What unfolds is astonishing – told courtesy of interviews with the investigating officers, who only just manage to maintain the veneer of professional detachment as their recounting of the extraordinary case goes on, and with Ellena, who speaks with the stark honesty of someone just coming out of the first shock of bereavement.' Lucy Mangan Read the full review Apple TV+; new episodes Wednesdays Summed up in a sentence A tasty tale about Napoleon's renegade pastry chef cavorting around early 1800s our reviewer said 'As it scoffs and seduces its way through the Napoleonic era, it's hard not to fall for the extravagant charms of the Bake Off: Extra Spice. I know little about the real-life Carême, but this reimagining of him is stuffed to bursting. It is a rich, moreish and knowingly indulgent treat.' Rebecca Nicholson Read the full review BBC iPlayer; full series available Summed up in a sentence Three youngsters try to avoid being taken into care after their mother's disappearance in a heartbreaking, hugely funny our reviewer said 'Within each episode and over the entire series, Just Act Normal is beautifully structured and holds its many strands in perfect tension. It is altogether a wonderful thing.' Lucy Mangan Read the full review Further reading Just Act Normal is the best showcase for new talent since Adolescence In cinemas now Summed up in a sentence Documentary following three siblings as they clear out their childhood home, and reckon with some difficult memories in the our reviewer said 'This warm, gentle documentary from Dutch director Suzanne Raes is about a family – and a family home – that might have interested Wes Anderson. The family itself could be seen as charming or twee and insufferable. The film-maker persuades you that it's the former.' Peter Bradshaw Read the full review In cinemas now Summed up in a sentence Marvel's Florence Pugh-starring adventure is a charmingly unusual, if baggy, our reviewer said 'The globe-dominating franchise, biding its time until the next wave of Avengers movies, has been in desperate need of saving. And Thunderbolts*, which happens to be the best thing to come from the brand since WandaVision (still the high watermark), gets the job done.' Radheyan Simonpillai Read the full review Further reading Florence Pugh's skyscraper stunt positions her as the new Tom Cruise In cinemas now Summed up in a sentence The Wolverhampton rockers ride the giddy highs and brutal lows of the music industry in this re-released 1975 musical our reviewer said 'There's a creeping sense that it's all going to come crashing down. The best bits are always the band performing, with Holder's compelling rock'n'roll growl.' Peter Bradshaw Read the full review Further reading The Citizen Kane of rock movies': glam rockers Slade and their bid for cinema greatness Disney+ Summed up in a sentence James Mangold's Oscar-nominated biopic follows the rise of Bob Dylan, played electrically by Timothée our reviewer said 'Chalamet is a hypnotic Dylan, performing the tracks himself and fabricating to a really impressive degree that stoner-hungover birdsong. He is also good at Dylan's insolent comedy in art as in life: puckish, witty, insufferable and yet wounded. There is amazing bravado in this performance.' Peter Bradshaw Read the full review Further reading After decades of apathy, A Complete Unknown has turned me into a Dylan nut Available on digital download Summed up in a sentence A locksmith opens the wrong door in a tightly wound thriller that owes a debt to Michael Mann, but has a confidence all of its our reviewer said 'Brussels is probably not on the top of many lists of cities likely to serve as a setting for an exciting crime film. But this Francophone drama just goes to prove that, given enough moody lamplit street scenes and a bit of imagination, any city will work. It feels as grippy as duct tape throughout.' Leslie Felperin Read the full review Reviewed by Blake Morrison Summed up in a sentence Should rivers have human rights?What our reviewer said 'To the question 'Is a river alive?' Macfarlane wants to answer as simply and resoundingly as his nine-year-old son did: yes! And he wills himself to believe it by granting rivers human pronouns: instead of which or that, 'I prefer to speak of rivers who flow''. Read the full review Further reading Robert Macfarlane on the lives, deaths and rights of our rivers Reviewed by Anthony Quinn Summed up in a sentence A compassionate, darkly witty sequel to 2021's Double our reviewer said 'If there is a flaw in St Aubyn's dramas of consciousness it's the tendency of his characters all to think and talk in the same register of droll irony. Imagine a game of intellectual catch in which the best impersonation of Gore Vidal wins.' Read the full review Reviewed by Pratinav Anil Summed up in a sentence Meet the real-life our reviewer said 'Hatherley's heroes are the Jewish architects Berthold Lubetkin and Ernő Goldfinger, both unabashed Marxist modernists, the latter of whom was famously turned into a gold-loving Bond villain' Read the full review Reviewed by Lara Feigel Summed up in a sentence An intimate account of therapy by one of the US's most celebrated writers, taken from notes on her our reviewer said 'There's a crude fascination in seeing some of the raw material, but there's also something shameful about it. We're invading Didion's privacy – at times less as a mother than as a writer.' Read the full review Further reading: What do Joan Didion's therapy diaries reveal about guilt, motherhood and writing? Reviewed by Sana Goyal Summed up in a sentence This daring comic debut about Islamic State brides is shortlisted for the Women's our reviewer said 'Younis tackles radicalism and racism, faith and friendship, with dexterity, deep care and a large dose of laughter.' Read the full review Out now Summed up in a sentence The Norwegian experimentalist's ninth album is a personal journey through the past and our reviewer said 'An acrid, earthy scent drifts through the album as Hval recalls childhood memories and beloved pets, and retreads the stages of past performances. Iris Silver Mist shows music to be as transient as smoke, and yet an enduringly personal portal to memory, selfhood, the present and the dead.' Katie Hawthorne Read the full review Out now Summed up in a sentence A selection of 81 pieces from the composer's 10 volumes of miniatures, approved by Kurtág our reviewer said 'There are pieces that are fiercely expressionist, others that are sweetly lyrical, even sentimental, and others that are laugh-out-loud witty. Whole worlds of expression are encapsulated in just a few bars.' Andrew Clements Read the full review Further reading György Kurtág on depression, totalitarianism and his 73-year marriage Out now Summed up in a sentence The New York quartet's second album, inspired by Mariah and Kylie but full of jackhammer rhythms and our reviewer said 'Piroutte largely thrives on thrilling contrasts: between the band's tendency to cacophony and the taut control with which they play; between the sweetness of the tunes and the pummelling din behind them.' Alexis Petridis Read the full review Further reading One to watch: Model/Actriz Out now Summed up in a sentence Ideas of migration and self-discovery inspire the latest album from the drummer/composer and her imaginative our reviewer said 'Born in Incheon, South Korea, to a conservative family, Hong's teenage dream was to become a drummer. At 19, she moved to Europe and met her band of skilful soulmates. Her evolving music leans towards a European chamber-jazzy sound with occasional American hints.' John Fordham Read the full review Out now Summed up in a sentence The North Shields songwriter's third album pairs sharp vignettes with giant choruses – perfect for his series of stadium gigs this our reviewer said 'Whether his gaze rests on his past, or his present, there's an urgency about what he has to say. Whatever else Fender's unlikely fame may have changed, it hasn't dimmed the potency of his music.' Alexis Petridis Read the full review
