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New Statesman
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
From Andrea Long Chu to Alayo Akinkugbe: new books reviewed in short
Among Friends by Hal Ebbott They say that if a friendship lasts seven years, it is likely to last a lifetime. How solid must a relationship be if it has lasted three decades? Amos and Emerson believe they share an unbreakable bond that saw them through their early twenties to their fifties: the wild days of college, first serious relationships and the births of their daughters. Not even their differing backgrounds could shake the foundations of their friendship. Or so they thought. Emerson is a lawyer, Amos a psychiatrist, and they both pass their time in the comfort of New York City wealth. But their picture-perfect life is about to face a challenge not many relationships can survive as Emerson's 52nd birthday celebrations begin. Hal Ebbott's roman d'analyse-style debut resurfaces old rivalries and resentments, be it class, marriage or power. All the characters repeatedly strive for something real and emotive as if acutely aware of their daily artifice – and they experience that reality with a shocking act of violence and betrayal. Ebbott grants the readers an intimate insight into thoughts vs actions that will leave you questioning your oldest friendships. Picador, 320pp, £18.99. Buy the book. By Zuzanna Lachendro Reframing Blackness: What's Black about 'History of Art'? by Alayo Akinkugbe Are museums white spaces? Does the education system limit our exposure to black artists? Does feminist art completely disregard intersectionality? These are questions posed and answered by Alayo Akinkugbe in Reframing Blackness. Conceived in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in 2020, this book is a study of the cultural shift that followed his death, and focuses on the erasure of blackness from art history. Akinkugbe moves the subject of blackness in art from the periphery to centre frame. Her criticism blends anecdote and academia, imploring the reader to consider the way we engage with art, skewed as it is by a Eurocentric perspective. Akinkugbe brings attention to art surrounding blackness that has been largely ignored while still acknowledging earlier criticism of these works. The book addresses the omissions in the history of art where blackness has been deliberately effaced. Ending with a call to action, Reframing Blackness is a manifesto to promote diversity and reform in the ways we think, educate and engage with art history. Merky Books, 176pp, £20. Buy the book. By Gabriella Berkeley-Agyepong Authority: Essays on Being Right by Andrea Long Chu Reviewing The Fraud in 2023, Andrea Long Chu wrote that Zadie Smith had lost her teeth. Chu's own Pulitzer Prize-winning work often tackles authors, TV shows, gender ideology, and even Andrew Lloyd Webber. To sum up Chu's style as 'takedowns' would be a disservice. Rather, it's a careful dismantling of revered cultural figures, the zeitgeist, and liberal society in general. Her writing is razor-sharp, personal, and vociferous in its proclamations, but it's also fun – it's got bite. Authority is a collection of essays written between 2018 and 2024, including the breakout 'On Liking Women', which interrogates Chu's gender transition. Republished seven years later, it reminds us of how barbed this topic has become. Many of the pieces have been published – a large number in New York magazine, where Chu is a book critic. But there are two newly penned essays that act as a battle cry for criticism and a rally against the neutrality of 'the far centre' – a place where Chu feels art and politics languish without conviction. But take all this with a pinch of salt, for, as Chu writes, 'The critic may be witty or insightful or engaging or well-read or widely admired or a true virtuoso – but what she will never be is decidedly right.' Hutchinson Heinemann, 288pp, £20. Buy the book. By Catharine Hughes The Place of Shells by Mai Ishizawa How can someone be dead and yet present? That is the question Mai Ishizawa's protagonist, and the reader, ask themselves. In the middle of the pandemic in Göttingen, Germany, a young Japanese woman studying for her PhD is confronted with her past. When a friend who died in the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami unexpectedly shows up at the train station, he triggers a series of unexpected events: the appearance of mysterious guests, eerie objects showing up in the nearby forest, and time's threads unravelling. But it's not just the protagonist who is forced to face her trauma. Flatmates, friends and neighbours turn to days gone by and begin to unpack the burdens they have been carrying, blending past and present. Ishizawa's poetic prose embraces art along with both Japanese and German culture, and her novel becomes a hypnotic dissection of memory, trauma and belonging that many will relate to. Though face masks make a regular appearance, the narrative comes across as timeless, perhaps because the story seems suspended in a timeline of its own. Did any of this happen? Or was it all just a manifestation of the grief many of us have experienced during times of global crisis? Sceptre, 160pp, £16.99. Buy the book. By Zuzanna Lachendro [See also: 150 years of the bizarre Hans Christian Andersen] Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Related
Wall Street Journal
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
How I Became an Accidental Author of ‘Dark Academia'
When I turned 30, I quit a well-paying job to write novels. Initially, the gamble didn't go well. A couple of early efforts garnered kind remarks from important publishers, but no book deals. I was in the last chance saloon when I began writing 'Black Chalk,' a dark tale based on my time as a student at Oxford in the 1990s. When I finished the novel, it was rejected—this time by the entire U.S. publishing industry. But my agent sent it to a U.K. house, Harvill Secker, who published it in 2013. Two years later a U.S. house, Picador, picked it up. The book is now going into its 19th printing.
Indian Express
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
If you loved ‘On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous', try these 4 books next
Asian-American immigration narratives have witnessed a rise in recent years. These stories are about identities that are constructed through a confluence of oriental and Western cultures. They are focused on finding belonging in a country that one has known their whole life, yet somehow still feels a little foreign. Asian-American immigration narratives often take the form of memoirs, not just reflecting on the life of a single person, but also recollecting the history of the family and how loss, sacrifices, and trauma mould the present. Focusing on memory, queerness, and grief, among other themes. Here is a list of coming-of-age debut books by Asian-American authors: Ocean Vuong's debut novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous (Vintage, pages 256, Rs 550), is a lyrical reflection on the protagonist's (Little Dog) experience as a queer Vietnamese-American immigrant growing up in a middle-class family. Written in the form of a letter to his mother who cannot read, the first-person retrospective narrative evokes questions about identity, belonging, and love. The novel explores the implications of the Vietnam War in the history of his family, and the protagonist's discovery of his queerness. Stay True (Picador, pages 208, Rs 650) is a memoir written by Hua Hsu dedicated to his friend Ken who lost his life in a carjacking incident. The novel portrays a friendship which finds its roots in the simplicity of college experiences, late night hangouts, shared cigarettes, and bonding over music, before it was lost to time. As an enthusiast of the emerging indie scene, the novel is packed with musical references to bands in the late 90s, such as Nirvana and The Beach Boys. Hsu's and Ken's friendship is an unexpected one, their main similarity being their experience as an Asian-American and trying to find a sense of belonging amidst a culture that does not entirely belong to them. More by Anosha Rishi | How Bookstagram is changing the way we discover and discuss books Michelle Zauner, the Grammy-nominated indie artist belonging to the band Japanese Breakfast published her debut novel, Crying in H Mart (Picador, pages 256, Rs 650), in 2021. A memoir for her late mother, Zauner evokes feelings of nostalgia as she recounts the Korean food her mom used to make for her. As a Korean-American, going to the Korean grocery store, H Mart, becomes a deliberate way through which Zauner reconnects with her Korean roots. Crying in H Mart is also about dealing with loss of a loved one and attempting to come to terms with the grief it brings along. Unlike the other novels on this list, The Best We Could Do (Harry N. Abrams, pages 336, Rs 1581) is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Thi Bui, a Vietnam-born American graphic novelist and illustrator. The graphic is mostly monochromatic, with the exception of sepia tones that seep into the work. Thi Bui reflects on her family history as she tries to make sense of her identity and place in the present. She recounts her parents' experience during the Vietnam War, their refuge in the US following the war, and its impact on her life. A memoir written by Nicole Chung, All You Can Ever Know (Pushkin Press, pages 256, Rs 1129), is a story about her life as a Korean adopted by an American family. Although content with her family, ever since she was young Chung had questions about her biological family which finally led her to search for them after growing up. Chung reflects on her adolescence, growing up in a racially different family, and on her own parenthood as she steps into motherhood.
The Herald Scotland
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Fame, food, music, sex and sport: Best 10 memoirs to read this summer
Electric Spark: The Enigma of Muriel Spark, Frances Wilson, Bloomsbury, £25 Muriel Spark, that most mercurial of Scottish writers never made it easy for her biographers (she had her own official biography delayed by seven years and then dismissed the result as a 'hatchet job'). At the same time, though, her story is not short of incident. An unhappy marriage to a man prone to violent outbursts (it was when he tried to shoot her that she fled with their son), the abandonment of said son, a breakdown, a religious conversion; she made sure there was plenty of material. Wilson makes the most of it. British actor and comedian Peter Sellers (Image: free) The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, Roger Lewis, Riverrun, £30 After the huge success of Roger Lewis's incredibly moreish Erotic Vagrancy, his joint memoir of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, it's no surprise that his 2004 memoir of Peter Sellers should be spruced up and put once more out into the world. If I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Erotic Vagrancy that's mostly because I've never really warmed to Sellers the performer or the man (the latter would be hard, to be fair, given the way he treated his wives and, well, pretty much everyone else). But Lewis gives both the career and the life his full attention here. And he is a sharp, often waspish guide: 'Because she was unobtainable, [Sophia] Loren stayed Seller's ideal woman,' he writes at one point. 'Even from beyond the grave, he was faithful to her memory and inspiration. Interviewed through a ouija board by a psychic named Micki Dahne, he said, 'Sophia was my ultimate woman.'' And it's probably worth it alone for the addition of Lewis's droll account of the filming of the big screen version of this book. Naked Portrait: A Memoir of My Father Lucian Freud (Image: Picador) Naked Portrait: A Memoir of My Father Lucian Freud, Rosie Boyt, Picador, £12.99 And talking of sacred monsters … Novelist Rosie Boyt's memoir of her dad and one of England's greatest painters of the postwar 20th century (he's jostling for the title with Bacon, I reckon) is a revealing take on the artist and the man. The word 'shocking' was used again and again in reviews of the book. Boyt, now 66, looks back on their relationship and her own life as a young woman in 1980s London. As you would expect she has the fiction writer's eye for detail. The Impossible Man: Roger Penrose and the Cost of Genius, Patchen Barss, Atlantic, £12.99, August 28 To get a measure of Patchen Barss's biography of the Nobel Prize-winning mathematician and physicist Roger Penrose (now coming out in paperback) you just need to read the prologue which begins with an account of Penrose heating up a cup of coffee in the microwave in 2008 and then proceeds to give us a brief history of the 13.7 billion years since the birth of the universe. This account of one of the greatest cosmologists of the 20th century takes on both the science and the man. Del Amitiri (Image: free) The Tremolo Diaries, New Modern, £22, out August 28 This summer is a good one for music memoirs from ageing pop stars. As well as The Absence, Budgie's account of his life in Siouxsie and the Banshees there's also Kevin Rowland's self-flagellating memoir about his time in Dexys Midnight Runners (Bless Me Father, Ebury Spotlight, £25). But if you can wait until the end of August it's worth considering The Tremolo Diaries. At first glance it might not seem promising - a tour diary of Justin Currie's band Del Amitri as they schlep around America alongside Semisonic and Barenaked Ladies, and then around the UK and Europe in support of Simple Minds (who come out of this account very well, it has to be said). But there's much more to this than an ageing musician's grumbling about bad hotels and bad food. Because in these pages Currie is coming to terms with his own Parkinson's diagnosis - what he calls the Ghastly Affliction; his tremor, meanwhile, is named Gavin - while also dealing with the fact that the love of his life is now in a care home. And yet for all the pain and fear and heartache in these pages, it's also full of life and joy and copious swearing. I laughed out loud more than once. Currie is realistic about his condition but not maudlin about it and he has retained his very Scottish ability to be entertainingly angry at things that annoy him. The result is a thrill of a book and a great marker for new music publisher New Modern. Oh, and if BBC Scotland ever wants to make a programme that people might actually want to watch, just send Justin and a camera crew around the art galleries of Europe. His art criticism here is by turns caustic and funny. He has all the potential to be TV's new Sister Wendy. Read more Tart: Misadventures of an Anonymous Chef, Slutty Cheff, Bloomsbury, £16.99 Sex and food. Food and sex. This pseudonymous account of life in London restaurants is greedy for both. I could have done with less sex myself, but maybe that's because I'm an ageing parent these days. Ah, but the food. Our author writes about it with such glee and detail you are salivating as you read. And she brings a real energy to writing about life in kitchens (you can tell Anthony Bourdain is one of her heroes). She's also very good at nailing the misogyny, misery and pleasure of a chef's life. Namaste Motherf*ckers, Cally Beaton, Headline, £22, July 31 Language Timothy. Sorry. Language, Cally. Comedian and podcaster Cally Beaton's new book is a mash-up of memoir and manifesto aimed at offering a map to midlife female reinvention. As someone who went from being a studio exec to appearing on Live at the Apollo, she has some experience to share on the matter. Can you be funny about failure? Turns out you can. And the menopause and misogyny and the Hoffman Process (for those of you desperate to Google something). Mike Tyson (Image: Getty Images) Baddest Man: The Making of Mike Tyson, Mark Kriegal, Ebury Spotlight, £25 Granted, it's perfectly possible that the idea of spending a few hundred pages in the company of the heavyweight boxer and, lest we forget, convicted rapist, Mike Tyson may not be to your taste. Tyson's story is a brutal one, in terms of what was inflicted on him and what he inflicted on others (and sometimes himself). And yet he is still here and he's now a cannabis mogul. Kriegal's book tackles it all. How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir, Molly Jong-Fast, Picador, £16.99 Vanity Fair writer Molly Jong-Fast looks back on her turbulent, sometimes chaotic, relationship with her mother, Erica Jong, novelist, feminist and author of the notorious Fear of Flying, from childhood to Jong's descent into dementia. Expect anger, love and grief. Nouvelle Femmes, Ericka Knudson, Chronicle, £26 Film historian Ericka Knudson's new book has the rather clunky subtitle 'Modern Women of the French New Wave and Their Enduring Contribution to Cinema'. But that can't be said of its subjects, actresses Anna Karina, Jeanne Moreau, Jean Seberg, Brigitte Bardot and filmmaker Agnes Varda. Just those names conjure up images of the Left Bank, coffee and croissants, and striped sailor shirts. Actually, you don't have to imagine them. This book enhances Knudson's text with photographs, film posters and neat design.
Irish Times
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Among Friends by Hal Ebbott: echoes of the dead giants of American literature
Among Friends Author : Hal Ebbott ISBN-13 : 9781035055432 Publisher : Picador Guideline Price : £16.99 Towards the end of the 20th century, American literature was dominated by straight white men who published Important Books. The holy trinity of Updike , Roth and Mailer wrote about masculinity as an ideal, and while the work will endure, their era is decidedly over. So it was something of a surprise to read Hal Ebbott's debut, which feels heavily influenced by the ghosts of writers past. Amos and Emerson – even their names are weighted in white privilege and old money – have been best buds since college, not least because the latter introduced his childhood friend Claire to the former, and they married. Along with Emerson's wife Retsy, the two couples have been close for decades, bringing up their daughters, Sophie and Anna, almost as sisters. Therefore, it's devastating for all when a weekend at Emerson's home leads to an allegation that he sexually assaulted Amos's daughter, the knots of friendship immediately shattering. What follows is a study of male friendship but also of the responsibilities we hold towards our children. When Anna tells her parents what took place, they're horrified but, curiously, it's Amos who believes her while Claire thinks she's making it up in a teenage bid for attention. READ MORE Ebbott digs deep into the psyches of both men but a strong premise suffers from the novel's lack of narrative development. It might be deliberate, but both couples are so alike that it becomes difficult to tell them apart. In fact, I had to make a note of who was who, and who was the offspring of whom, which is odd considering there's only six characters involved, and I found myself referring to this reminder repeatedly. Is this because Ebbott is implying that all men are potential predators and that what Emerson did to Anna, Amos could have done to Sophie? If that's the idea, it's not sufficiently explored, and if it's not, then greater distinctions between the four might have been drawn. Ebbott can certainly write – there's a depth to his paragraphs that demands the reader's careful attention – but it all feels a little old-fashioned, recalling those dead giants while giving a sense that Among Friends would have been a footnote in their bibliographies.
