MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
Latest editorial
Uncomfortable view of incarceration
RELIC OF THE PAST? HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs in London
New releases from Mountain, Soul Asylum and Michael McDermott
ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
The Life Inside: A Memoir of Prison, Family and Philosophy
by Andy West
Picador £16.99
AUTHOR Andy West’s life has been inextricably linked to prison, with his father, brother and uncle all having served time. Now he himself is in prison, not for any crime, but to teach philosophy to inmates.
This thoughtful debut, like an underworld version of Sophie’s World, tells a deeply personal story — full of struggle, insight and dark humour — through the lens of philosophy and West’s compelling conversations with prisoners. Although at times it becomes apparent who is teaching who.
More from this author
WILL STONE appreciates an artist who can swerve from industrial noise to clubby trance pop without missing a step
‘There's outrage aplenty in this production but we never quite get to the dark night of the soul,’ writes WILL STONE
WILL STONE applauds a quartet of dance vignettes exploring the joys and sorrows of the human condition
