HENRY BELL is fascinated by the underlying curiosities and contradictions of one of the great poets of the Mediterranean
Thrillers: Christmas fluff vs Polish noir
JONAH RASKIN compares the tepid fare of the Netflix series Black Doves with a gritty Polish alternative
(L) Keira Knightly in Black Doves; (R) Olaf Lubaszenko in Justice
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DAVID RENTON recommends a books that explores the ways in which disabled people are made to feel both of and not part of this world
JONATHAN TAYLOR is fascinated by the philosophical problems that permeate the art of life-writing
GORDON PARSONS steps warily in between the lines of Britain’s most famous diarist
SIMON DUFF recommends a recording of Arvo Part that takes the listener on a pilgrimage through seemingly distant times and events of the Bible
JENNY FARRELL relishes an intimate memoir about growing up in the household of the great Irish communist and playwright Sean O’Casey
SIAN LEWIS relishes a comprehensive account of high rise social housing in Britain by prize-winning social and political historian Holly Smith
CRIME series all boast violence, and, while some of the violence is abhorrent and gratuitous, some of it is framed as necessary and justified.
In the Netflix thriller, Black Doves, the good hitmen and the good hitwomen mostly only kill when it can’t be avoided and when they have to kill to save their own skins.
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DENNIS BROE finds much to praise in the new South African Netflix series, but wonders why it feels forced to sell out its heroine
MARK TURNER is staggered by a gifted jazz pianist from the Welsh Valleys
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE review Cottontail, Memoir of a Snail, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, and Captain America: Brave New World
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Presence, Flight Risk, Emanuelle and Back in Action